Highlight
Tomorrow evening's Mountain Dream Trip (¤s¹Úªº®È¦æ) gathers some of Taiwan's finest Aboriginal musicians, from veteran folk singer/activist Kimbo (J¼w¤Ò) to young acoustic band Echo G.S. (¦ã¥iµâ´µ), for a free outdoor concert at Taipei's Da-An Forest Park (¤j¦w´ËªL¤½¶é). The concert is organized by the Wild Fire Music (I´ºµ¼Ö) record company and also includes performances by Sangpuy Katatepa (¿c¬Ò¿³), Katatipu (¥d¦a¥¬«C¦~), Hsiao Mei (¤p¬ü), Chen Yung-lung (³‾¥ÃÀs), Tseng Shu-chin (´¿²Q¶Ô) the Loloko Youth Bunun Chorus (Loloko«C¦~¥¬¹A±Ú¦X°Û¹Î) and Kou Chou-ching («þ¬î¶Ô).
* Admission is free
PHOTO: COURTESY OF COFFICIENT ART ENTERTAINMENT CORP LTD
* Tomorrow at 7:30pm
* Da-An Forest Park's (¤j¦w´ËªL¤½¶é) open-air auditorium (ÅS¤Ñµ¼Ö¥x), near the intersection of Xinsheng South and Xinyi roads in Taipei (¥x¥_¥««H¸q¸ô·s¥Í«n¸ô¥æ¤e¤f)
* For more information, call (02) 2741-8637 or visit www.ignitefire.com/main6.html
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Theater
Those wanting a little comedy with their musical could do no better than check out LAN Creators' (嵐創作體) production of the off-Broadway musical I Love You, You Are Perfect, Now Change. The production, with its snappy dialogue, contemporary themes and narrated sketches a la Seinfeld, follows the lives of its characters over a five-decade time line. LAN Creators is attempting something relatively new in Taiwan by having a one-month run with two alternating casts.
*Crown Theater (皇冠藝文中心小劇場), B1, 50, Ln 120, Dunhua N Rd, Taipei
(台北市敦化北路120巷50號B1)
*Tuesday through Friday at 7:30pm; Saturday and Sunday at 2:30pm. Until Nov. 30
*NT$750 and NT$1,500 available through NTCH ticketing, Eslite bookstores and Fnac, or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
The Japanese occupation of Taiwan beginning in 1895 was met with fierce resistance from the island's Aboriginal and Han residents. Brave Heart (乙未丹心), a joint production of Rom Shing Hakka Opera Troupe (榮興客家採茶劇團) and the Council for Hakka Affairs, recounts the life of Wu Tang-hsing (吳湯興), a legendary Hakka resistance leader. The production is based on traditional Hakka opera.
*Novel Hall (新舞臺), 3-1 Songshou Rd, Taipei (台北市松壽路3-1號)
*Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
*Tickets are NT$300 to NT$1,500 and are available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Hood, Veil, Shoes (紅帽:紅衣:紅舞鞋) is a contemporary dance performance by Sun-Shier Dance Company (三十舞蹈劇場) created in collaboration with guest choreographer Yu Cheng-chieh (余承婕) and multimedia artist Peter Melville. The work is inspired by Taipei's urban landscape and gender. The "hood" of the title refers to the experiences of Little Red Riding Hood; the veil is a statement on a Chinese bride's journey after marriage; and the shoes reveal the shared experiences of women.
*Ilan Performance Hall (宜蘭演藝廳) at 482, Chungshan Rd Sec 2, Ilan (宜蘭市中山路二段482號)
*Tonight at 7:30pm
*Tickets are NT$200 and are available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Lecture
On Monday from 10:30pm to noon, Shi Hsin University professor Whitney Crothers Dilley will give a talk in English entitled Literary Adaptations Selected from the Works of Ang Lee: The Ice Storm, Brokeback Mountain and Lust, Caution. The lecture, which will be given at National Cheng Chi University's (國立政治大學) Research Building, is part of a series that includes stops at the University of Washington, the University of Hawaii, as well as stops in New York and London. Dilley will also give two talks at Eslite Bookstore's National Taiwan University branch, on Dec. 7 and Dec. 21. Dilley is the author of The Cinema of Ang Lee: The Other Side of the Screen, the first academic treatment of the Lee's films. The book is available from Amazon.com and Eslite's Xinyi branch, where it is sold alongside books on Lust, Caution and Brokeback Mountain in a special display of Ang Lee-related titles. Eslite's Dunnan and National Taiwan University branches also stock the book.
Classical Music
James Galway Flute Recital
(詹姆士．高威長笛獨奏會).
One of the world's most famous flautists performs with pianist Phillip Moll and his wife Jeanne Galway as a guest. He will play a mixed program including Mozart's Sonata in F Major, K. 376, Prokofiev's Sonata in D Major, Op. 94, Saint-Saens' Airs de Ballet D'Ascanio as well as other less well-known works for flute. Tickets are selling fast for this celebrity musician.
*Tonight at 7:30pm
*National Concert Hall, Taipei
*Tickets are NT$500 to NT$3,000, with most of the cheaper seats sold out as of press time. Tickets available through ERA ticketing
Cello and More - Rudin and His Friends (台灣之愛-魯丁與他的台灣朋友音樂會) will see world-renowned cellist Alexander Rudin, sometimes billed as the next Mstislav Rostopovich, perform with Wei Yue-fu (魏樂富) and Yeh Lu-na (葉綠娜) on piano, Liu Zhu-chuan (劉姝嫥) on cello and Chen Yen-hao (陳彥豪) on French horn. The program includes works by Schumann, Schubert and Saint-Saens.
*Tomorrow at 7:30pm
*National Concert Hall, Taipei
*NT$900 to NT$1,200 tickets are still available through NTCH ticketing
Rethinking Bach features harpsichordist Li Mei-wen (李美文) and the Ensemble of Bach Soloists (巴洛克獨奏家樂團), which will be playing a program that includes C.P.E. Bach's Symphony in B Flat Major, Wq. 182 No.2 and Harpsichord Concerto, Wq. 43, No.2, J.C. Bach's Keyboard Concerto, Op. 7, No.5, and J.S. Bach's Concerto for two Harpsichords and Orchestra in C Minor, BWV. 1060.
*Sunday at 7:30pm
*National Recital Hall, Taipei
*Tickets are NT$500 to NT$1,000, and are available through ERA ticketing
For the 2007 NTSO International Music Festival Series VII (樂揚東海岸), the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra (國立臺灣交響樂團) will present a program of Alfven's Midsummer Vigil, Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet overture and Sibelius' Symphony No.1 under conductor Lim Yau (林曜).
*Sunday and Thursday at 7:30pm; Monday at 1pm
*Sunday at the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taitung County Government Performance Hall (台東縣政府文化局演藝廳) located at 25 Nanjing Rd, Taitung (台東市南京路25號); Monday at the National Taitung University Concert Hall (國立台東大學知本校區演藝廳) at 369, Hsikang St Sec 2, Taitung (台東市西康路二段369) and Thursday at the Taichung Chung-Hsin Concert Hall at 291-3 Chingwu Rd, Taichung
(台中市精武路291之3號)
*Tickets are NT$300 to NT$1,200 for the Taichung concert, and are available through NTCH ticketing. Entry is free for the two Taitung concerts
Quatuor Diotima, a French string quartet will open its Tournee en Extreme Orient in Taipei. The group, founded by graduates of the Paris and Lyon Conservatoires, has a long history of international performance, and has a strong commitment to presenting contemporary classical music within the context of a more traditional classical and romantic string quartet repertoire. The program will include Webern's Five Pieces Op.5, Lachenmann's Grido, Mochizuki's Terres Rouges and Janacek's String Quartet No.1.
*Thursday at 7:30pm
*At the Performance Hall of the National Chiao Tung University (交通大學演藝廳), at 1001 Tahsush Rd, Hsinchu (新竹市大學路1001號)
*Tickets are NT$200 and are available from the university activities center or by calling (03) 571-2121 X31953
Contemporary
The Wall (這牆) is hosting a tribute to Chang Yu-sheng (張雨生), the pop singer, composer and producer who was most famous for discovering A-mei (張惠妹). In 1997, Chang, aged 31, was fatally injured in a car accident, fell into a coma and died a month later. Scheduled to perform are: Siyu Sita (西尤), Lu Dou (綠逗), Kongxian (空弦), AA Senlin Gonyuan (AA森林公園), Clay Pigeon (陶土飛靶), Ting (庭竹) and Rock Oriental Express (搖滾東方). Tomorrow it's black-metal band Shin (信樂團), a mid-chart fixture who finished second to Chthonic (閃靈樂團) in the best band category at the 2002 Golden Melody Awards. On Sunday, The Wall features Swedish singer and pianist Pernilla Anderson, whose influences range from Chet Baker and Miles Davis to AC/DC, Deep Purple, Elton John, David Bowie and Tom Waits. Post-rock group 13 (拾參) makes an appearance on Tuesday. Psychedelic alt-rock band Flat Club ( 假文藝青年俱樂部), Alluvial and post-rock band Emily (艾蜜莉) perform Wednesday.
*Entrance is NT400 tonight, NT$500 tomorrow, NT$800 Sunday, and NT$300 Tuesday and Wednesday
*The music starts at 8pm
*B1, 200, Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei
(台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). Call (02) 2930-0162 or log on at www.the-wall.com.tw for more information
Indie-rock band The Braces (牙套) and Oxymoron (白痴奧克西) perform tonight at Underworld (地下社會). Indie-electronica band Orange Doll (橘娃娃) plays tomorrow, along with Tube (地下鐵). Fen (粉) and upbeat, in-your-face, all-girl electro-clash band Go Chic plays Wednesday.
*Bands start playing around 9pm. The bar is open from 8pm to 4am on weekdays, 8pm to and 5am on weekends, and is closed Mondays
*Entrance for shows is NT$300
*B1, 45 Shida Rd, Taipei (台北市師大路45號B1). Call (02) 2369-0103 or visit www.upsaid.com/underworld for more information
Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) features Danish harmonica player Lee Oskar, formerly of rock/funk fusion group War, with backup from guitarist Geddy Lin (林正如), bass player Chiang Li-pin (江力平), Uno (烏野薰) on keyboards and drummer Toshi Fujii.
Alt-rock group Cherry Boom (櫻桃幫) and veteran power-chord band Assassin (刺客) play tomorrow. On Sunday, it's Queen's Leather Suitcase (皇后皮箱) and FiFiTwo (緋緋兔). Monday is open-jam night. Aboriginal neo-folk band Echo G.S. (艾可菊斯), a side project of Totem's Suming (姜聖明), and Open Eyes (歐噴愛) play Tuesday. On Wednesday, it's Don't Go, followed by DJ E-Turn and Hsing Han (星瀚). Young jazz-singer/guitarist Joanna (王若琳) and indie-rock band Nylas play Thursday.
*Shows start at 9:30pm
*Entrance tonight and tomorrow is NT$400. Sunday is NT$300. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday is NT$300. On Monday there is a one-drink minimum
*B1, 2, Ln 244, Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市羅斯福路三段244巷2號B1). Call (02) 2368-7310, or visit www.riverside.com.tw
As part of a series of concerts by contemporary musicians, the Xue Xue Institute (學學文創志業) this week features shows by indie-rock bands Nylas and Mrs This (這位太太), this afternoon, and urban folk singer/songwriter Deserts Chang (張懸), tonight.
*This afternoon from 12:20pm to 1pm and tonight from 7pm to 8pm
*Tickets are NT$250 for this afternoon's show and NT$650 for Deserts Chang
*207, Tiding Blvd Sec 2, Neihu Dist, Taipei (台北市內湖區堤頂大道二段207號). Visit www.xuexue.tw/events/pm/opening.html for information on these and upcoming performances and links to the online ticket vendor
Witch House (女巫店) presents acoustic guitarist and singer Huang Jie (黃玠) tonight and Bear Babes (熊寶貝) tomorrow.
*Entrance is NT$300 and includes one drink
*Tonight and tomorrow at 9:30pm
*7, Ln 56, Xinsheng S Road Sec 3, Taipei (台北市新生南路三段56巷7號). Call (02) 2362-5494 or visit www.witchhouse.org
The O-Brothaz sound system hosts Thursday Reggae Oasis every Thursday night at club Plan B. The weekly event features Caribbean food, drinks and roots reggae.
*Entrance is free and all drinks are NT$150
*9pm to 1am
*29-1, Anhe Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市安和路一段29號之1). Call (02) 2775-5855 or visit www.obrothaz.com for more information
Due to noise issues, Taichung's Grooveyard will for the time being only host acoustic shows. Some of this week's performances have been moved to sister club Groovecity. Tonight, Grooveyard hosts Mostly Handsome, who cover classic folk and pop-rock tunes. Before that it's Salsa Night, a non-smoking event with professional instructors who teach salsa and merengue to the tune of Cuban music. Tomorrow's Les Chats Noirs performance, their last with vocalist Marie Eve, has been moved to Groovecity. Les Chats play jazz, blues and hot club de France-style tunes. Also moved to Groovecity is Sunday's Antipop! concert, with hardcore activists Consider the Meek and Japanese girl punks Akiakane (see story on at the top of this page). Other events remain at Grooveyard: Tuesday is variety night with stand-up comedy, live theater, music videos and movies. On Wednesday, which is ladies night, Russel Rogers plays Flamenco guitar and Bazouki. Thursday is acoustic jam and open mic night.
*Tonight's salsa runs from 8pm to 10pm, followed by the live music at 10pm. Tomorrow's Les Chats Noirs show starts at 9:30pm. Sunday's music starts at 7:30pm. Russel Rogers plays from 10pm to midnight.
*Cover for the bands is NT$200 tonight, NT$300 tomorrow and NT$400 Sunday at the door (advance tickets are NT$300). There's no cover Wednesday and Thursday
*Groovecity is inside Tiger City
(台中老虎城旁停車場) at 120, Henan Rd Sec 3, Taichung (台中市河南路三段120號老虎城). Grooveyard is located at 2F, 105 Huamei W Rd, Taichung
(台中市華美西街105號二樓).
Visit www.grooveyardtaiwan.com or call 0939-574-737 for more information
Exhibition
Condition#4 - Flesh and Blood - A Solo Exhibition by Kuo Chia-ling (Condition#4-血肉身體與精神淚涕-郭嘉羚個展). Kuo's video works explore corporeity as a connection between spirit and reality. Her art looks neither at the body's anatomy nor the conflict between ideologies, but tries to emphasize the fluent consciousness between the material and the spiritual.
*Shin Leh Yuan Art Space (新樂園藝術空間), 15-2, Ln 11, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 2, Taipei (中山北路二段11巷15-2號). Open Wednesday to Sunday from 1pm to 8pm. Call (02) 2561-1548
*From tomorrow through Dec. 2
Cultural Heritage Writing
(古文今寫創作展). The exhibition features works by renowned Taiwanese calligrapher Cheng Jin-fa (鄭進發) and German sinologist Peter Hoffmann who both live in Cologne, Germany.
*German Cultural Center Taipei (台北德國文化中心) 12F, 20, Heping W Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市和平西路一段20號12樓). Open Monday to Friday from 10am to 8pm. Call (02) 2365-7294
*Until Jan. 4, 2008
Xiang Jing Solo Exhibition
(向京個展). The young female Chinese artist's Taipei debut exhibition features a series of sculptures that aims to capture the changing imagery of Chinese women in a fast changing society.
*Eslite Gallery (誠品畫廊), B2, 245, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市敦化南路一段245號B2). Open Tuesday to Sunday at 11am to 7pm.
Call (02) 2775-5977
*Until Nov. 25
When Water Meets Ceramics - Pure Pleasures in the Mundane World(當水遇見陶特展-人間清歡). The exhibition focuses on the art of flower arranging, wine appreciation and tea culture to explore the artistic and spiritual traditions of ceramics.
*Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum (台北縣鶯歌陶瓷搏物館), 200 Wenhua Rd, Yingge Township, Taipei County (台北縣鶯歌鎮文化路200號). Open Tuesday to Friday from 9:30am to 5pm; Saturday and Sunday from 9:30am to 6pm. Call (02) 8677-2727
*Until Dec. 23
Sacred Legacy - Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian (神聖的遺產-愛德華寇帝斯美國印地安人影像特展).
The photographic exhibition features 60 works that celebrate the history and culture of the native peoples of North America and pays homage to the famed photographer and ethnographer Edward S. Curtis (1868 to 1952), the author of The North American Indian, a 20 volume, 20 portfolio set of handmade books, each of which contains over 2,200 original photographs. The exhibit will move to the National Museum of Prehistory (國立台灣史前文化博物館) and Kaohsiung Museum of History (高雄市立歷史博物館). For more information, visit www.americancorner.org.tw/exhibits/SacredLegacy
*National Museum of Natural Science (國立自然科學博物館), 1 Kuanchien Rd, Taichung (台中市館前路一號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. Call (04) 2322-6940
*Until Nov. 25
Upcoming
If magic is about breaking the rules of convention and playing tricks, Jeff McBride is considered a master. A three-time International Grand Prix of Magic award winner, McBride's shows combine performance genres from around the world including pantomime, dance, drumming, grand illusion and Kabuki Theater. But what keeps audiences coming back for more is his keen sense of showmanship, which creates a spectacle on a grand scale. McBride's whimsical interaction with the stage (and select members of the audience) add comedy to a performance that one industry magazine called, "pure magic, a kaleidoscope of color, movement and energy."
*Nov. 17, National Kaohsiung Normal University Gymnasium, Kaohsiung (高雄師範大學大禮堂);
Nov. 18, Chinghua University Gymnasium, Hsinchu (新竹清華大學大禮堂) Nov. 19, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (台北國父紀念館)
Kaohsiung and Hsinchu performances begin at 7pm; Taipei performance begins at 8pm
*Tickets for the Kaohsiung and Hsinchu performances are NT$600 to NT$2,000; tickets for the Taipei performance are NT$800 to NT$2,250 all available through ERA ticketing outlets or online at
www.ticket.com.tw
Nov. 11 to Nov. 17 People may call Taipei a “living hell for pedestrians,” but back in the 1960s and 1970s, citizens were even discouraged from crossing major roads on foot. And there weren’t crosswalks or pedestrian signals at busy intersections. A 1978 editorial in the China Times (中國時報) reflected the government’s car-centric attitude: “Pedestrians too often risk their lives to compete with vehicles over road use instead of using an overpass. If they get hit by a car, who can they blame?” Taipei’s car traffic was growing exponentially during the 1960s, and along with it the frequency of accidents. The policy
Hourglass-shaped sex toys casually glide along a conveyor belt through an airy new store in Tokyo, the latest attempt by Japanese manufacturer Tenga to sell adult products without the shame that is often attached. At first glance it’s not even obvious that the sleek, colorful products on display are Japan’s favorite sex toys for men, but the store has drawn a stream of couples and tourists since opening this year. “Its openness surprised me,” said customer Masafumi Kawasaki, 45, “and made me a bit embarrassed that I’d had a ‘naughty’ image” of the company. I might have thought this was some kind
What first caught my eye when I entered the 921 Earthquake Museum was a yellow band running at an angle across the floor toward a pile of exposed soil. This marks the line where, in the early morning hours of Sept. 21, 1999, a massive magnitude 7.3 earthquake raised the earth over two meters along one side of the Chelungpu Fault (車籠埔斷層). The museum’s first gallery, named after this fault, takes visitors on a journey along its length, from the spot right in front of them, where the uplift is visible in the exposed soil, all the way to the farthest
The room glows vibrant pink, the floor flooded with hundreds of tiny pink marbles. As I approach the two chairs and a plush baroque sofa of matching fuchsia, what at first appears to be a scene of domestic bliss reveals itself to be anything but as gnarled metal nails and sharp spikes protrude from the cushions. An eerie cutout of a woman recoils into the armrest. This mixed-media installation captures generations of female anguish in Yun Suknam’s native South Korea, reflecting her observations and lived experience of the subjugated and serviceable housewife. The marbles are the mother’s sweat and tears,
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