Contemporary
Legacy Taipei, located in a former warehouse at Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914), hosts top Taiwanese pop performers and international acts. Tonight, pop singer Z-Chen (張智成) holds a concert to launch his new album, while Japanese singer-songwriter Nana Mizuki performs tomorrow and on Sunday. Indie rock band Franz Ferdinand from Glasgow, Scotland arrives on Tuesday, and it is American indie rockers Neutral Milk Hotel on Thursday.
■ Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914), Center Five Hall (中五館), 1, Bade Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市八德路一段1號)
Photo courtesy of Riverside
■ Shows start at 8pm
■ NT$900 tonight, NT$2,200 tomorrow and on Sunday, NT$3,000 on Tuesday, NT$2,000 on Thursday. Tickets for the venue’s concerts can be purchased at ERA ticketing outlets, online through www.ticket.com.tw, www.legacy.com.tw and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks
American technical death metal bandThe Faceles takes the stage tonight at The Wall (這牆), Taipei’s most prominent venue for indie rock artists, with Japanese melodic death metal group Mysterious Priestess as the warm-up. Rock Empire’s Euro Metal Month continues tomorrow with German-Norwegian symphonic metal band Leaves’ Eyes and Atrocity, a German heavy metal band. Sunday’s roster is post-rock group Kishikan (既視感), scream group Until Seeing Whale’s Eyes (直到看見鯨魚的眼睛) and alternative/indie band F.L.A.T Club (假文藝青年俱樂部). It is an unplugged performance by hardcore/punk outfit Thesameday (平凡生活) on Wednesday, with chiptune band Physical Chemical Brother (理化兄弟) and When I See the Mushroom Cloud also playing. Thursday’s main act is ambient/chill-out band 90Hz, with additional gigs by electronic/alternative rock outfit Sleeping Brain (眠腦) and trip-hop artist Mate Lin (林瑪黛).
■ B1, 200, Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1), tel: (02) 2930-0162. On the Net: www.thewall.com.tw
■ Shows start at 8pm except tomorrow, which begins at 6:30pm
■ NT$1,400 tonight, NT$1,200 and NT$1,800 tomorrow, NT$200 on Sunday and weekdays. Tickets for all shows, with discounts on advance tickets, can be purchased online through www.thewall.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
It is a heavy metal night with lyra, Geometry (幾何), Your Heroes Have Died and Xenophobia tonight at indie rock club Revolver. Tomorrow, Hong Kong’s scream/post hardcore band Daybreak On Monday hits the stage, accompanied by Taiwan’s metal/hardcore act Human Brutality (人類暴行), One Way Street and Invincible Tapir The lineup on Sunday includes Instrumental/post-rock outfit Mass Man instrumental rock band BHD and alt-rock group Guntzepaula (槍擊潑辣), while post-rock/electric act Love Sex Delicious, Fake No More and Hydra show up on Wednesday. Thursday’s show is by pop rockers Miss Go (迷死狗樂團), Blind Cats (瞎貓) and Inexplicable A Day (莫名其妙的一天).
■ 1-2, Roosevelt Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路一段1-2號), tel: (02) 3393-1678
■ Shows start at 10pm except Sunday which begins at 8pm
■ Entrance is NT$300 on the weekends and Sunday, NT$200 on weekdays
Post-punk/garage rock group Tight Tight Crotch (緊褲襠) and alternative rockers The Old Mog Detective Agency (老貓偵探社) are scheduled tonight at Roxy Rocker, a basement hangout for indie rockers and fans in Taipei. Blues rock outfit Commuters (通勤少年) and emo/power pop group State of the Heart (本能) each plays a set tomorrow.
■ B1, 177, Heping E Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市和平東路一段177號B1), tel: (02) 2351-8177. On the Net: roxyrocker.com
■ Shows start at 9pm. Roxy Rocker is open daily from 8pm to 4am, closed on Mondays
■ Entrance is NT$200 for all shows
Tonight, Japan’s deathcore/melodic death act Hone Your Sense join hands with Taiwan’s Invicible Tapir and death metal/deathcore outfits Geometry (幾何) at Pipe Live Music, a main venue for indie music and parties. The venue hosts Good Vibes party tomorrow featuring a troupe of DJs including Afro, L.B.C, Triple T and Dasu Ghettochild.
■ 1 Siyuan Rd, Taipei City (台北市思源路1號), tel: (02) 2364-8198. On the Net: www.pipemusic.com.tw
■ Show starts at 8pm tonight and 10:30pm tomorrow
■ Admission is NT$400 tonight and NT$600 tomorrow. Tickets can be purchased online through www.walkieticket.com and at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks and FamilyMart (全家) FamiPort kiosks
Indie rockers Pink Haze (平克孩子) appears tonight at Witch House (女巫店), an intimate coffeehouse-style venue in the National Taiwan University area, along with solo act Chan Yu-ting (詹宇庭). Tomorrow, The Muddy Basin Ramblers (泥灘地浪人) play original songs inspired by the classic sounds of blues songsters, jug bands and swing jazz groups from the early 20th century.
■ 7, Ln 56, Xinsheng S Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市新生南路三段56巷7號), tel: (02) 2362-5494. On the Net: www.witchhouse.org
■ Shows start at 9:30pm. Restaurant/bar with queer/feminist bookstore and large collection of board games, open 11am to midnight Sundays through Wednesdays, 11am to 1am Thursdays through Saturdays
■ Entrance for music shows is NT$350
Acoustic group Dark White-collar Workers (暗黑白領階級) perform tomorrow at Kafka on the Shore (海邊的卡夫卡), a coffee house-cum-music and arts venue in the National Taiwan University area. Sunday’s show is by pop/funk artist Dawen (王大文).
■ 2F, 2, Ln 244, Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路三段244巷2號2樓). On the Net: www.kafkabythe.blogspot.tw
■ Shows start at 8pm. Cafe/bookstore opens noon to midnight Sundays through Thursdays, noon to 2am Fridays and Saturdays
■ Entrance is NT$400 tomorrow and free admission on Sunday
All-male a cappella band Vox (玩聲樂團) sings tonight at Riverside Live House (河岸留言西門紅樓展演館). Tomorrow, the venue hosts a tribute concert to late Taiwanese singer Chang Yu-sheng (張雨生), which sees a troupe of bands including Blackout, H/F and Never Dry. One Million Star (超級星光大道) alumnus Rose Liu (劉明湘) croons on Thursday.
■ 177 Xining S Rd, Taipei City (台北市西寧南路177號), tel: (02) 2370-8805. On the Net: www.riverside.com.tw
■ Shows start at 8pm
■ Entrance is NT$500 tonight and tomorrow, NT$450 on Thursday. Tickets can be purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
Bass player Brian Chiu (邱培榮) and The Soybeats play funk, R&B and acid jazz tunes tonight at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言). Mando-pop female crooner Ren, aka Hsia Yu-tung (夏宇童) shares the stage with pop singer Chieh Wei-ling (解偉苓) tomorrow. Tuesday’s lineup is formed by folk group City Partsy (都市零件派對) and Natural Outcome, followed by Commuters (通勤少年) and hard rock band Dr. Randy on Wednesday. Thursday’s performers are R&B/funk group Space Cake (史貝絲考克) and folk duo The Traveler (迷途者).
■ B1, 2, Ln 244, Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路三段244巷2號B1), next to Taipower Building (台電大樓), tel: (02) 2368-7310. On the Net: www.riverside.com.tw
■ Shows start at 9pm except tonight which begins at 9:30pm
■ NT$400 on weekends and NT$350 on weekdays. Tickets can be purchased online through www.riverside.com.tw and tickets.books.com.tw
Jazz band Minyen Hsieh Quartet (謝明諺四重奏) teams up with French cello player Hugues Vincent tonight at Sappho de Base, a late-night lounge bar that hosts mostly jazz shows. Soy La Ley Latin Jazz (古巴爵士樂團) blends musical tradition of Cuba with jazz tomorrow, while six-piece The Ghosts of Mississippi Blues plays Chicago blues, R&B and gospel music on Wednesday. The Flat Fives swings in the groove on Thursday.
■ B1, 1, Ln 102, Anhe Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市安和路一段102巷1號B1), tel: (02) 2700-5411. On the Net: www.sappho102.biz
■ Shows start at 9:30pm. Closed Mondays
■ Entrance is NT$200 for all shows
Puyuma musician Sangpuy and math rock band Elephant Gym (大象體操) perform tomorrow at Tiehua Music Village (鐵花村), an arts village composed of a music venue, design and crafts shops and a weekend arts fair in Taitung City.
■ 26, Ln 135 Sinsheng Rd, Taitung City (台東市新生路135巷26號), tel: (089) 343-393. On the Net: www.tw.streetvoice.com/users/tiehua
■ Shows start at 8pm. Music venue and crafts shops are open 2pm to 10pm Tuesdays through Sundays. Weekend arts fair opens 6pm to 10pm every Friday, 3:30pm to 10pm every Saturday and Sunday
■ NT$300. Tickets can be purchased online through tickets.books.com.tw
The Wall (這牆) programs regular live rock shows at Kaohsiung’s Pier 2 Arts Center (高雄駁二藝術特區). Tonight, the spotlight is on disco-funk rockers Cosmos People (宇宙人).
■ 1 Dayong Rd, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市大勇路1號), tel: (07) 521-5148. On the Net: www.thewall.com.tw
■ Show starts at 8pm
■ Admission is NT$500. Tickets can be purchased at 7-Eleven ibon kiosks, www.books.com.tw and www.indievox.com
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These days, CJ Chen (陳崇仁) can be found driving a taxi in and around Hualien. As a way to earn a living, it’s not his first choice. He’d rather be taking tourists to the region’s attractions, but after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the region on April 3, demand for driver-guides collapsed. In the eight months since the quake, the number of overseas tourists visiting Hualien has declined by “at least 90 percent, because most of them come for Taroko Gorge, not for the east coast or the East Longitudinal Valley,” he says. Chen estimates the drop in domestic sightseers after the
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo, speaking at the Reagan Defense Forum last week, said the US is confident it can defeat the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the Pacific, though its advantage is shrinking. Paparo warned that the PRC might launch a “war of necessity” even if it thinks it could not win, a wise observation. As I write, the PRC is carrying out naval and air exercises off its coast that are aimed at Taiwan and other nations threatened by PRC expansionism. A local defense official said that China’s military activity on Monday formed two “walls” east
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