March 11th, 2010 |
Posted in Editor's Picks by mike
Actually, I think it’s not fair to call Finland a classic invader country. Though they share excellent death metal and extreme alcoholism with their Scandinavian neighbors, I think they’re more invaded than invader. On to the picks:
Thursday:
Niklas Winter & Teemu Viinikainen
Coinciding nicely with my own trip to Finland tomorrow these two Finnish guitar badasses are coming to JZ for a gig. If I know anything about how JZ financing works, we have both the inestimable Ren Yuqing and the generous Finnish government to thank for this. Check out Teemu’s space for some sounds. For even more hot guitar action, these viking bros are joined by our own Lawrence Ku, bassist EJ Parker, and drummer Chris Trzcinski. Opening is the illustrious Illusion Trio, with me, Oleg Roschin on piano, and I think Chris on drums again.
JZ Club, 46 Fuxing Xi Lu near Yongfu Lu
9:00-1:30, assuming they do three sets.
No cover, gotta love that government money
Friday:
DJ Vadim
As re/previewed by our own Zack, the illustrious Vadiim returns to these Shanghaiian shores, with his wife and cohort MC Yarah Bravo. Though I wasn’t too taken with her rapping when they came last year, perhaps it will be better with the updated soundsystem, maybe I was just in a bad mood, etc. In any event, Vadim is creative and eccentric, and certainly beyond reproach on the wheels of steel. Support from V-Nutz, Fortune, hBd.
The Shelter, 5 Yongfu Lu near Fuxing Xi Lu
10:00 start
50 RMB cover
Hanggai
The #1 Mongolian party band returns! Everybody who has seen them loves this band, and for good reason. They just come right in and get to it with conviction, energy, and booze. Do Not Miss! Also, when I saw them in November at Dream Factory we assumed there would be opening bands and general amateur late-ness. There wasn’t, and we showed up half-way through, and we only got to hear as many songs as we did because they were generous with their encores. Definitely get there on time! The first show in Shanghai of Split-works’ Jue Festival.
YuYinTang, 1731 Yan’an Xi Lu, enter from Kaixuan Lu
9:00 start
50 RMB cover
Node Lounge Soft Opening
A new club is opening in Red Town, possible a cousin to the infamous Dragon, in any event with direction from Baru of Dragon fame. Music comes from Dave K, Wassili, King, and Baru himself. If you can steal some time to check it out, there are going to be free drinks from 9-midnight. That’s pretty awesome. Stay tuned for the grand opening on the 10th of April.
Node Music Lounge, 570 Huaihai Xi Lu, nearish to Hongqiao Lu
9:00 start
No cover
Saturday:
St. Vincent
Again, as CD-reviewed by the never-sleeping Zack, St. Vincent comes to Shanghai as part II of the Jue Festival. As with part I, get there early because it’s YYT and it’s sure to be PACKED. Expect melodious innocence with unsettling lyrics. Myspace? Boys Climbing Ropes open.
YuYinTang, 1731 Yan’an Xi Lu, enter from Kaixuan Lu
9:00 start
120 RMB cover
LTJ Bukem
On the DJ front, at least, it seems like Shanghai gets it’s share of heavy hitters. The same weekend as Vadim comes one of the original immortals of jungle/d ‘n b, that is LTJ Bukem, joined by MC Conrad. I picked the wrong weekend to go to Finland, though the temperature is apparently above freezing now.
The Shelter, 5 Yongfu Lu near Fuxing Xi Lu
10:00 start
80 RMB cover
tags: Baru - Boys Climbing Ropes - Chris Trzcinski - Dave K - DJ Vadim - EJ Parker - Fortune - Hanggai - HBD - Illusion Trio - Jue Festival - JZ - Lawrence Ku - LTJ Bukem - MC Conrad - Mike Brownell - Niklas Winter - Node - Oleg Roschin - Split Works - St. Vincent - Teemu Viinikainen - The Shelter - V-Nutz - Wassili - Yarah Bravo - YuYinTang
February 18th, 2010 |
Posted in Editor's Picks by mike
Well that was a nice little rest, wasn’t it? I did almost nothing for the past few days except eat, sleep, and look at fireworks. I also did some drinking. Anyway, vacation is over now and the party must continue! It will be a gradual acceleration for the next week or so though, as YYT remains closed and other happenings are mostly subdued.
Thursday:
Alec Haavik Friction 5-7
It’s been a long time since we’ve mentioned our first Featured Artist here at the Editor’s Picks, but he’s still there at JZ almost every Thursday, refining his special blend of music (largest two components: jazz + rock) and pushing it forward. They are still one of a handful of jazz bands this town with a strong band identity, and are something anyone with an open mind will enjoy. The Illusion Trio, with Chris Trczinski, Oleg Roschin, and me open.
JZ Club, 46 Fuxing Xi Lu near Yongfu Lu
9:00-10:00 Illusion Trio, 10:30-1:30 Friction 5
No cover
Friday:
Shelter Online
The Shelter has a website now. Or will tomorrow. Anyway, it will have a blog, schedule, giveaways, etc. Here’s hoping they do better with that than I do. Everybody knows you must have a party when you put a website up, and the Shelter’s will feature regulars V-Nutz, Drunk Monk, and Deville as well as near-regulars from Void, Sweatshop, Bananas and Antidote. There’s apparently an addition to the soundsystem as well.
The Shelter, 5 Yongfu Lu near Fuxing Xi Lu
10:00-late
30 RMB cover
Saturday:
Shimon
The high-profile event of the weekend is the return to Shanghai of an all-time great, Shimon, drum ‘n bassanator. Our own resident drum ‘n bassanators, Sweatshop, will welcome him. He’s been in it since the beginning and put out some of the most famous tracks the genre has seen. Heavy. With support from Apex, Siesta, Viceroy, Abbruzi Spur and JJ MC.
The Shelter, 5 Yongfu Lu near Fuxing Xi Lu
10:00-late
50 RMB cover
Zaogao
Well, it’s not Baijiu Robot, but the flyer style is eerily familiar, and the show has Mau Mau and Heatwolves, so…you know what it is. Here’s their own description, just because it’s tasty: “The messiest party this side of the Huangpu returns to Logo Saturday night to make congee out of your senses. Cover yourself while Heatwolves, fresh off the plane from the home of house, spills giant buckets of deep Chicago beats. Hold on to your pants as The Uhhhhh! splashes dangerous sexy electro recklessly. Watch yourself while Adept and Mau Mau wreck the place with jacking techno and fidget. VJ Maculate takes your eyes for a ride. No cover. Dress messy.”
LOgO, 13 Xingfu Lu near Fahuazhen Lu
11:00-late
No cover
Sunday:
Greg Luttrell Band Jam Session
An old favorite of the Sunday pick, because it’s always fun and because there’s not a whole lot of competition on Sundays: the House of Blues and Jazz jam session! Watch the awesome Greg Luttrell band, watch other dudes who come to the jam session, play some yourself, get a discount on drinks because you played, it’s all good! Plus it’s a warm vibe in there.
House of Blues and Jazz, 60 Fuzhou Lu near Sichuan Lu and the Bund
9:30-12:30
No Cover
Monday:
Willow Neilson’s Lightbulb Lives
You might think that this is a live performance of a concept album sequel and goes like this: at the end of the first concept album you thought the evil monster called lightbulb had been killed and the world could rest easy…But no! Lightbulb LIVES!
In fact, the last word is the plural of life, not the third-person singular present tense of the verb to live, and it refers to many lives that are organized around lightbulbs at night in the city of Shanghai, not to one individual lightbulb monster that you thought was dead. Willow is one of the best saxophone players in Shanghai and has broad musical interests (listed in the promotional email are: “Beats from Peru, Cuba, Brazil, Puerto Rico and modern electronic music are combined with modern jazz compositions, Yunnan folk melodies and sampled sounds of the city of Shanghai”) but hasn’t had a lot of his own shows here, so it should be cool. It will also feature the return to SH of awesome drummer and sometime roommate Alex Ritz, as well as Coco Zhao, Tibetan singer La Mu, Peter Scherr up from Hong Kong to play bass, and Steinar Nickelsen on keys. They’re also playing on Wednesday at YYT, but there’s a cover there and fewer musicians, so catch this one instead.
JZ Club, 46 Fuxing Lu near Yongfu Lu
9:00-12:30
No cover
tags: Abbruzi Spur - Alec Haavik Friction Five - Alex Ritz - Antidote - Apex - Baijiu Robot - Bananas - Coco Zhao - Deville - DJ Adept - Drunk Monk - Greg Luttrell Band - Heatwolves! - House of Blues and Jazz - Illusion Trio - Jane Siesta - JJ MC - JZ - La Mu - LOgO - Mau Mau - Peter Scherr - Shimon - Steinar Nickelsen - Sweatshop - The Shelter - The Uhhh - V-Nutz - Viceroy - VJ Maculate - Willow Neilson - Zaogao
December 10th, 2009 |
Posted in Editor's Picks by zack
I’m sick of these old geezers telling me what music is, that today’s music sucks, and that the mid-70s to mid-80s were when music was real. Especially when they probably haven’t seen a live show in 20 years. Especially when they haven’t listened fully to a recent song in the last 5, probably. Especially when what they are referencing as the Golden Age in Music consists of gems such as AC/DC, Ratt, and Motley Crue. Listen, I am not discounting the relative merits of those bands or any others you want to throw out there (as limited as they may be), but you are disregarding and completely and willfully ignoring everything that has come afterward simply because you don’t like a few songs you might have heard your seven year-old playing at home. And, by the way, I listen to a lot of music. I probably know more about your era than you do, plus stuff before that, not to mention everything since. So don’t lecture me about music anymore, please, or I will impale you with Neil Peart’s drumstick. Thanks.
Now let’s get to the picks. Of MODERN music.
Thursday, December 10th
Friction Guzheng, 10:30-11:30 PM
Alec Haavik’s Friction 7 meet Guzheng player Kuriko on the JZ stage tonight. The nastiest jazz/funk group in town meets the refined sounds of the Chinese Guzheng? This lovechild is going to be the purtiest multiracial baby in town. And that’s saying something.
JZ Club
46 Fuxing Xi Lu,
Huaihai Zhong Lu
near Yongfu Lu, Metro Line 1 Changshu Lu Station
复兴西路46号
近永福路，地铁1号线常熟路站
No cover (I think)
Friday, December 11th
S.T.D. presents Sulumi and Liman, 10 PM until comatose in alley
Alicia already graced us with a preview of this show and a review of the Sulumi album “Chaotic Dances the Function.” All that, plus a shot of her butt cheek with a Sulumi tattoo in full view! Now that’s how you get on the Layabozi staff. And if you visit LOgO on Friday night you will get to experience the glory of 8-bit and maybe even a second viewing of Alicia’s tattoo. You never know what’s going to happen at LOgO. They even upgraded their sound. Who would have thought that would happen?
LOgO
13 Xingfu Lu,
Changning
near Fahuazhen Lu
幸福路13号
近法华镇路
30 kuai
Saturday, December 12th
Louder.cn presents Lady Killer, 9 PM until the Kedi graveyard shift change
This one garners the coveted Editor’s Pick of the Week Award from your humble prognosticator. Talk about Ladies’ Night! I remember seeing Yen at that weird Samiyam gig at Kathleen’s 5. She was absolutely ripping the place up. Ceiling tiles were cascading down and people were speaking in devilish, electronic tongues. Then she stopped, some other dude got up, and it was not the same. Bummer. Siesta? You may have heard about her once or twice on Layabozi. I have only seen ChaCha with Uprooted, but I was flabbergasted by the whole experience. The others, MIA (no, not THAT one), Kelly Rehab, and VJ Hean, although unknown to me, should totally also not suck. Finally, the flyer is killer so it’s the total package, so to speak.
Dada
115 Xingfu Lu
Changning
near Fahuazhen Lu
幸福路115号
近法华镇路
No cover!
Immaculate Machine, 8-11:30 PM
Welcome to the Canada of the East. Hollerado, these guys, Great Lake Swimmers; it’s like an infestation. This band seems very sensitive to me. I feel like you could put this on, light some candles, and have a very stimulating conversation about Venezuelan land reform with your crush. You know the one from the coffee shop with the sweater and scarf, maybe a canvas bag over her shoulder for carting organic produce? Yeah, her. Do yourself a favor, Sensitive Guy: Invite her to this show. Maybe you two can have mind sex afterward.
YuYinTang
1731 Yan’an Xi Lu,
Changning
Entrance at Kaixuan Lu
延安西路1731号
入口在凯旋路
50 kuai
Ashram, 8 PM-12 AM or so
Hello, MAO Livehouse? Hi, it’s Layabozi. Remember last week when we told you to follow YuYinTang’s example? Well, let’s see how you’re doing: The MONO show rocked and was packed. Nice job there, but it was hard to screw that one up. However, The 0093 Showcase might as well have been held in a phone booth. Then you drew 300 people to a show by the ReTROS who brought 600 to YuYinTang a few months earlier. Furthermore, I could find no mention of this hip Ashram show on any English language websites besides Layabozi. Meanwhile, your own site sucks and, at the time of this writing, I couldn’t even access it. Plus, you are charging the highest ticket prices in town. To top it all off, you are alienating local promoters.
Anyways, what we’re saying is: Please don’t fuck this up. Shanghai needs this larger venue with cool acts coming on a regular basis, but it must be done right. Let’s stick to the script: A good mix of awesome Chinese and foreign bands, good promotion through multiple channels, and affordable prices. Simple, right?
Right? Let’s get it together a little bit, OK?
Anyways, you can check out a very cool review with Ashram right here at Layabozi, the international authority on Italian Neo-Classical Dark-Wave Pop. And you should check out this show if you can.
MAO Livehouse
570 Huaihai Xi Lu
near Hongqiao Lu
淮海西路570号
近红桥路
150 kuai advance, 200 at the door
Sunday, December 13th
Bangourake African Music Night, 8-11 PM
YES! This is a rare opportunity to catch some traditional West African music in Shanghai played by actual West Africans. So don’t miss out on that. It might even make me take the unprecedented step of putting on some pants on a Sunday night. The Canadians last week did not accomplish that.
YuYinTang
1731 Yan’an Xi Lu,
Changning
Entrance at Kaixuan Lu
延安西路1731号
入口在凯旋路
60 kuai
This pick leads us to our first time-waster. Also out of the African Diaspora, using wisdom passed down through the ages, comes this man.
Next: Kind of in the same vein as that one, but not really.
Finally, I was able to track down the photographer who irked me so badly at the YuYinTang Anniversary show.
tags: Ashram - Bangourake - Canadian Invasion - ChaCha - Friction 7 - Great Lake Swimmers - Guzheng - Hollerado - Immaculate Machine - Italian Neo-Classical Dark-Wave Pop - Jane Siesta - JZ - Kelly Rehab - Kuriko - Lady Killer - Liman - LOgO - Louder.cn - Mao Livehouse - MIA - Rebuilding the Right of Statues - S.T.D. - Sulumi - Venezuelan land reform - VJ Hean - Yen - YuYinTang
December 3rd, 2009 |
Posted in Editor's Picks by mike
Thursday:
Grain of Truth and Break for Borneo
We start things off with a COIP: my and Zack’s band, the greatest Tropical Rock/Island Blues outfit from here to Istanbul, joined by Phoenix, USA’s finest, Grain of Truth. Our band features Adam Crossley and Becca Smith (of the Dovetail Joints) handling songwriting, singing, guitar, ukelele, etc., Yam Aquino on the drumset, Zak on ndike, triangle, musical frog, raps, etc., and yours ever so truly on the bass. We basically rule. Grain of Truth are pretty rockin‘ too. Their guitar sound is somehow familiar (and tasty) but not overused. They also cite as an influence the Deftones, about whom I haven’t thought in a really long time. I liked them but they were unfortunate in being discovered by me right before the end of my first rock phase. I should check them out again, but YOU should check out this show.
YuYinTang, 1731 Yan’an Xi Lu, enter from Kaixuan Lu
9:00-11:30
40 RMB cover
Karma Koma
It’s the start of The Shelter’s two-year anniversary weekend! Check Talk’s interview with the fellas who make Shelter go and Morgan’s mp3 Monday with samples of some of the dudes this weekend. Tonight is Downstate supported by SIG, LON, Drunk Monk, and ChaCha.
The Shelter, 5 Yongfu Lu near Fuxing Xi Lu
10:00 start
20 RMB cover
Friday:
YuYinTang 5-year Anniversary
The other stalwartest Picks stalwart, YYT, has Shelter beat in the age department as they turn five this same weekend. If you have the money to open a club, I recommend you do it this auspicious weekend. If you do so you will achieve longevity, fortune, and the love of Layabozi. The Shanghai forces celebrating the anniversary are: Weghur, Yu Guo (aka Flying Fruit), Cold Fairyland, and The Mushrooms. It’s free, but the flier says go to “超韵琴行” to get tickets. It’s not the same characters exactly, but I’m going to just guess that’s the music shop a block south of YYT that Andy Best mentioned a year ago. They’re also giving away a Squier guitar, which at first I thought was a Chinese guitar maker that had decided to rip-off Fender’s shittier line, but in fact Fender’s shittier line has always been misspelled and I just never noticed. Anyway, there’s other prizes too, so get that ticket and get there as early as you can because it will be packed as hell.
YuYinTang, 1731 Yan’an Xi Lu, enter from Kaixuan Lu
9:00 start
No cover, but I guess you should get tickets
Shelter Anniversary continued: All the Shanghai Cats
See above for more details and links about the whole weekend, but tonight it will be all the major Shanghai crews for an hour each:
10pm-11pm: Karma Koma (downbeat, trip hop)
11pm-12am: DJ Sickstar (hip hop)
12am-1am: Uprooted Sunshine (live dancehall, reggae)
1am-2am: The Lab (V Nutz and Fortune back to back; hip hop)
2am–3am: Sweatshop (drum n bass)
3am–4am: Void (techno, house)
4am-5am: Sub-Culture (Drunk Monk, Deville w/ MCs; dubstep)
(list c/p’d from Morgan with love)
The Shelter, 5 Yongfu Lu near Fuxing Xi Lu
10:00 start, obviously
50 RMB cover
Saturday:
Shelter Birthday Part III
For the final night of the party, and their last night before they spend the rest of the month remodeling and not partying, Shelter has brought dubstep pioneer Distance, who will be supported by DJ Wash, Deville, Drunk Monk, dji, MC Didje (those two really need to have a showdown and the loser gets a more different name), ChaCha, MC Esia, and MC Arminda.
The Shelter, 5 Yongfu Lu near Fuxing Xi Lu
10:00 start
50 RMB cover
Lions of Puxi CD Release Party
Famous as Layabozi interview subjects, a groovy fun band, and for a cover of Sting’s “Englishman in New York” (“Shanghai de Faguoren“), the Lions of Puxi are party rockers of the highest order, with reggae as the common denominator, and Jhonny and Alain (also of Wednesday at JZ) as the foundation. Check them out, along with Five Pence, DJ Xeum, Wayne’s Basement, Theo Croker, Jammala, and Attractive Rootine. You can also pick up their CD.
Zhijiang Dream Factory, Block B 4F inside New Factories, 28 Yuyao Lu near Xikang Lu
9:00-1:00
Cover is currently scarily unknown. My phone is broken, but you could try calling Dream Factory (5213 5226).
50 RMB cover, and 50 RMB CDs. Thanks Carl!
Aux. Pick: Papier Tigre
Though I’m hesitant to pick a live show at LOgO, Papier Tigre are returning to their spiritual home, sound like a fun band, and Emma interviewed them, thus they are an auxiliary pick. There are also a billion support acts, to wit: The Horses, MNO Show, Little Punk vs. Mau Mau, Trix, Dan.electronimerican, and Mau Mau, in a non-vs.-Little Punk capacity.
LOgO, 13 Xingfu Lu near Fahuazhen Lu
10:00 start
40 RMB cover
Sunday:
Hollerado
Split Works has brought these dudes back from the wilds of Canada to rock YYT, which they surely will do, as part of a pretty massive tour across half the world. See the all the tour dates and more on their awesome website.
YuYinTang, 1731 Yan’an Xi Lu, enter from Kaixuan Lu
9:00 start
40 RMB cover
Monday:
Mark Bai Trio
I added an extra day to the picks so I can tell you to go to my other show this weekend. Mark Bai is one of the awesomest piano players in Shanghai, Corey Radford is one of the awesomest drummers (as his name suggests), and I like to think I’m not bad at bass. Toby Mak will also join us for a few tunes on trumpet. There will be some originals, some standards, some beautiful tunes, some ballsy tunes, some swingers, some straight-eighth/pseudo-latin tunes, some tunes in 5 and 7, and always always attentiveness and freedom. In all seriousness I am highly highly excited about this show. CHECK IT OUT!
JZ Club, 46 Fuxing Xi Lu near Yongfu Lu
9:30 start
No cover
tags: Attractive Rootine - Break for Borneo - ChaCha - Cold Fairyland - Conflict of Interest Pick - Corey Radford - Crazy Mushroom - Dan.electronimerican - Distance - Dj Deville - DJ Mau Mau - Dj Sickstar - DJ Wash - dji - Downstate - Drunk Monk - Five Pence - Grain of Truth - Hollerado - Jammala - JZ - Karma Koma - Lions of Puxi - Little Punk - LOgO - Lon - Mark Bai - MC Arminda - MC Didje - MC Esia - Mike Brownell - MNO Show - Papier Tigre - Pure Party - Sig - Split Works - Sub-Culture - Sweatshop - The Horses - The Lab Crew - The Shelter - Theo Croker - Toby Mak - Trix - Uprooted Sunshine Crew - Void - Wayne's Basement - Weghur - Xeum - Yu Guo - YuYinTang - Zhijiang Dream Factory
Hanggai
