Living on the Chinese Rock

Concert Preview: Root & Shoots Benefit Concert - By Morgan Short, Mar 15, 07



When it comes to live music in Shanghai (well ... live rawk music), it seems that the conversation is dominated by two viewpoints: that rock in Shanghai is "dead" and that rock in Shanghai is "making a comeback."

One can never really assert that live music is "dead" in Shanghai because the city has always been home, and will always be home, to a few stalwart promoters, clubs and bands that put in the effort, to provide new, live, loud rock on a consistent basis. Despite this, it is also a little overzealous to assert that live music in Shanghai is "making a comeback" because local bands, with a few exceptions, still don't draw very many people to their shows and the infrastructure they need - - mainstream media support and record labels -- isn't really there. And sometimes they fucking suck.

Whether the situation is on the decline (Hey-O Kenny G!) or turning around (and you too Sonic Youth!) the following fact remains the same: Shanghai is home to a handful of great bands and great clubs that are dedicated to putting out quality music and great live shows. It's there if you look for it.

This Saturday is Last Saturday was an opportunity no fan of local rock can afford to miss. Live Bar is hosting a benefit concert for the Roots & Shoots charity that is featuring the best new and veteran Shanghai rock bands playing in the city right now. With the exception of one or two names, these bands pretty much encapsulate the ever-changing live scene as it is at the moment. The concert, which will be filmed by a local documentary crew, features ten bands playing in afternoon and evening sets. They are:

16:00 Ferris Wheel
16:45 Blue Sky
17:30 Hard Candy
18:15 Booji
20:00 Sultans of Swing
20:45 Mint
21:30 Boys Climbing Ropes
22:15 Plastic Chocolate
23:00 Underground 2.0
23:45 Flying Fruit

These bands will be taking the stage to raise money for the Root & Shoots charity. Roots & Shoots is a foreign-affiliated, non-profit organization that promotes environmental and humanitarian education in 150 national and international schools across Shanghai. Along with their pedagogic efforts, the organization is also involved in a paper recycling program, an organic garden program, a migrant school physical education program, a poverty alleviation program, a habitat for humanity program and a carbon footprint / tree planting program.

Roots & Shoots will be spending every jiao of the proceeds of the show to combat the desertification of Inner Mongolia by initiating a large scale tree planting effort in partnership with the Green Life Organization. According to concert organizer and Roots & Shoots representative Hilary Bauer, "the desertification of inner Mongolia is causing serious environmental and humanitarian consequences for inner Mongolia, northern China, and areas a far as Japan and Korea. Planting trees will help to stop this process which is rapidly becoming worse." Your 50 yuan ticket (available at the door) will purchase 5 trees, which the volunteers at Roots & Shoots will then plant for you so you don't have to do it! Very nice of them.

Along with some hot rawk, t-shirts, raffle tickets, and snacks will also be available for your purchasing needs. In addition to this, Live Bar has Samuel Adams beer so why not drink for charity this St. Patrick's Day?

Sat 17th - Rock for Roots & Shoots at Live Bar - 721 Kunming Lu (Map & Taxi-Printout here)
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