Editor's Picks - Shanghai:
Editor’s Picks, September 30-October 4
This week’s action begins big early and then tails off into, well, pretty much nothing. It’s a big night for a Thursday this week. I don’t get it. Is something going down on Thursday or something? Oh well. Let’s get the big one out of the way first:
Wednesday, September 30th
The People’s Republic of Pink Party, Barbie Café, 9 PM-1 AM
I would give you all the details for this one, but you probably already know them. Should be a giant, pink rager. Think China after a few hundred machine washings. You know what else is pink? Pigs flying, which is what will happen if you see me at this ridiculous farce.
S.T.D. presents Jeans Team, YuYinTang, 10 PM
Keeping with the pink theme, we head over to YuYinTang and now I can finally share with you a delightful quote (in reference to this German DJ duo’s prospective set): “Expect hot Germanic techno love to rain down all over you.” Read it again. And again. Over and over. Don’t stop. Share my titillation. I feel soiled after having run my eyes over that sentence. I feel like Siegfried and Roy were just wrung out a couple feet above my head.
Thursday, October 1st
The (International) Noise Conspiracy, YuYinTang, 9 PM
Is there a better day for this band to play China? I say no. This is not the first time they have been here, but it should be a good show if you like your abrasive, political, punk-type tones. They have a good lineup of openers, too (Duck Fight Goose, Crazy Mushroom, and the Offset: Spectacles). With all the parentheses and colons this is also a lineup of crazy punctuation. Does anyone else notice this stuff? No? I’m glad I’m here then.
Indie Heart Attack, Not Me, late
Not Me is your official and unofficial after-party headquarters this week, hosting them on both Wednesday (after you’ve been rained down upon) and Thursday. This newish club has been catching some buzz lately, that’s for sure, but who really believes the hype? Not me. In a related story, I just flew in from Abu Dhabi and, boy, are my arms tired! Thank you! I’m here all week!
Friday-Sunday, October 2-4th
Pick a club, any club
Don’t call it a cop-out! I’ve been here for years! Really, I wish I could be more specific, but it comes down to what type of electronic music you like, if any. If you’re here, I don’t think it will be a big weekend for live bands. YuYinTang, Dada, the Shelter, Mural, and LOgO are all hosting DJ parties. So if you’re these guys or these guys, I guess you’re stoked.
To make up for this unacceptably horrendous version of Editor’s Picks, let me share with you a story about the real victims of the economic crisis. I’ve been keeping this one under my hat for awhile. Heartbreaking stuff.
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Comments
The international noise conspiracy will not play tonight. They were denied to come and play thanks to big brother. What a way to celebrate the national day by reminding us that they are “filtering” everything in this capitalist dict@torsh*p.
What? Wow could you keep that under your hat? I think that’s the first Wall Street Journal hip-hop article I have ever read. The headline is priceless and they did a pretty good job of fitting slang in naturally without sounding like a faker, though there is also a detectable smirk in there. It’s always weird reading pop music reviewers write about hip-hop in such a non-hip-hop voice, especially when they quote lyrics.
In other news, if they’re doing good business melting grills down then living here was clearly the right choice. It seems like all my Chinese friends are buying grills these days.
Actually the whole modern *sky show had to cancel the presentations of foreign bands. The fourteen bands that were ready to play this weekend on Beijing were cancelled. And even worst than this, it’s that many of them already arrived to middle land, like the guys of noise conspiracy. Funny thing, they originally got all their permits and visas to come, but well… change of mind, sorry.
Hey, this is Zack.
I have never liked birthdays. Not my own, not others’. Most people don’t like birthdays because it reminds them they’re getting older, which reminds them that they are going to die. I just never saw the importance of celebrating the day you came into the world. Why would you do something different on that day that you don’t do on any other day? It says that we are not living our lives correctly each and every day. But now I am thinking that birthdays are the reminders that we need (you could also substitute New Years, of which in Asia there are two). Birthdays are as good a time as any to make a new start. This could be your own birthday, but, more collectively, why don’t we think about the birth of where we live, our community?
The Shanghai music scene would be a great place to make some changes, since we have a chance to do things differently. The government gave us a good idea when they canceled foreign band performances on National Day. Not that it was the best move, but it gave us a chance to reflect on our situation here. Why are foreign bands the biggest draw? There are plenty of bands from right here in our fair city that deserve as big an audience as the ones from outer lands. That’s how you build a scene; you support the people who are making music close to home. Out of town bands are like dessert. So maybe the government was, in a way, trying to remind us of this (alright, it’s a stretch, but not impossible).
Of course this was written before the sad news came down about cancellations. But it is still a chance to support music in Shanghai, so please check out as many shows as you can. There are still some great bands.
This PREVIEW was written before of course.
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