Hadouken! The Swap Meet!
By Morgan Short, Mar 9th, 2010 | In Nightlife
There's this new Wednesday party down at The Shelter called "The Swap Meet", and it offers up a pretty interesting mix of artsy and nerdly diversions. Differing significantly from other weekly and marquee events at the oft-publicized club, The Swap Meet brings together an eclectic mix of visual artists, designer types, music geeks, and most importantly...
They're hosting a Street Fighter tourney.
Long story short: it's an interesting collection of concepts and ideas, and if you're looking to meet new people and hang out in an interesting atmosphere with lots of video game playing, live art, and other nutty stuff going on, you should check it out.
SmartShanghai talked to host, house DJ/ Ubisoft software sound man, Slackerton to get the ins and outs on this thing.
***
SmSh: Explain what The Swap Meet is and how it differs from other events at The Shelter, or other weekly parties in Shanghai.
Slackerton: Wednesdays are nowhere near as chaotic as the club gets on the weekends -- there's space to sit and relax, room to dance when the music starts to pick up, and you aren't tripping over people or interrupting someone dancing when you move from one spot to another. The interior is also something that we wanted to take more ownership of on our night. We are still trying different things, but to really answer your question, The Swap Meet is different for a few reasons:
One: The music is always good, and I put a LOT of time and energy into finding people that you probably haven't seen before. Okay, the regulars play other gigs around town, but that's because they are damned good. But more than that, I am very serious about the people I book -- the regulars in particular -- and I have very black and white expectations of anyone that plays. The people I support are more than just some dude (or bird) with tunes. They have to bring artistry to it and be able to organize their sounds in a way that people can feel. It's less about what kind of tunes you play. It is much more about how you play them. This is readily apparent in our lineup.
Two: Heart. We pour ours into making this event the best it can be each and every week and are successful when people have a great time (and not just when people spend money). We care about people enjoying themselves at our night and it is reflected in the attitudes of the people that come down. There is a friendlier, more social atmosphere than you find at most other places. We do things that encourage people to interact and socialize.
Three: Probably most importantly -- it's a party. It's not just a club night. Like I said above, we do things that get people to interact and socialize. The video games, for example, are great for bringing people that otherwise might not interact together. It gives them something to talk about; a reason to introduce themselves and maybe have a laugh. Kooky artsy decorations are also great for this, and live art installs like the graffiti artists creating a piece during the party. You just don't find this kinda stuff around.
SmSh: Okay. Talk to me about the Street Fighter tourney. Which version are you playing and on which console? What sort of TV set up do they have down there at The Shelter?
Slackerton: Sure. Street Fighter 4 on the X360, which we've got setup on a projector so it's nice and big and clear. We setup a sofa in front of it for the two players and bar stools for any spectators (although you can see it from pretty far away). I'm still trying to dial the setup a bit and ask myself things like, 'do we use controllers or mount arcade sticks?' Or 'would a PS3 be better? We could do online stuff with a PS3...' etc.
SmSh: How is the tournament set up? Is it every week or is it a larger thing happening over a series of weeks?
Slackerton: Warning: this is going to get very geeky.
To be honest, we haven't really had a proper tourney yet. It has been more arcade pickup-style. Tonight we are going to start it in earnest. My plan is a double elimination tournament with qualifiers the first three weeks (or four weeks if there are five Wednesdays in that month) and a final the last Wednesday of the month. We'll see how it goes – but if it works I would love to try and get some prizes donated.
SmSh: Whats your favorite video game of all time and why.
Slackerton: I don't like this question. I get it a lot in interviews. Is there a single painting, book, film, song, or St. Ides Malt Liquor commercial that is definitively better than the rest? The one with Ice Cube is pretty damned good -- but is it better than the one with the Geto Boys? I don't know if I could make that kinda of determination.
Having said that, just about everything that Shigeru Miyamoto has designed has blown my mind.
SmSh: What sorts of other video game stuff do you have going on? I see here you've got "Indie Video Game Reviews". What's that all about?
Slackerton: Not sure how much you are tracking the independent video game scene -- it probably doesn’t pull the number of readers that indie music does -- but there are really big things happening. The ability to produce games independently, as they were done in the '70s, '80s, and early '90s -- is once again a possibility. Indie developers can achieve a relatively high-quality result without the financial backing of a publisher. This means the same thing to games that it does to music -- publishers want you to do things a certain way so that the product will make more money. I deal with this ALL the time in my line of work and... well, it sucks ass.
No publisher (or fat cat record label) means that money doesn't have to drive the creative process and an artist can have an artistic (rather than financial) objective and basically do whatever the hell he wants. As a result, we are starting to see some games that are really breaking down the way we look at and play games, and starting to explore the kinds of emotional impact you can achieve through interactive media.
My plan is to pull a few of these bad boys and set them up for people to play on the projector (instead of Street Fighter). Some are highly addictive to play, some are strange and confusing, and some are beautiful and poignant. I'm a big supporter of independent art -- with my musical choices as well -- and I think it will be interesting.
SmSh: What's all this about the "Creative Decore" and visual artists and "trippy visuals" and stuff. Who have you got coming down. What are they doing?
Slackerton: Well, it started last year when Garmaan and I were doing the "eklektik parties" with Jane. Jane really wanted to take ownership of the look inside Shelter and that made a lot of sense to me. Jane brought her lycra stuff in and it made a real difference... I'm really big on the idea of décor that makes a place memorable and, if possible, adds to the quality of the experience that people have. Before we started up Eklektik last year, I spoke to my friend Garmaan about getting involved. Garmaan is one of those uber-creative kinda people that makes art out of everything (and I do mean everything). Garmaan signed up and was there week after week throughout last year realizing a truckload of different concepts.
One week Garmaan asked people at the Shelter to pull a funny face while she took pictures. The next week, she hung bunches of masks that she had made using the pictures she had taken. People at the party that night had a blast taking pictures of their own while wearing masks of people they knew (in various compromising situations, of course). On other nights she made giant orgami fish and used hoops and cutout circles to make the place feel underwater.
Garmaan still does more of an installation for certain nights -- the "urban cityscape concept" is this Wednesday -- but we also have a more standardized stock of various funky lights and lycra stuff.
The big addition is something that is part of the "community artist market" concept that is at the heart of The Swap Meet. We have an open invitation to any and all artists that are interested in getting their work showcased -- or (even better) want create a piece during the party. So far we've had some really wicked graffiti artists -- Mr. YO and DEZIO -- both come down and do some work with pens on canvas (they prep the canvas a bit with spray cans but the funes in the shelter would be way too heavy).
On the 24th we've got Andrew Rochefort -- a Shanghai-based photographer doing an exhibition during the party. He's going through and pulling the photographs he wants to use, then we blow em up and suspend them throughout the club. Since we don't really make any money, my deal with these guys is that I will pay for the materials if they will do the work for drink tickets and some promotion.
And of course, there is also our Resident VJ, Tina Sprinkles, who comes in once or twice a month to do live visuals alongside the musicians. She's got a really fantastic style and works very well with anyone playing music to build and develop the atmosphere.
SmSh: What about the music. What are you playing? Who have you got coming down.
Slackerton: We have a pretty decent range of music – although it tends to gravitate to the house and techno side of things (which is perfectly fine with me). There are some things that are important and consistent tho regardless of style. It must be non-commercial and cheese free. I can't dance if I feel like a tune is trying to sell me something. It must be dancing-friendly if played after midnight. People aren't obligated to dance, but I love to and want the guys I book to be able to follow the crowd if that's where they wanna go. It must have some range and dynamics to it -- I hate the 'treadmill' approach to DJing. It must have something to it that is individual.
SmSh: Why should people come to The Swap Meet?
Slackerton: Because it is a proper party, because we are committed to everything being high-quality, low-cost (10rmb), open late (drinks til 3, open til 5 if there’s a crowd) and damned fun for the people that come down. Because there is nothing else in town like it, and because Morgan from SmartShanghai said so -- without even a hint of sarcasm.
The Swap Meet is down at The Shelter every Wednesday night. Event details here.
Hassle free ticket purchasing and delivery for Shanghai's cultural and concert events:
SamuelGreen, Mar 9th, 2010
Oh man I'm gonna have to ask a nerdy question...So is it controller or stick? I'd bring my stick if it was pad-only.. but it's a heavy bastard and I'd have to up my game to godlike levels if I was lame enough to bring my own equipment.
See you tomorrow evening, despite work on Thursday I've got to come out and support anything video-game culture related. It's the wave of the future my brothers
inthecamode, Mar 10th, 2010
Street Fighter isn't the main focal point at all. Swap Meet is all about the music. Each line up has been carefully thought up and a lot of effort is put into each weeks event.slackerton, Mar 10th, 2010
To Samuel - no worries! I've got an arcade stick that I bring down with me each week. I need to test it out to be sure it still works (somebody spilled beer on it last week). :DPlease sign in or register to comment