MP3 Monday: Black and/or White
By Morgan Short, Sep 5th, 2011 | In Nightlife
MP3 Monday is a weekly SmartShanghai column, serving up mp3s from bands living and making music in China (or coming to China, or thinking about coming to China, or whatever). Copyright holders: if you would like your song removed, please email us here, and we'll honor your request promptly.
Just tossing a couple show recommendations your way -- some good stuff coming up in the near future. Here’s two, along with some tunes ganked off the net.
September 10: S.T.D. Classics – Party I feat. White+, Dada Baba and More
Long, long ago, in a galaxy on Xingfu Lu, local promoters S.T.D. cut their teeth on small-scale rock shows at LOgO Bar, featuring just one local band or a visiting Beijing band playing at around midnight or so, to small-capacity crowds. After that, the promoters would do some DJing or whatever. Always cheap cover and smaller crowds with everyone knowing each other… or at least recognizing each other -- a fairly tightly knit sort of thing. You could call it… ugh… a “scene”, man. ‘Twas the helicon days of 2008 or so, and there wasn’t all that much happening around town in terms of the forward-thinking rock… well, maybe there was always some shit on worth doing, but not as much as these days perhaps, with your Mao Livehouses and your Mixing Rooms and your big-ticket festivals. Stand-out shows from that era included appearances from Snapline, AV Okubo, New Pants and more -- bands that have since grown significantly in popularity, so much so that the economics really aren’t there anymore to put them in smaller venues in Shanghai.
So from there, S.T.D. grew in ambition and scope to do larger concerts, abandoning the simple format somewhat to work medium to large-sized concerts, often in partnership with Beijing’s Modern Sky, who themselves were growing in scope and ambition at around the same time -- Queen Sea Big Shark (numerous times), Ratatat, Shonen Knife, Mono, and many more, not to mention international DJ shows on top of that.
Anyways, long story short, on Saturday night, S.T.D. are scaling back to their earlier incarnation with what they’re calling “S.T.D. Classics”, which is (hopefully) an on-going party series which will again feature smaller names, smaller stages, and smaller cover charges. Their first one is headlined by White+, which is the art damaged noise excursions of Zhang Shou Wang (lead singer / guitarist of Carsick Cars) and Shenggy (fmr. Hang on the Box), down to Shanghai for a rare performance of the White+ stuff. Not the first time White+ has been in Shanghai -- and indeed they made an appearance in our MP3 Monday column about a million years ago -- but it’s the first time in a while, and if you like it a little lop-sided, you should check that out. Incidentally, if you’ve just moved to Shanghai, and White+ is serving as your gateway drug into Beijing experi-mental-ism, check out this site, pangbianr.com -- a great resource to learn more on what goes on in our dour, disaffected capital, where buzzy analogue manipulation is the only method for coping with the crushing, crushing bore of modern life.
Ah, dissolute youth!
Here’s some White+. An older one, which is quite good, me thinks and a newer one as well.
Joining White+ is an act from Hong Kong, Dada Baba, along with local awesomeness in the form of Stegosaurus? and Next Year’s Love. DJs R3 and Lin Feng round out the night.
***
September 13: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ Mao Livehouse
And yep, just over a week away is Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, playing in Shanghai at Mao Livehouse. Satan is super stoked for this -- he’s pressing his best leather. Here’s some songs.
We’ll put this in ALL CAPS and bold because you’re probably reading this through great gales on bong smoke: GET YOUR B.M.R.C. TICKETS RIGHT HERE.
S.T.D. Classics in Saturday night at Yuyintang. Cover: 30 beans. B.R.M.C. is on September 13. Pre-sales are 200rmb, proceeds to pagan sacrifice.
Just tossing a couple show recommendations your way -- some good stuff coming up in the near future. Here’s two, along with some tunes ganked off the net.
September 10: S.T.D. Classics – Party I feat. White+, Dada Baba and More
Long, long ago, in a galaxy on Xingfu Lu, local promoters S.T.D. cut their teeth on small-scale rock shows at LOgO Bar, featuring just one local band or a visiting Beijing band playing at around midnight or so, to small-capacity crowds. After that, the promoters would do some DJing or whatever. Always cheap cover and smaller crowds with everyone knowing each other… or at least recognizing each other -- a fairly tightly knit sort of thing. You could call it… ugh… a “scene”, man. ‘Twas the helicon days of 2008 or so, and there wasn’t all that much happening around town in terms of the forward-thinking rock… well, maybe there was always some shit on worth doing, but not as much as these days perhaps, with your Mao Livehouses and your Mixing Rooms and your big-ticket festivals. Stand-out shows from that era included appearances from Snapline, AV Okubo, New Pants and more -- bands that have since grown significantly in popularity, so much so that the economics really aren’t there anymore to put them in smaller venues in Shanghai.
So from there, S.T.D. grew in ambition and scope to do larger concerts, abandoning the simple format somewhat to work medium to large-sized concerts, often in partnership with Beijing’s Modern Sky, who themselves were growing in scope and ambition at around the same time -- Queen Sea Big Shark (numerous times), Ratatat, Shonen Knife, Mono, and many more, not to mention international DJ shows on top of that.
Anyways, long story short, on Saturday night, S.T.D. are scaling back to their earlier incarnation with what they’re calling “S.T.D. Classics”, which is (hopefully) an on-going party series which will again feature smaller names, smaller stages, and smaller cover charges. Their first one is headlined by White+, which is the art damaged noise excursions of Zhang Shou Wang (lead singer / guitarist of Carsick Cars) and Shenggy (fmr. Hang on the Box), down to Shanghai for a rare performance of the White+ stuff. Not the first time White+ has been in Shanghai -- and indeed they made an appearance in our MP3 Monday column about a million years ago -- but it’s the first time in a while, and if you like it a little lop-sided, you should check that out. Incidentally, if you’ve just moved to Shanghai, and White+ is serving as your gateway drug into Beijing experi-mental-ism, check out this site, pangbianr.com -- a great resource to learn more on what goes on in our dour, disaffected capital, where buzzy analogue manipulation is the only method for coping with the crushing, crushing bore of modern life.
Ah, dissolute youth!
Here’s some White+. An older one, which is quite good, me thinks and a newer one as well.
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Please install Flash Player
Joining White+ is an act from Hong Kong, Dada Baba, along with local awesomeness in the form of Stegosaurus? and Next Year’s Love. DJs R3 and Lin Feng round out the night.
***
September 13: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ Mao Livehouse
And yep, just over a week away is Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, playing in Shanghai at Mao Livehouse. Satan is super stoked for this -- he’s pressing his best leather. Here’s some songs.
Please install Flash Player
Please install Flash Player
We’ll put this in ALL CAPS and bold because you’re probably reading this through great gales on bong smoke: GET YOUR B.M.R.C. TICKETS RIGHT HERE.
S.T.D. Classics in Saturday night at Yuyintang. Cover: 30 beans. B.R.M.C. is on September 13. Pre-sales are 200rmb, proceeds to pagan sacrifice.
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