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The event was well publicized. It was at a cool venue -- not right in the heart of Puxi, but not that far way ... and it has been packed in the past for other shows -- although the sound quality could have been better. It was not raining. The lineup of bands was solid: Ferris Wheel, Mint, Loudspeaker (pictured) and The Living Thin. It wasn't expensive: 40 kuai for an all day pass. And it was all for a good cause. So why, at 9 or 10 pm, when the event should have been reaching its crescendo, were there less than a couple dozen people in the place, bands included? We had heard that the student bands that played from around 1 pm to 7 pm attracted a decent crowd. So then we thought perhaps Shanghai's rock fans are more inclined to turn out for local talent, but that doesn't make sense: Ferris Wheel and Loudspeaker (who rocked, by the way) are both local bands.
We arrived around 9:30 pm and were expecting DDM to be full. Can someone please explain what happened? Please don't tell us everyone was watching Steven Curtis Chapman. We recently wrote that things appeared to be looking up for Shanghai's live music scene. Did we speak too soon?
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Maybe a lot of people (like myself) spent the whole day outside enjoying the weather and were too tired to go out that night. I dig Loudspeaker, though, so in retrospect...
by the way, Steven Curtis Chapman was GREAT, you definetely missed something. It was packed with more than 1900 people....but i can understand you: it was a Christian Concert and that concept seems to be quite uncool...
The Rock for Charity show was great, despite the lack of people in the audience. The organizers worked really hard to get the show together and should be proud. SH live music is definitely looking up, but maybe the people aren't ready just yet. Can't wait to see those bands again...