Results tagged “dream factory” from Andy Best

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. 

Regular readers may have noticed that when I link reviews and articles by other English language writers that it's the same small group of people. That'll be because there's only a small group of writers covering it in English. You may also notice that I am supportive and diplomatic in the main. Sometimes, though, another writer will just say what they think and it happens to sum up what I was thinking too. Then I can quote them and they get all the blame if someone objects. Yes!

Jake Newby was at the Subs show with me and threw out some observations in his SH Magazine blog. He starts by mentioning Sub's singer Kang mao's hilarious opening line, referring to the other Beijing act in town that night (indie pop act Milk @ Coffee):

"We're the beer band," joked Kang Mao as she took the stage at Zhijiang Dream Factory.

But it's his observations of the support acts that really hit the mark: 

Before them, The Molds had disappointed with their Lou Reed-like post-rock and out of tune, echo-laden vocals. Having delayed the start of the gig due to an hour and 45 minute soundcheck, they were completely upstaged and made to look amateurish by opening act Pinkberry. "All four of us have got colds today," declared Pinkberry lead singer Xiao You, but it didn't seem to affect their performance. It's not often the crowd demand an encore from an opening act, but Pinkberry are no ordinary band.

Jake also lays down a tip that might see this blog do it's first report from Live Bar. Upcoming act Tianping Dian (Candy Shop) are headlining there on Sat 6th which gives me an alternative to Hua Lun who are post-rock. Laziness may well win out so don't despair, shoegazers.

Finally. Yuyintang have just announced a 'Winter Madness' all day show on the same day that Hedgehog play in the evening. So, on the 13th there'll be a bunch of bands playing from 1.30 in the afternoon (including Candy Shop) and then the Hedgehog show in the evening. Football in the park behind anyone? Jumpers for goalposts?

Yuyintang, which has basically become Shanghai's only real (and consistent) livehouse, had just announced its November line-up and rock fans are in for a seriously awesome month.

While I was out front of Yuyintang last night there was a small film crew next to me. They had external mics and were doing an segment, seemed semi-professional. Later on, the presenter asked me for an interview to which I said no. They looked like a mainstream crew and who knows what context you're going to end up in. I must point out that they have no idea about me or my blog they were just doing random exit interviews. Then, on my way home I couldn't shake a feeling that I knew them from somewhere.

I spotted it on Facebook today. Sam (lao gao) from Yuyintang had shared a video from Tudou about the recent summer bash at Dream Factory. It was done by the same crew.

The show is a net based program where host Jia Ying goes around Shanghai checking out the arts an entertainment scene. Their Tudou channel is a featured channel with a banner, much like the partners on Youtube. They have a very cool intro animation too. 

Here is the show's channel Jia Ying out and about in Shanghai
And here is Jia Ying's blog (Chinese).

What can I say about the video itself? Alas, Jia Ying's intro is way off. This show was a celebration bash to wipe away the frustration of a three week ban during the sporting event that shall not be named. The intro doesn't mention this and instead opts to patronise the bands on behalf of Jia Ying viewers who may not be familiar with local rock. She says that we shouldn't be hasty to judge them if the performance is not very good, the important thing is that they are trying hard and following their dreams. Is she really talking about Yu Guo and Cold Fairyland?

Update: You can see Jiaying's YYt visit here. 

Watch her channel for signs of the next show which should be the YYT one, the Life Journey Show. And without further ado ...

Footnote for anticipated pedantry: The show literally means Jiaying Plays in Shanghai but play is never used in English to denote a grown adult checking out nightlife or museums or what have you.

Over the past couple of years, festivals have entered the music scene and then bashed up against the glass ceiling and dissapeared as quickly as they came. I recently read a bit of news and had a couple of conversations out the back of gigs.

The Shanghai scene is quite a different, and shorter, story than Beijing. Talking of Beijing ...

Most of the recent talk started with this post over at China Music Radar. I want to go through this step by step for non-China based readers. It is standard practice here for large events and also licenced (known) smaller events to be shut down during any national meeting of political importance. This is usually a tight window but this year we had the sporting event that shall not be named - which started to wreak its havoc from May onwards. So, the news at China Music Radar was that the cancelled Midi Festival in Beijing was to be revived in the October public holiday. Alas, this is exactly when Beijing indie label Modern Sky are holding their own festival in the same park. Read that link for more info.

What about Shanghai? Well, the history of Shanghai festivals is much easier to relate as there's hardly any of it. In fact there's only really been one indigenous festival of note - the 1234 Beach Rock festival - and that has only managed to appear once. The other festival was the Yue Festival organised by Split Works. Split Works are experienced international promoters and the festival brought in big names from abroad. No word on the site about rescheduling for this year ... Archie? Comments are open with no registering now. 

1234 started out down in Fengxian at the man made beach and was mainly organised by Frank Fen of Mortal Fools. It expanded last year and moved to a new site near Shangnan in Pudong. Alas, the date clashed with the National People's Congress in Beijing and the plug was pulled at the last minute. This year has been another write off due to the sporting event that shall not be named. Frank says it could be done late this year but that they simply don't have the money to get through the approval process. He will focus on smaller events in the future.

Now for a confession. I can't stand large scale open air shows. They suck. I don't drink and i'm not interested in the party atmosphere at shows. The best show I ever saw was when White Zombie showed up at Birkenhead Stairways - a little smaller than the Dream Factory here. They were touring for their major label release La Sexorcisto Devil Music Vol 1 and only played two UK shows, London and Birkenhead. Wierd. But, it set the standard for me. A legendary artist at the peak of his powers, right there in front of you and you're experiencing a connection. Also, most shows I saw ever were in the Liverpool Royal Court which is a mid-scale touring venue and about as big as I like to go. Another amazing small scale show I saw was Love/Hate at the Tivoli in Buckley. Donington Monsters Of Rock was the main event for my crowd at the time - but really, buckets of piss flying through the air?!   

Well, Saturday saw a huge all day show featuring Sunnet, Six Shot, Lollipop, Dragon Pizza, Screaming Jesus, Sound Illusion, Five Pointed Star, Chaos Mind, Yu Guo and Cold Fairyland. It was called Summer Nuts! and was basically a big celebration of the recent ban being up.

I was all geared up to go and video a song from each and write, like, a four-post write up of it for the blog. Alas, I had to move house on Saturday and come three o'clock I had barely packed 40% of my stuff. Lame me. So ... lucky for me, Sam had someone video his performance at the show and put it on Youtube. Without further ado - Chaos Mind.

Tonight was a cautious foray back into the gig world. The sporting event that shall not be named has not yet finished and the official back to business show is tomorrow at Dream Factory. The headliners for tonight were Beijing indie outfit The Gar.

Check out their myspace page here: Gar

Abe Deyo had predicted a limited turn out at Shanghaiist. It turned out to be reasonable but the August ban has clearly knocked a hole in the great turnouts at YYT this summer when we saw shows packed to the rafters with the local student brigade. I got there in time for the support act Hard Queen and spotted a whole bunch of scenesters, even John P of Sinosplice fame.

Hard Queen played a great set and had a nice sound too. They have enough good material to play a full hour of mostly originals. When I first saw them they clearly had standout songs but now the rest of the material is up there too. At one point, Sheena (singer) pointed out a Hard Queen T-shirt being worn in the audience. It's what they deserve. The material is good, they have their own sound and they have come together live - a fanbase is sure to follow. Hopefully they can cement this with the speedy release of their upcoming CD. Song of the night: We Don't Care.

The Gar came on straight after. The timely start and tight scheduling was down to the sports event that shall not be named, no chances could be taken. I was a bit shocked at the sound. Hard Queen had a pretty good sound which then seemed to take a huge dive for the main act. Then, after three tracks of jangly indie type stuff they left the stage. Odd. During this sudden break there was no activity on the stage and no sound checking or repairing. The Gar are a three piece with all the hallmarks of the latest indie trends including long instrumental sections. I came away from the gig feeling like I'd seen a Hard Queen show. 

Indie-folk artist Wang Juan and her band play Dream Factory in Shanghai. The show is part of a tour to promote the release of her second CD In Distance. Enjoy the opening number from this low key Sunday afternoon show. The scene goes back to work next weekend.

Some classier venues, such as Dream Factory in the Tong Le Fang development, have managed to get around a total ban this month. And so, we have a show in my neck of the woods before the official restart next weekend. Dream Factory is a really good venue that is cursed with being in an expensive up-market corporate venture. They only get people at shows when events there are promoted by other people in the scene, such as Abe Deyo or Yuyintang, who have more idea how to do it. Brad Ferguson has his rescheduled PK-14 show coming up there and Yuyintang also have a big back-to-business multi band party there next week.

Wang Juan is a gifted indie-folk artist with two CDs out now. I add 'indie' to the genre there because the term folk here is a bit of a casualty. I'm not going to divert into some history thing but needless to say that Wang Juan is a guitar act that writes their own stuff and has no patriotic opera songs or old instruments - but they are still making music that represents a more traditional side of their own cultural experience.

And with that, why not just have a listen - here.

The turn out was not so good but enough to put a few seated rows in front of the stage. It was a diverse crowd that included Zhang Haisheng and Gemnil Lin from Yuyintang (the organisers) and artist Popil. I previously blogged about Popil's Eno show with Hard Queen here.

Wang Juan and her band are excellent musicians and they did a super tight set of beautiful compositions. I've been playing music myself since I was 13 and at one point was hypnotised by a duet that featured Wang Juan's Chinese classical singing chops and some virtuoso guitar magic. But aside from the appreciation factor, as i've said before, I'm a rock fan. It was guitar-ish enough to keep me going till the end but when it comes down to it - I get more from a song about breaking up then realising your favourite sweater is trapped at your ex's house than I do from a song about a small bird flying over the Xinjiang landscape or what have you. 

I have open commenting now, does that mean I might end up with those people who comment on spelling errors? Err, I can spell horse, Brad is from Texas ... it's one of those really really funny jokes ... really funny.

I recently posted on Brad Ferguson's split with Windows Underground right here. Just two weeks later he's already back and promoting a new series of rock shows in Shanghai. This time Brad is branding himself with a catchy name Control. Not literally of course, oh thoseTexans.

The first show is going to be at Dream Factory on the 13th September and Brad's doing it by himself and out of pocket so Shanghai based readers should get along and support the show. Here's the line-up:

Boys Climbing Ropes
The Rogue Transmission
Hard Queen
PK-14

The release of their excellent CD City Weather Sailing has established PK-14 as pretty much the top punk/rock act in China now. The CD quality, production and conception is right up there and you can even get the CD details via I-tunes - oooooh. That's rather flash for the China underground scene. They are worthy headliners.

I should also mention that when I was following up with Brad on the details for this post he was careful to say that nothing's planned beyond the first show. PK-14 had already been booked for Windows Underground. So, let's have a repeat of the Tembo Subs show - get to the show make it a success and a good time ... and maybe it'll lead to more shows. Also, if you don't go, those spelling-nazi commenters are going to hunt you down.

As if anyone could forget, we are in the middle of the world's greatest sports event propaganda showpiece for the nation-states system we live under. As I previously reported, this has had a big effect on the music scene here and hence this blog.

The next show in the scene, and thus the next one I'll be attending, is on the 17th of this month. It will be put on by Yuyintang at the alternative venue 'The Dream Factory'. Playing is Wang Juan and her band. You can get a preview of her music here. Then, normal service resumes on the 22nd with a show by Gar.

In the meantime you will see some posts in the other category popping up, maybe some stuff on education or pop culture ... that is if Jim can stop actually doing his job for just one minute and post on movies. I might have to bore the pants off readers with a comparison of industry standard script formats for film vs. comic books.

Finally, with Aric Queen on his holiday and not posting much on his Beat column, City Weekend have recruited a mystery writer to post on the music scene in their nightlife section. The new writer goes under the anonymous handle Punknotjunk and has a fake photo too. They've put up five articles since August 1st and it's a paid gig over at CW. But what is with the secret identity? Is someone I know really this superhero by night? Is it someone known as a scene commentator moonlighting and not wanting trouble from other employers? Or perhaps they just enjoy being all Mysterio. Either way, it's another newswire type service to check, I suppose.   

I don't often post on websites and venues in the Shanghai music scene as they tend to change quite often. Also, they seem to defy normal category as they cross over in both style and function. However, after reading a couple of things in the rags this week I feel like going through this.

First of all, how many venues do we have in Shanghai for indie, rock and punk etc? A venue purpose designed for such gigs that commits to weekly performances and looks and feels like a live music house ... there's two. Yuyintang is one and Live Bar comes second, but it only just makes it in on account of it being open all the time as bar and is not immune to the odd crossover event. Yup, only the two, and Live bar is miles away from me which explains why I nearly only post about Yuyintang.

Next up are bars. Bars who, as part of their promotions, are commited to putting on live music. They are open general hours and have a mixed clientel who aren't specifically into the music. Gucci-wearing clubbers at rock gigs kill the experience for me, bah humbug. Top of this tree is Windows Underground. Windows is basically a venue that tries to make its money via the bar business model and seems to be between the two groups. But they have a proper stage and sound system. Down on Taikang Lu is Bar 288 (AKA The Melting Pot), their house band is Happy Strings. Forever on the lips of ex-pat hipsters and magazines is Logo Bar. Logo used to be the original Tang Hui music pub and is the same deal. This place is a muscially themed trendy pub with no visible pattern to the acts. Now and again they have a good band in but it's largely coincidence. I am partisan and prefer to see a rock/indie band surrounded by people who follow the sub-culture, it's half the point. 

Last one in the significant bar circuit is Gua'er (AKA Sus2). Actually, they were the first true venue in Shanghai way back when. They originally operated out of an old factory in Yangpu but now they have resurfaced as a half-cafe half-bar in Dingxi Road. No important bands have played there for a while though. 

Finally we have the occaisionals. Bands put on gigs in other places for various reasons but you can't see regular gigs at the locations. Harley's Bar used to be a great place and the gig area is quite good, now it's very on and off. Dream Factory is a proper theatre which gets used sometimes if Yuyintang wants a larger space. A band once played at The Shelter but that's a DJ place.  

This week I'm going to see a Beijing indie band called Gala.