July the 4th. One of the most high profile sick-inducing nationalist events in the world but luckily I managed to find a place where it was not mentioned even once by venue, staff, patrons or bands. Hooray.
So tonight was an intriguing showcase night hosted by the website indiechina.com. I was quite confused at first as it features post-rock and experimental acts and we had that excellent Miniless showcase just a few days back. The main local bands on the bill played the previous show and the whole thing seemed like a cut-price repeat of the Miniless gig ... except it was 50 RMB to get in.
The main attractions for the night were going to be a first proper full set from Triple Smash (not on the flyer there) and the chance to check out the Australian carnival tunes/alternative rock act Grace Before Meals.
I turned up as early as I could with my evil late schedule and couldn't see Boojii or Duck Fight Goose. I was, however, in time to see Triple Smash. Guitarist Jerry Li Xing leads the band and the tracks are all instrumental. Although they bill themselves as post-rock the music is a familiar blend of Li Xing's modern rock style that he first showcased with The Crazy Mushroom Brigade. They played a tight set but without any kind of significant atmospherics it comes across like rock without the singer. The bottom line is that anything Li Xing does has a guarantee of quality and the crowd liked them a lot.
A great feature of the night was the use of Tian Shan Park out back of the venue, which they have now supplemented with a BBQ guy and seating. We chose to sprawl out on the grass and mosey on in to check out Grace Before Meals. Grace Before Meals are a surreal act who took a few songs to get going, mainly due to the average-indifferent sound that plagued the whole night. Not my thing but readers could follow the link and listen for themselves.
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