April 2009 Archives
How good is the new hipster paradise, A.K.A. the f-visa ghetto.
Hard Queen recently went from having blown nearly a year of studio time and enduring callous indifference from the scene to re-doing the CD from scratch and holding a triumphant return at Yuyintang.
And now, coming to the Canart Gallery: Daedalum Films are screening their new documentary about the show, Up From The Underground.
Canart is round the corner from my house in the F-visa ghetto. It's easy to find, being just behind the building with C's bar and Sus2 Music Bar. That is, down that little lane between that building and the hotel with the Kedi Store.
Screening starts at 9.30 on May 9th and it's ticketed. That's good for me as I don't get off work until 8.45. What's more, there's a performance from the band after the movie.
True punk fans also have the agony of choosing between Brain Failure @ Dream Factory and Overdose @ YYT on the same night. Good times.
You may have noticed that the blog has slowed down lately and that the last post was a guest post. That's because yours truly has been up and down with the flu for five weeks now. And, Youtube has been out in China for two weeks.
Well, I'm back in action this weekend and will use a different host for videos for now. That means more videos will come up at this blog but not on the Youtube channel. So watch this space.
Here's two links:
Jake Newby on the upcoming weekend's shows in Shanghai
Jake again, rounding up the announced line up for the Midi Festival
And now, here are some classic recent tracks from the China rock scene that I have been listening to over and over again.
Reflector: Wu Fan Nao
Casino Demon: Wa ha ha
For Casino Demon you'll have to look down the player and select Wa Ha Ha as it's a few songs down. I also recommend the one after it, Teenage.
You know the story by now about Hard Queen's struggle to reach this point and they fully deserved such a huge turn out. I got in not long after 9pm, thinking I was early, yet still had to push my way through the crowds. Boys Climbing Ropes opened with a typically energetic and tight set. They seem to get better every show and were on top form, but this was Hard Queen's night.
Despite Zero donning big sunglasses and playing it very cool, the band looked a touch nervy during the opening couple of songs. They soon settled down however and by the third or fourth track in seemed to be really enjoying themselves. DaMen in particular played the entire set with a huge grin on her face. The band gave a great show, delivering the tracks from their Holiday EP as well as cementing their Mod credentials with a cover of The Kingsmen's Louie Louie. They also added a fantastic cover of Michael Jackson's Beat It before closing out the night in traditional fashion with their version of White Stripes' Hotel Yorba.