November 20th, 2009 |
Posted in Editor's Picks by mike
Friday:
BIZ, Crystal Butterfly, Crazy Mushroom, Jason Falkner
The line-up for the grand opening of Mao Livehouse is: a super veteran Shanghai act, a favorite of the last couple years in Shanghai, a new local act, and a critically acclaimed even more super veteran singer/songwriter/session musician from the US. Sounds just right and their doubans/myspaces sound better: metally, punky, straight rocky, a little of everything, and everything nice and SOLID. Don’t laugh that they’re having the grand opening now when they’ve been open for months and everybody knows about them, because the show is free! Nice work, Mao Livehouse!
Crystal Butterfly
Crazy Mushroom
Jason Falkner
Mao Livehouse, 570 Huaihai Xi Lu, near Hongqiao Lu
9:00 start
No cover
Rich Medina
Straight from New York! Back to the Roots brings Rich Medina and his broad spectrum of funky danceability and eyebrow-raising ingenuity (the “I like what you’ve doing there” eyebrow-raising not the “what the hell are you done there” eyebrow-raising) to Ye Olde Shelter. Scope the Shanghaiist interview. Support from his friend and colleague Jay Soul, and the Lab Crew.
The Shelter, 5 Yongfu Lu near Fuxing Xi Lu
10:00 start
60 RMB cover
Saturday:
Rock for Roots and Shoots, with Booji, Triple Smash, Boys Climbing Ropes, Duck Fight Goose, Varde, and Resist Resist
I was going to pick Au Revoir Simone in this spot because I’ve picked shows involving BCR and Duck Fight Goose in my last two columns, but Au Revoir Simone don’t feel natural enough, and the show is expensive besides. Maybe if I was in a car on a rainy day and the girl I had a crush on liked them I could get into it, but I can’t in good conscience tell people to pay a lot to see them perform. It’s too bad because I saw the listing and thought to myself, “Oh, they have some Brooklyn Hipster band that everyone likes? Maybe I’ll finally make it to Mao.” It looks like I’ll have to wait for next time.
So on to the show I am picking: It’s all those bands you see above, and it’s to help pay for the planting of one million trees in Inner Mongolia. That’s a lot of bands. And trees up there in the North are pretty important. It’s way too dry up there.
YuYinTang, 1731 Yan’an Xi Lu, enter from Kaixuan Lu
6pm start (really? wow.)
50 RMB (The equivalent of 2 trees apparently. And that money all goes to Roots and Shoots.)
Brainfeeder Showcase II with the Gaslamp Killer
This will be the last Free the Wax show in Shanghai for a little while. Leo is on his way to Italy soon and Kat is already there. There will certainly be way fewer live electronic nights without them. Anyway, this final show is presented with Subculture and features Gaslamp Killer, aka MOTHERFUCKING GASLAMP KILLER, apparently. He plays some pretty far out but groovy dark stuff with a rock flava. According to Morgan’s Mp3 Monday “he’s ‘the shit’ right now in underground hip-hop DJ circles in the States.” So don’t cry, Shanghai. With Deville, dji, Drunk Monk, and MC Didje.
The Shelter, 5 Yongfu Lu near Fuxing Xi Lu
9:00 start
50 RMB cover
Sunday:
Reso No. 9
Finally, it’s Sunday, so why not get a little out there with sound and word worker Yan Jun from Lanzhou via Beijing, and free improvisers Jun Yuan (of MTDM) and Mai Mai (aka 卖笑国大使), both from Shanghai?
YuYinTang, 1731 Yan’an Xi Lu, enter from Kaixuan Lu
9:00 start
30 RMB
tags: BIZ - Booji - Boys Climbing Ropes - Brainfeeder - Crazy Mushroom - Crystal Butterfly - Dj Deville - dji - Drunk Monk - Duck Fight Goose - Free the Wax - Gaslamp Killer - Jason Falkner - Jay Soul - Jun Yuan - Mai Mai - Mao Livehouse - MC Didje - Resist Resist - Reso - Rich Medina - Roots and Shoots - Sub-Culture - The Lab Crew - The Shelter - Triple Smash - Varde - Yan Jun - YuYinTang
November 1st, 2009 |
Posted in Live Music Reviews by zack
Friday’s YACHT show at YuYinTang was a straight-up banger, as predicted right here on Layabozi.com. The Violent Phlegms did not disappoint, living up to the high expectations that many in the crowd had for them. Fabi, sporting a dirty-blonde, 80s hair metal wig and American flag bandana, fought through some sound problems on the acoustic bass to really anchor the songs sonically. Adam was spot-on in his vocals and managed to alloy the tracks with strains of his signature snappy guitar solos. Dave on the drums also turned in a more then serviceable performance. Props to the band for their bit of performance art on the final cut, “Country Death March”.
The Youth and the Destroyer came on next for a pretty short set. I had moved outside to answer nature’s call and found myself hard-pressed to press myself back inside (it was one of those BIG YuYinTang shows) so I missed it.
I finally wedged myself back into the middle of the floor for a good view of Resist Resist’s set, who I had not seen before, so I was excited. This is an electro-type band with keyboards, live and pre-recorded drums, general digital kookiness from Morgan, and lead vocals from Lucy. I was happy with Resist Resist from a sound standpoint (I love that poppy, synthy tomfoolery), but I would have liked to see a bit more energy from Lucy. She looked great, but she was doing a kind of stoic, Kraftwerk-type thing, when I was really looking for more Debbie Harry.
YACHT ascended the stage promptly after that set and they turned in a monumental performance, the likes of which I was not entirely expecting. I don’t know exactly why. I think I was expecting more knob-twiddling than disco-dancing. Thankfully, we got the latter. I have not seen many shows at YuYinTang in which the floor was completely packed and people were dancing, jumping, and moshing clear to the back. YACHT really brought it out in us. I had absconded to the alcove area behind the sound board for the beginning of the set, but three songs in I was worming my way into the black heart of the maelstrom with an intrepid co-worker. Here I promptly lost my flip-flop in the tumult (got it back, in case you’re wondering). Everyone was bouncing and gyrating, hands in the air, the mass of bodies becoming one amorphous organism spurred on by the bass and the duo’s dynamism. The tunes were pure dance-abilly and YACHT did not disappoint in my original posit that they are very supercalifragilistic, extra-stylistic. Jona was clad head-to-toe in white, Claire in an all-black cape/dress. They turned the stage into a full-on Monster Mash and everyone was loving it. They were even coaxed into an encore, which you don’t see very often at YuYinTang.
All in all, it was a great set from YACHT, the supporting bands did their jobs, and I was happy to be in support of this show in my own little way. I hope you all enjoyed it, too.
Look for the definitive YACHT interview in a future post.
tags: Resist Resist - Rock - S.T.D. - Shanghai - The Violent Phlegms - The Youth and the Destroyer - YACHT - YuYinTang
October 28th, 2009 |
Posted in Editor's Picks by zack
Halloween has come around again this year, the day when fantasy, darkness, and costumes are not only accepted, but encouraged. Well, let me amend that: we all wear different masks, or personae, every day of our lives. We act out roles according to with whom we are interacting, what we are trying to accomplish, and how we want to be perceived. Humans learn the language of symbols before they learn to speak and each one of us is fluent in this subconscious lexicon. Have you noticed how popular Halloween is and how people react when you tell them you are not participating? Why do many people love Halloween so much? Is it rampant mask fetishism run amok (3 links)? Is it just a chance to cut loose and party? Or is it something deeper than that, a primal yearning to be something or someone else, if only for one night? Symbols are powerful and intriguing to play around with. Your choice of Halloween mask can tell a lot about your inner psychology, so choose wisely. Check out my costume from last year; I think I made the right choice.
Well, enough with the pop psychology. Actually, I am not putting on a physical mask this year, so I am not that excited about Halloween. I am more interested in the music this weekend. With that, let’s get on with the picks.
Friday, October 30th
Live and Undead ft. YACHT, The Youth and the Destroyer, Resist Resist, and the Violent Phlegms, YuYinTang, 9 PM, 60 pieces of silver
Tonight’s a very crucial music night. Trust me and you will transcend. If you do not heed me you might as well stay home knitting. You can read my preview of this rager of a show here. I would be punctual, too, because the Violent Phlegms have chosen a very fun costume for this pre-Halloween gig and they are the openers. After this show you must fly to…
Kid Koala, the Shelter, 10 PM, 60 vials of vampire blood
This may be the best DJ you ever see, no kidding. Kid Koala is creative, innovative, has a great collection, and has been doing this for a long time. This is actually good that it is at the Shelter because you have a chance to make both shows, if you hurry. Maybe the costume of choice should be a witch because then you could just hop on your broomstick and fly over all that weekend traffic. And, by the way, yes, I do know that DJ Motiv8 is over at Club Sky. Only a lummox would choose to see him over Kid Koala. Again, trust me.
Saturday, October 31st
Someone at the Shelter has been smoking those Sherm Sticks. Check this out:
We will pleasure your senses with our glamorous surroundings and sexy people to bring you higher than anywhere on the earth. Unlimited happiness in our party place with our remarkable DJs spinning the hottest music and many beautiful people in the house.
Since when is a dank, dingy, dilapidated bomb shelter “glamorous surroundings”? It’s so dark in there that, if there were any beautiful people, you wouldn’t be able to see them. Unlimited happiness? Never have I come closer to becoming a cutter than within the friendly confines of the Shelter. And I love it. Don’t ever change. And stay off them wiki sticks.
There are a ton of Halloween parties going on Saturday night. You can even participate in a Thriller-style zombie walk (too soon, Shanghaiist, too soon). But you know me, I always follow the music and my nose tells me that this will be the best show of the evening:
24 Hours Album Launch, YuYinTang, 9 PM, 1.6666666666666667 kuai per hour in the band’s name
I saw these guys (actually, two gals and a dude) awhile back as part of the last Get in the Van show. I thought their performance had some stage presence issues, but I was intrigued. I have heard one track that they put on the Internet for that gig and I really like it, so I’m going to guess they have worked their issues out and are ready to fully rock. Rustic and the Snots offer support. Check out a review of their new album here and a video for the aforementioned track here.
Sunday, November 1
Shanghai Autumn Anime Music Festival, Mao Livehouse, 6-10 PM, 40 digital ducats
This isn’t normally the type of thing I would hype but, what the hell, it’s Halloween weekend. I’ve actually been interested in video game music since I did a bit of Internet research for my Samiyam piece a couple months back.
That’s about it, kiddies. Stay safe out there with all the malfeasance going on. However, here’s a link that is scarier than any costume.
tags: 24 Hours - Halloween - Kid Koala - Live and Undead - Mao Livehouse - mask fetishism - Resist Resist - Rustic - Shanghai Autumn Anime Music Festival - Shanghaiist - sherm sticks - The Shelter - The Snots - The Youth and the Destroyer - Thriller - Violent Phlegms - wiki sticks - YACHT - YuYinTang
October 28th, 2009 |
Posted in Articles by zack
There is a great show coming up this Friday at YuYinTang, brought to you by S.T.D. If you are hip and smart enough to attend, you will be transported back to the 80s by the Violent Phlegms, a Violent Femmes project featuring Adam and Fabien from the Rogue Transmission. Resist Resist and Youth and the Destroyer will also enchant you with their musical stylings. However, the centerpiece of the evening, this all-important All Hallow’s Eve, is the stylish American electro duo, YACHT.
How to describe YACHT? Well, let’s take a quote from their RCRD LBL bio (which, incidentally, is a great site for free, new music):
YACHT is a lot of things. It’s kind of a band, but it’s mostly a genre-and-media-spanning life project founded and led by Jona Bechtolt of the Northwest’s very own Portland, Oregon
I don’t want you to get the wrong idea here: There WILL be music played. Bechtolt and singer Claire Evans have discovered that chic electronic dance music is the new hipster crack. Four on the floor is back and better than ever. YACHT deals it out in a highly mysterious, highly stylized package. And people are smoking this stuff like it’s going out of style. This is dance music for people who would normally be uncomfortable with the idea of dancing, but it seems to go deeper than that. Check this excerpt from their mission statement:
YACHT was formed in 2002 as Y.A.C.H.T., “Young Americans Challenging High Technology.” The current incarnation began gestating in 2008, and at this point bears no resemblance, except biologically, to the previous versions. The YACHT of 2009 is the true form of YACHT
Intriguing. I like that I can’t really tell if this is tongue-in-cheek or deadly serious stuff, so check it out for yourself (online and in person, this Friday) and make your own judgment. I really like the fact that at the end of their mission statement YACHT feels the need to stipulate that “YACHT IS NOT A CULT.I believe them when they say it is not a cult. I think their persona is a clever marketing strategy, designed to add to the band’s mystique. And it’s working, at least on this humble music hound.
But wait! The plot thickens: One other interesting thing about the group is the back story concerning their recent album “See Mystery Lights”. There is an unexplained light phenomenon in Marfa, Texas, that they have become fascinated with (as well as the town, also, I think). They recorded the album and have even talked of moving their operations there.
What is the connection between these mystery lights and YACHT? Does life exist on other planets? Are these lights their advanced spacecraft or, perhaps, their auras? Are the members of YACHT, in fact, visitors from another, more fashionable and technologically advanced planet? Is their true mission to prepare us for invasion?
These and many other questions will be answered if you come to YuYinTang on Friday, October 30th.
Click here for the deets.
tags: Adam Gaensler - Claire Evans - Fabi - Halloween - hipster crack - Jona Bechtolt - Marfa - Oregon - Portland - RCRD LBL - Resist Resist - S.T.D. - See Mystery Lights - Texas - The Rogue Transmission - Violent Femmes - Violent Phlegms - YACHT - Youth and the Destroyer - YuYinTang
