September 17th, 2009 |
Posted in Editor's Picks by mike
Thursday:
Heart Attack feat. Sean Leow
Everyone’s favorite heart-throb entrepreneur takes over the decks for Not Me’s weekly indie night. Given all the stuff he hears as one of the founders of Neocha, there will likely be a lot of cool Chinese stuff on hand.
Not Me, 21 Dongping Lu near Wulumuqi Lu
10:00 start, though Sean will likely not go on until later
No cover
Friday:
Wan Xiaoli: Summer Solstice
It’s well past the summer solstice, but Wan Xiaoli brings his tour to Shanghai under that name anyway. His write up bills him as a folk artist, in the Bob Dylan sense not the songs that rise up spontaneously from the people sense, though obviously there’s a connection there. In any event, the music part of it is more developed than in the plain-strumming-as-backdrop-for-lyrics version of the genre, though word is that his lyrics are quite hip as well. My Chinese isn’t good enough to know. Check out his Douban.
YuYinTang, 1731 Yan’an Xi Lu, enter from Kaixuan Lu
Doors at 8:30, music starts at 9:00
60 RMB cover
Free the Wax One Year Anniversary featuring Francisco
Free the Wax, who have been specializing in producing live electronic shows and bringing leading proponents of said style, along with DJs, to our quaint little hamlet are celebrating one year of rocking it. Francisco of IT/Nature records will be the headline DJ for the anniversary with support from Elnomo, Trix, and Yen.
The Shelter, 5 Yongfu Lu near Fuxing Xi Lu
Doors at 9:00, Francisco around 11:00
50 RMB cover
Saturday:
JZ Big Band
Since Nicholas Bouloukos took over the JZ Big Band he’s been doing things a little differently than his predecessor did. He’s changed the repertoire and the personnel, done new arrangements and written new tunes for the band. He continues this week by replacing American rhythm section stalwarts EJ Parker and Chris Trczinski with Brazilians Tinho Pereira and Leonardo Susi to go for a more Brazilian groove. This week will be something of an introduction for this variation of the big band as Nicholas tells me it won’t be all Brazilian repertoire this week, and EJ and Chris will definitely be back again later, but it certainly will be something to check out for those of us who are starved for Brazilian grooves here in Shanghai. I believe Abraham Carmona’s group will play the first set but I’m not sure. The JZ jam session will follow the big band show.
JZ Club, 46 Fuxing Xi Lu near Yongfu Lu
10:00 start
30 RMB cover, free after 1:30 or so
Santiago Salazar presented by Void
Void continue bringing great techno talent, this time presenting Santiago Salazar from LA by way of Detroit, where he did some stuff for Underground Resistance before forming his own label, Historia y Violencia. His gritty but melodic productions sound great in my living room and we’ll see on Saturday what he does, if anything, to translate the emotion to the dancefloor. Support from Nat Alexander, MHP, and Shanghai_Ultra.
The Shelter, 5 Yongfu Lu near Fuxing Xi Lu
10:00 start
50 RMB cover
Fiesta Plastidécor (An Indecent Dance Party)
Plastidécor bring their infectious jams to Logo. Smart Shanghai alleges that ” After taking a nine-day vanboat from Madrid, Spain’s production/DJ duo Plastidecor arrives to rock LoGO this Saturday on their one-day visa. Expect neon-electro, erotic Spanish techno, and explicitly sexual house music until sunrise. Supported by the infamous Baijiu Robot.” I don’t know about that, but judging from the Myspace it sounds like a fun show.
LOgO, 13 Xingfu Lu near Fahuazhen Lu
Get there around 10:00, I guess
20 RMB cover
Bigger Bang
I know, I know, I usually only do two picks per weekend night to make things easier on you guys, but I just couldn’t decide between these four. The JZ show will be of probably the most interest and groovial satisfaction to me, Santiago Salazar is pretty emotionally and texturally involving, and then Plastidécor and Bigger Bang both will just be really fun shows. These guys do fun dance rock that sometimes sounds like Mega Man themes and sometimes more straight rocking, with adorable vaguely ESL sounding growly vocals from a cute frontwoman. Are there any Beijing bands without a woman lead-singer? I need to start me one of those and sit back as the profits roll in. That’s just a slightly catty aside that has nothing to do with this band though. Incidentally, this is an S.T.D. show and Sonnet are the opening band.
YuYinTang, 1731 Yan’an Xi Lu, enter from Kaixuan Lu
9:30 start
40 RMB cover
Sunday:
To make up from my profligacy in the Saturday department I’m going to leave you kids alone on Sunday. See if you can find out about a show on your own, or just take it easy. Have a good weekend.
Love,
Mike
tags: Abraham Carmona - Baijiu Robot - Bigger Bang - Chris Trzcinski - EJ Parker - Elnomo - Francisco - Free the Wax - Heart Attack - JZ - JZ Big Band - Leonardo Susi - LOgO - MHP - Nat Alexander - Nicholas Bouloukos - Not Me - Plastidécor - Santiago Salazar - Sean Leow - Shanghai_Ultra - Sonnet - The Shelter - Tinho Pereira - Trix - Void - Wan Xiaoli - Yen - YuYinTang
May 22nd, 2009 |
Posted in Articles by mache
Last week our editor’s picks were in tune with my mood for music, and I followed the instructions provided by Mike “Big Duck” Brownell almost to the letter. The Rogue Transmission played at Anar last Thursday, with new songs, old songs re-arranged in different styles–ranging from country to progressive rock–and a classic to remember with John Nguidj
ol on vocals. Guitar player Adam Gaensler, also of The Dovetail Joints, has been a great addition of energy to the band: his creativity is having big effect on the band and it’s easily noticeable that he is having a wonderful time as one of The Rogue Transmission cats. Fabi has turned out to be a very classy rock drummer; moderate or fervent when necessary. John provides the attractive force necessary to the metallic sounds on the ground, and Dan’s domination of the stage is fun and energizing. His passion projects rock out of the stage and involves the people in the music with him. The band has evolved into a sexy, powerful character and the music has grown and become consistent and mature, seasoned and ready to eat.
It was an amazing night for rock in Shanghai and for The Rogue Transmission. At the end of the gig I was ready to sign up for their fan club and declare publicly that I’m nothing other than a groupie in love with music. Forget everything else: it’s all about music music music.
Right after I realized I was feeling like I should write a confession about my music tastes, but I don’t think it is necessary anymore. Those who love music don’t need any explanation of this kind.
As a last note about the gig, I was thrilled to hear John Nguidjol singing rock. I’m still hearing people talk about how amazing was when he sang with The Rogue Transmission. I know John falls for soul and r&b, but he shines so much on rock songs that I wish he would go for his own rock band.
The gig at Anar included an after party, but electronic music was not fitting my rock mood, so I ran to JZ for the last set of the former Alec Haavik Friction Five, now the Alec Haavik Friction Seven. Alec and his band are a delicatessen for the ears of rock lovers. The addition of LYJ singing with the band has brought more fusion to their sound, and it seems to be moving her to new adventures with her voice. The kindness of the band is also a great characteristic guided by Alec’s spirit for listening. Every time a guest joins them to jam for a song, you can enjoy the experiment with them. This time there were some newbies in Shanghai willing to give it a try, and old hand Jay Renard too. When he took Tinho Pereira’s bass, a bass with its own personality already, the music became playful and candid. The reception of the band to the guests, the attitude of the guests towards the music, the attention of the audience to the fragility of the situation, the last notes of the night: it was a perfect spell for music lovers.
Friday had been fixed since I got the tickets from Siesta Jane earlier in the week. Andy C is a big deal, in music history, for Phreakation, for Jane, and for those who love drum ‘n bass. I went to this gig with Spanish friends, old schoolers of Ibiza raves. We made it on time for the beginning of Andy C’s set. The way I’ve described the show is by explaining that I felt like a monkey playing on the grounds of destruction. The music was raging, and although I heard some complaints about the MC, the music was so much more relevant to me than the non-stop MC. Anyway I do respect the feeling of wanting the voices to shut up to hear the music, but in this case the music was moving in frequencies that held me for the whole the set. My legs were in pain until late Saturday. I was a freaking monkey jumping basses and drums, and so was everybody around me, including Siesta. Happy Anniversary Phreakation and a gig to remember for Andy C, I hope. Those who missed it can regret it.
On Saturday the road led to JZ again for the first gig of the new Big Band of the house. Not properly a big band as the rules say, but certainly a big band for music. It’s directed by Nicholas Bouloukos, a gentleman piano player as Mike fairly described him in Nicholas’ playlist. The band moved from swing to bossa, passing by Boulukos’s nice original “The Lion”. A radiant moment was Andres Boiarsky’s clarinet on Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady”. Jon Parker’s sax solos were beautiful too. EJ Parker on bass is always candy for the ears, and so is Chris Trczinski’s drumming. JZ was full, it’s a great time when a big crowd is being sensitive to all the moves of the sound. When the mass pays attention to the music despite the alcohol and the distractions and stops the yelling to hear a solo it is a thrilling experience. I had to run out to The Shelter after the first set of the Big Band. Void was having a major gig there, with Surgeon on the tables. From swinging Jazz to hard techno one hundred steps might seem like not enough to prepare for the shock of the transition, but when the music is turned on, there’s no need to disconnect one from the other.
The Shelter was pretty crowded too, mostly by guys. I wondered for 
a minute if it was the music, or just a random situation. But the DJ booth was surrounded by guys, and even though the music was amazing the dance floor was slow. Surgeon was accompanied by his wife Doris Woo as VJ. Cheers to the graphics that were enchanting. Nathaniel from the Void was happy as a kid and so was everybody. Surgeon burned the tables and made a great spectacle. He showed very nice taste on sounds and a great ability to handle the vibes of the place, a master DJ.
I lost my friends in a minute, and then I found them with this group of guys who were playing earlier at the Oriental Art Center, a bass player and a violin player from the Pittsburg Orchestra. It took less than ten minutes to convince them to join us after, when we planned to come back to JZ for the late jam sessions they have every Saturday.
So from techno we went back to the beatnik’s spot and it was an epic night there. Mike was in the house band for the Jam, and he was excited as a kid too because it was a bassists night. At this point I was realizing it was a bass weekend for me. Mike counted more than once, and found that there were seven bass players in the house. It’s a shame they did not all come with their own double basses to have a bass jam, but anyway it was a great jam. JZ has a good soul for music: the musicians on the stage calling the cats in the house to join the jam, the drinkers at the bar talking about music, the gigs to remember, the beat gossip, the people high on the roof lighting smokes to the rhythm of the swing, the people in love with music. JZ does not close its doors until the last person leaves, and the music lasted until the sun came out. When we finally closed JZ it was time for breakfast. It doesn’t get more jazz than that.
Sunday was when I didn’t follow the editor’s picks. The last night of the band at House of Blues and Jazz was not my mood. I heard a lot about the jam session at Logo guided by Pablo Carmona and friends, and it seemed like a good time to chill on the sofas there, so the winds blew me to Logo. I made it for the second set of the night. Logo was as tired as I was, but the music wasn’t. Who could imagine flamenco rock was going to catch all the girls it did? The music was great, although not tight enough on the second set, but some mess is part of a jam session of this kind. It’s okay, anyway it’s Sunday night. It was Pablo Carmona’s last night in Shanghai too, but there’s still flamenco around town for those into gypsy things. The surprise of the night was Ana, a new girl in town. She’s a bass player and composer, is already rehearsing with her own band. The guys asked her to play until there was no way for her to say no, and she finally did it. Chicks that play bass, they have the talent of the low grounds. Ana was captivating and left everybody waiting for the day they can listen to her band.
So, I didn’t make it to Break for Borneo’s gig at Kaiba last Thursday, the Conflict of Interest Pick in the editor’s picks, but I totally recommend you check them out. The line up is interesting and the music is perfect for beginning a weekend in music. So today, Thursday, I’m going before heading to The Dream Factory. AV Okubo is coming to town and as one of their groupies I can not miss it. Yeah, it’s Ratatat’s night, but I am proud to be looking forward to AV Okubo more: they are a band to make me feel proud of my middle country; these guys kick ass. So if not there, then let’s meet this Saturday at Antidote’s Festival, I’ll be following the peacock, because people follow peacocks.
*Photos of The Rogue Transmission by Stella Bozzato
tags: Alec Haavik - Anar - Andy C - Antidote - AV Okubo - Blues - Break for Borneo - Dream Factory - Drum 'n Bass - Editor's Picks - Electronic - Fabi - Fusion - House - House of Blues and Jazz - Jane Siesta - Jazz - John Nguidjol - Jon Parker - JZ - Listen to - LOgO - Music Lover - Phreaktion - Progressive Rock - Ratatat - Rock - Shanghai - Soul - The Dovetail Joints - The Rogue Transmission - The Shelter - Tinho Pereira - UK - Void
June 4th, 2008 |
Posted in Music Makers Reviews by mache
When thinking about who to choose for our first Featured Artist, of course we thought about Alec. For a minute I thought we should search a bit more, and not choose most logical option for me…the strange ways the mind (mine) works. After their last gig at JZ, on Thursday May 22nd, there are no more doubts: Alec must be our first featured artist. I should add here that, to be honest, we don’t know yet exactly what it means to be one of our featured artists, but we do know they are people making music to which we want to give all our stars, hearts, and lightning-flashing-neon-pointing arrows, so everybody will appreciate their music with us.
Thursday nights are now the nights of Alec Haavik Friction Five at JZ, and that Thursday night was a special night for them because they were saying goodbye to Theo Croker, the talented trumpet player who is returning to New York. I made it in time for the second set, one only with Alec’s originals songs. They opened with “Eye Opener”, to align everyone’s mood and get us all on their vibration—an energized cheerful one, and certainly all eyes and ears were opened at by the end of the song.
Theo’s playing was a beautiful call for avid ears wanting to listen to the virtue of raw humanity. He has the ability to play with honesty and to play straight, without any kind of costume, just as he is—not nicer, not less cool, not expecting anything from himself but what he is, take it or leave it. And if you take it, you may fall for it (or for him). It makes his sound so simple to recognize once you already know him, and that’s why once you’ve listened to him you’ve got to respect him.
Chris Trzcinski’s drums and Tinho Pereira’s bass are more than a solid support for the energy flowing between the piano, trumpet, and sax players. Chris is a respectful drummer, with a very open mind to chat with the other guys on the stage, and a clear heart adding, surprisingly maybe for a drummer, innocence to the emotional mix.
Tinho is the essence of coolness on the bass—and off the bass too—you’ve just got to enjoy him. The Brazilian carries with him the beach—talk about nice characters!—and that’s how he plays the bass. His sound is there whenever he wants it, and he manages impeccably the alchemy of the atmosphere, with total absence of pressure, so you can feel only comfortable with him. His six-string style is already a classic on Shanghai’s stages.
Mark Bai, the guest piano player, acquitted himself admirably. His moment came to find him with a blank mind at the time for a solo, it was one of those moments that when it’s happening to you one second feels like one hour, he got confused not only because he was out of music but also because the band didn’t react as he may be expected: covering him, instead they gave him support and time, all the time he wanted and needed to create his own solo. It’s not every night you get to listen to a musician confronting the fear to silence, and the exchange of experiences and strengths coming along together to find the way out of the darkness in such perfect way. Mark found a solo, not a “movie end” one, but one to bring him back the air and to go on with the tune. And may be not only a solo was found there but something else too. Live music is great to listen to and also great to observe. It took a few minutes after the intense moment for Mark to fully come back to the stage, the beginning of the next song was shadowed by the intensity of the previous 10 minutes, or hours, but once he came back he had his mind, heart, and hands back on the piano and the sound was definitely cheerful.
And last but never ever least Alec. Alec is a plastic performer, plastic enough to move from one dimension to the next with full control of the situation, and his love for music and sound is so attractive you just want to be right there. Alec is a theatrical player: he plays with all the elements that cross his path on every tune, and his body is an essential tool for mixing the colors and emotions coming from his horn, from the people listening, from the couples flirting, from the pals laughing and drinking, from the bartenders calling, from the cars passing by and from the friends playing with him on the stage.
Maybe no one there enjoys the music more than Alec. If you have forgotten how to be surprised by the world around, Alec will remind you. His complex and at the same time easy to appreciate original tunes are a fresh and encouraging breeze blowing around Shanghai streets. His way of playing mixes the energies around, his music always discovers new ways to tell the story, and he has an enchanting way of listening with open, positive ear—all characteristics of a great artist and interesting creator.
Alec Haavik and The Friction Five are a must of the Shanghai music scene. They are living proof that when something is good, people will stop by to listen. Even if you have a lot to talk about with your friends that night, if Alec is on the stage you will stop to listen, because if your sensor for life is working well, you will notice that right there, in front of you, is something to feed your soul. That’s art!
tags: Alec Haavik - Alec Haavik Friction Five - Chris Trzcinski - Fusion - Jazz - Mark Bai - Shanghai - Theo Croker - Tinho Pereira
