Results tagged “The Snots” from Jake Newby

There were no tricks last night for anyone who chose this over crappy Hallowe'en parties. 24 Hours were a real treat. Touring in support of their excellent new album No Party People, they produced a great set of short, sharp rock. The last time I'd seen them was up at Zhangbei where they were lost a bit on such a big stage. With all three members contributing vocals at times, it's hard for them to move around on stage and that can mean that, on a large stage particularly, they don't work all that well as a spectacle. On a smaller stage and in a more intimate venue like Yuyintang however, this isn't the case and they were on fire last night producing an excellent show.

Some time with a quality producer has really helped them hone their sound and they now have a live show to match. The two female members, on guitar and bass, are both excellent musicians, but one of the real highlights of the band for me is the drummer. He is just incredible to watch and really drives their performance with his beats.

Before 24 Hours had hit the stage, the support acts had been disappointing. The Snots overstayed their welcome. As someone (who I won't name) commented to me during their performance, "what's with support bands playing really long sets?"

Rustic too were a bit of a letdown. I hadn't heard too much of their stuff before last night but, having beaten out a large field to win the Beijing round of the GBOB, I was intrigued to see them. They did a cover of the Sex Pistols' Anarchy in the UK at one point and that gives you a fairly accurate idea of their sound. But I felt a bit like I was watching a comedy band, like Spinal Tap or something. Without the humour. Actually, I can understand why they won the GBOB - a competition where voting is based on the performance of two tracks. With their outlandish clothing and energetic performance, they certainly make a mark, but I feel like they have a bit of a limited appeal. After a few songs I felt I'd seen enough, I'm in no rush to see them again and I wouldn't really want to buy a CD.

In fact, during the sets of both support acts, I really got the feeling I was just waiting for 24 Hours to start and the longer the other bands went on the more irritating it became. Luckily, 24 Hours were well worth the wait.

Never mind that Vimeo and Youtube are blocked here, Maybe Mars have released a new video for 24 Hours via their Youku channel. It's for the song Mr Stevenson from their new album No Party People, produced by Martin Atkins who has worked with bands such as Nine Inch Nails. 24 Hours are in town this Saturday at YYT for their album release party and it's a gig I'm really looking forward to.

The band are originally from Xi'an and used to be known as 24 Hour Party People (hence the album name joke) before they moved to Beijing to further their careers and signed to Maybe Mars. According to a source in Xi'an, the band played an "awesome" set last weekend for the homecoming leg of their album tour. I've been impressed with them the last few times I've seen them too - they were part of the Xi'an Takeover event at the Bund lighthouse here in Shanghai a couple of years ago, they've been back since as part of a Get in the Van night and I caught them up at Zhangbei as well.

Rustic, who won the Beijing GBOB recently, are supporting on Saturday together with The Snots. It kicks off at 9pm and will set you back just 40 kuai. Without wanting to spoil anything, apparently 24 Hours' opening song will feature audience participation and whistles, so be punctual.