Yuyintang was packed last night. I mean properly rammed. I got there just after 9pm and there was no hope of getting anywhere near the front. By the time Ho-Tom took to the stage to open (he wasn't dressed like this incidentally, think that photo's from Halloween), I had to stand near the back by the bar and crane my neck to watch him. Even that became a crush and I ended up by watching him from the side of the stage.What I saw nearly had me welling up. See, Tom is a good friend of mine and he was playing to a packed crowd at Yuyintang. That's pretty special. Not only that, but they loved him. He introduced all his songs in Chinese and, from the first song which he explained was about Hu Jintao's daughter, the crowd was cheering loudly. When he did 'I Don't Know Why Your Mum and Dad Don't Like My Mum and Dad', a song he penned himself in Mandarin and with lyrics about not having a Shanghai hukou and not having a house, the audience was enraptured.
He was playing with Franco ('the Fierce') on mandolin and George ('the Goliath'... I think?) on harmonica, which added a nice layer to his sound and worked really well, especially on the YYT stage and with such a big crowd.
Clearly Omnipotent Youth Hotel (or Society, as their album has it) have a big following here, but Tom certainly won them over and was a worthy support act for the Hebei band who so many had turned out to see. Of them, I don't have much to say really - I saw the very start of their set, but was really there for Tom and had to barrel across town to make sure I caught the return of The Gar...
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