Shanghai is getting a new livehouse.
I tentatively joined the Douban group for this when it formed but now the story has been officially broken here ...
... I'll go on to talk about this a bit.
There are actually lots of half-decent livehouses in Shanghai, enough to make a scene like in Beijing. The problem is that in Shanghai the man makes it extremely difficult to run them and most people cannot be bothered. There are also other factors but I don't want to get into mudslinging. This new place, Shan Hai (山海) will be up on Aomen Lu and will actually be the third livehouse in that area along with Dream Factory and Kento's Livehouse. Think about that, three venues there in walking distance all between the 2-400 people mark. With good management, the right equipment and respect for the music and musicians, it could be a world beating live scene all by itself up there.
Then near me we still have Sus2 and Harley's. They both have custom live music spaces that hold 50-100 people and really suit rock gigs. Especially Harley's. The boss of Sus2 was the founder of the original Sus2 (Gua'er) factory space in Yang Pu - the first ever YYT type underground space.
Everyone knows the functioning ones, Yuyintang, Mao, Live Bar and Logo. Shows can also go on at Lune and there's Corner Bar in Songjiang Town and 696 in Hong Kou. Singer-songwriters get Beedees, Anar and Fanfare too. Oh, and large acts can play The Mixing Room in Pudong also - but I hesitate to think of it as a 'part of the scene.' So what's the count so far ... 16 including the new one.
Sixteen. And I'm sure I've missed someone, it always happens. Take from that what you will, but if everyone had a similar attitude to the YYT people, things could really happen. Just saying.
As for the new place. Lezi runs the Zhu Lu He Feng label which now has a stable of performers and it's own genuine following. That venue is probably going to be a de facto home base for the group as a whole. It makes sense. I have hopes for it although these places don't have to be so big. One hint though. The last bar managed by the same people was Mao Livehouse's first location so let's hope there's an improvement on that to go with the good musical possibilities.
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