Xi'an band Sucker have an interesting acronym. Sunshine in USA California: keep my eager heart to Rancid!!! Yes, with all three exclamation marks on the poster. So, basically they are a Rancid tribute band with original material. Which is fine by me. However, tonight was the night where the Shanghai bands on the bill represented.
First check out Sucker's Myspace page
And here was the line up:
Sucker (Xi'an)
The Dropkicks
Pinkberry
Great atmosphere in Yuyintang. The lights were down and punk played on the PA as the room gradually filled leading up to the first band. A fourth band were added last minute and they played four quick covers by the likes of Blink 182. They did a good job and the night was off.
Pinkberry took the stage and played a great set. They started off with new tracks Wish and Pinkberry Song and the sound was better than usual. The hooks all came through and the band played a tight set, the result being a good reception from the crowd. According to the YYT schedule, Pinkberry play again supporting Reflector on Saturday night. Next up were The Dropkicks who also ripped into the best sounding set I've heard them play. They play classic rock of the Gibson into Marshall variety and were tight, even using a written set list to get through their show without long pauses or drops in energy. Other bands take note, one act I saw a couple of weeks back stopped the intro to their first track for the drummer to check then reply to a text message. Anyway, Shanghai bands really came through tonight.
Sucker launched into their energetic Rancid clone show, which pleased fans of Rancid. That includes me. You all may remember another band with the same M.O. from Nanjing called Old Doll. Read about their Shanghai show here. I think Old Doll edge it in the battle of the bay area tributes. See you at the weekend.
Hey, maybe it was a really important, rock'n'roll text message OK!?