We Are Shanghai is a compilation CD of 20 tracks from Shanghai bands. Hear it all here. This Friday I went to the Yuyintang release show. Line up:
It was nice to step into Yuyintang's black box rock venue out of the cold and drizzle. The pit floor, the flyers on the walls, CDs on a merch table, rock people and great music by DJ Eurotrash Atheism. Stand and Deliver basically made my night.
Naohai are a new-ish Shanghai college band who play jangly indie rock. They were apt openers and did a fine job. Noise punks Pairs took a couple of songs to get going and played some new material. People warmed to Xiao Zhong's live presence and the set gelled as it went on.
Dragon Pizza were the band of the night for me. They play a hectic mash up of punk, funk and metal and have a great stage presence. Bassist Yuki and Guitarist Xu Qi share vocals and antics and have a great rapport between songs. They are also super tight and drummer Wang Lei, who has been around for over ten years with Loudspeaker, keeps it all together with a steady hand. You can check out a recorded song at the We Are Shanghai bandcamp linked above - Bomb Cola.
Duck Fight Goose rounded out the night with a set based on their recent release Sports. Good event, nice night. The diversity of styles in the bands made a good representation of the project as a whole.
