Wonder what it'd be like to watch ravenous rock and roll fans throw handfuls of cigarettes at the stage as legendary noise rockers Carsick Cars belt out their seminal hitZhongnanhai in a 1920s theater?
You can always count on Shanghai to keep finding new uses for its historic spaces, and the latest is a doozy: a three-day music festival celebrating and revitalizing the Capitol Theatre, located on the banks of Suzhou Creek just before it meets the Huangpu River.
ROCKBUNDLESS Soundstage is hosted by ROCKBUND — the collection of historic buildings in the former European concession that has been revitalized over the past decade with shops, cafés, and museums (most notably the Rockbund Art Museum) — together with OKOK, the city's vibrant underground cultural mainstay and live music incubator.
Inviting seven bands to perform inside the theater before its upcoming renovation, the project is a perfect meeting of old and new, as some of the scene's most exciting voices look to "reawaken" the landmark building.
The lineup includes the aforementioned indie godfathers Carsick Cars, along with genre-bending electro-pop supergroup Mola Oddity, featuring renowned Mandopop singer Amber Kuo.
The second evening hosts Shanghai spiritual jazz craftsmen Pu Poo Platter, NaraBara — blending Mongolian musical traditions with modern rhythms — and the Disco King live art project, initiated by Shu Zi-jun and Ricky of Click #15 fame.
Night three closes with Beijing live electronica duo white+ and Shanghai dance art-punk renegades Absolute Purity, known for their explosive mix of post-punk, electronica, and psychedelic music.
Beyond the concerts, the festival also features DJ rhythm fitness sessions, behind-the-scenes talks, dance healing workshops, and more, extending the experience beyond the stage and into the surrounding neighborhood while inviting people to form new connections with the century-old building.
A distortion-blurring collision of past and present — it sounds like one heck of a way to reintroduce the Capitol Theatre to the public.
