Joker EP release @ Yuyintang

It's a packed few days in the Shanghai music scene and I decided to break up the action with the most low key event on offer. Blues/rock band Joker were having a release party for their new EP. This turned out to be a really interesting night for many reasons.

First of all, the show was actually the next in the series by 0093 rehearsal studios. It was a five band bill and here's the line up:

He Yun Feng
Wildcat
Brunch (pictured)
Wang Yuezhe
Joker

From all of these, only Joker have a fully developed set of all original material. So before we go on, here's where you can check them out:

So. The reason we have an 0093 party and a CD release at the same time is that 0093 are moving ahead with their vision. I got chatting with Tian Tian (0093 founder) after noticing that he has discontinued the CD shop in Yuyintang. The CD sales could not cover the room rental and it is now a seating area in the style of a dive bar. he will continue to sell the CDs from his Taobao shop, that I don't have a link for.

The bands who rehearse at 0093 are now becoming 0093's stable, so to speak. They are getting involved more and more with the band's development. Tian Tian has a recording studio in Minghang and this CD is their first release. It is an 0093 brand CD. Also, he brought a load of them and gave away one per ticket, included in the 30 rmb cover. Good stuff! As long as there are no unforseen disasters along the way, I hope they develop into proper Shanghai indie label. Fingers crossed.

Despite staying away from cover bands in the commentary, I want to talk about Brunch a little bit. They took the stage and I immediately realised that it was my third time to see them at an 0093 night. Tonight was a bit different. The singer, pictured above and below, was on a mad one. As they performed their usual covers of early Radiohead songs, she was going into another plane of existence. What do I mean by that? I mean, that she was going into howls and screams, paying little attention to what the band were doing and generally acting like she had gone of her rocker. The general audience consensus was displeasure but I couldn't help thinking of two things. First, if you transplanted her to a more dark rock or punk act, such as The Subs, it would have been a crowd winning performance. Secondly, sometime in the future some people with their act together could come in have a field day doing management and development. There's all kinds of personalities and potential around and it's all so disorganised. 

The next band was Wang Yuezhe. They played a kind of atmospheric rock with good energy. I got a video clip but the sound was messy and I'm not sure it'll come across, stick with it if you check the clip. Joker came on last and late. They are a straight blues-rock outfit, leaning towards blues. They set out their intentions early by starting the set in straw hats playing an unplugged guitar and harmonica impro piece. The remaining crowd (five bands on the bill) really liked it and the frontman did a good job of keeping people in it between tracks. 

I'll leave you with some tasty info about tomorrow night. YYT owner Zhang Haisheng mentioned that he has to rent 'very big' extra amps at the request of Useless ID. Also, Sko can't make the tour so local prospects Pink Berries will have a crack.