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I was there and I agree with the heckler. A good portion of the crowd didn't know about any videotaping, and once things got started (an hour late), the first thing the VJ wanker does is start barking orders for the crowd to turn off their cell phones and be quiet while they are taping. Great way to get the crowd into a punk show. After the heckler incident, they proceeded to fart around for ANOTHER hour before they were done with their lame interviews and lead-ins and we could finally hear some music. I see no reason why Gig Shanghai couldn't have done all this BS before the doors were opened. Some of us have day jobs.
We paid good money to see a f**king punk show, not to be told to keep quiet. Any positive energy there was immediately sucked out because the GS idiots. The VJ was a dick and I'm sorry the drunk didn't get any good shots in. Way to screw up what could have been a great night.
Oh and a big FU to the manager of Bonbon for charging for non-alcoholic drinks. A friend of mine asked for his money back before the show started and the a-hole refused, creating a big argument in the lobby that was settled at the police station. Ruined the night for another group of people who didn't even see the videowankers. Gigshanghai and Bonbon both SUCK.
Agreed about the annoyingly late start for a ridiculous video shoot. And having to pay for soft drinks during an "all you can drink" special basically sums up the vibe of these "parties". Also, I think I heard the VJ mention something like "Maximo Park rocked". Mate, they don't play until this weekend. I guess the video show is scheduled to air after this weekend, but saying a show that hasn't happened yet "rocked" doesn't say much for this broadcast's credibility. I hope Shanghaiist has ended its affiliation with GigLive/GigShanghai. It was never very good.
giglive needs to get out of bonbon and go to a real venue where the owners appreciate rock n roll. bonbon is full of fucking bitches. the security are assholes and it doesnt surprise me one bit that they charge for water and soft drinks.
i like giglive and hope it does well but rock n roll and high society dont mix.
i think that Giglive always starts later than whatever time is printed on that thing. I suppose i was less angry about the video taping delaying things because i was invited to take photos, so i knew roughly what to expect. for those that didn't know, i can see why it might have been confusing and frustrating.
Yeah, some of the people really did rub me the wrong way but i wasn't sure if was just me. And with drunk people you sometimes have to give them the benefit of the doubt -- a bunch of normally decent folks might not seem so if they all got shit-faced.
the crowd might have been different that night versus others because people were invited to the taping, so it wasn't as "natural" as when there are just regular shows. I don't know, i've only been there once before. the slightly older Chinese folks (they look to be in their 40s) who prance around and don't seem to know much about this kind of music and scene are amusing. They seemed out of place but at the same time seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Why am I not surprised?
Datou - must have been your first time, mate - show always starts at 10pm, and last night, we started at a quarter after. I owe you 15 minutes. At least the heckler had the balls to speak his mind instead of anonymously posting. You came for a good punk show, you got a good punk show (or did you have to leave early for your job? really hard-core!), in fact, you got 3 good bands. I know you left a great night at Zapata's for this, so I apologize. If you can tell me it wasn't a good show, I'll give you back your precious 88 kuai.
iwasthere - late start? again, if you've been supporting any of the scene, you know we start the show at 10pm - as we have done for the past 3 months. yes, we tape early and I "took a chance" on saying that Maximo Park rocked. if you've ever seen them play a bad show, then by all means, we'll tape a special edition for you.
parker poser - thanks for that. it's never easy trying to fuse both, but BonBon has been the only place in town willing to give up their venue to support the live scene - but I know what you mean.
...here's what a few, non-surpringly bitters don't realize - we're not doing this for you. Again, we are not doing this for you. We're doing this for the band and then the scene - so, if I have to piss off a few people to make a tv show for the scene, then by all means, I will - first posters strike me as ones that will moan at anything anyway. Reason for the show is to get the bands out there, to an audience that would have never seen them before.
Will we do it again with a live audience? Not sure, really - but seeing the bands faces knowing that they're going out to a television audience makes it worth hearing a few more lao wai bitch.
Per charging for water, etc - I agree...and that's something we're going to try and suss out. I heard that we had a pregnant lady there last night who had troubles and that shouldn't happen.
A
I was there also and agree that it was one odd night. I had heard that their would be a "TV show" but assumed that meant that some guy would be standing at the back with a video camera and would tape the live show. Whether its a good idea or not remains to be seen and you've got to give things time to develope. At least the giglive people are actively trying something new to encourage live music and new bands in Shanghai instead of being negative.
My only comment/question/suggestion/whatever would be regarding the acutal audience. How come the fans of these bands weren't there? I've seen Mortal Fools and Loudspeaker before and both have shitloads of rabid fans who spazz out and know all the lyrics. Is the RMB 88 the problem?
In future shows, I think the giglive people should try to find a way to get the actual fans of the bands there instead of white guys who look like my boss and my dad. The people we were behind in line looked like they were going to Attica. So much so that we had to ask someone if we were indeed in the right place and had not unwittingly stumbled into Carl Cox.
last comment: good post but since when does a punk band need "musicianship"? I was always raised to believe that no musicianship is sort of the point of punk.
no wonder everyone else in 'the scene' hates aric ... what an ass. every wonder why his parties aren't full of 'real' music fans?
Kudos to the Gigshanghai crew (filming, recording, etc.) for getting these bands out into the scene through the Giglive podcasts and this video show. Not an easy task. I would have never known about Mortal Fools and how intense and talented they are if it weren't for the show.
I hope all the problems and mistakes from this night make a better Giglive and Bonbon for the future. (The non-alchoholic drinks issue really needs to change. 40 kuai for water???)
As an interviewee for the show, I gotta give Aric props for supporting the talents of The Lab, Dragon Dance Studio and our group Redstar by coming to our shows and helping us broadcast local, original, real and live hip-hop.
-- MoJo
mo - good points. I think the price thing does hinder a lot of local fans (of music, obviously not my show, as I'm hated, ha ha) from showing up...but again, I do dig the "suits" being introduced to music previously hidden from their niche. development-wise, we have ages to go, as seen by wed's filming...but at the end of the day, it got done, more people will see the scene here and hopefully add to it. also, not sure where MFools fan base was as well...
geez - I'm not going to play the big man and say "I don't care what people think", obviously, if they're in the "scene", I do listen to them - but again, if I have to shrug off people like yourself who have nothing to offer but uninformative postings, then I will...but like the show, I too have miles to go before I'm doing everything I can for the scene and would be more than willing to listen to areas I could improve. did I ask (nicely) that people put their phone's on silent? yes, it would have f*cked with our digital cameras. did I tell someone to f*ck off? yes - he was wasting everyone's time. but did we spend our own money in making a pilot show so that people like Mojo who would have never seen Mortal Fools before, can? yes. so at the end of the day, sorry to hear I'm hated - but knowing that we're bringing bands to the forefront, and a previously stagnant crowd to the show, makes it okay.
but again - would love to hear areas I/we could improve.
A
I think some people (myself included) perceive that it is often more about you and less about the music, Aric. That seems to be the issue. And your vitriolic, holier-than-thou responses to criticism never help.
Aric,
Gee whiz, I guess the bands didn't know what time the show started either, since the Mortal Fools told me it was 9pm. They also said they had no idea about your ridiculous videotaping wankathon. They were extremely pissed off. Regarding the show, how would you know? After the first band finished your whole entourage of ass-kissers were sitting in the back section. You obviously care more about watching your own inane blathering than the actual bands. Eat me.
I was making my opinion clear at the show as well, I was one of the guys getting shooshed by one of your lame crew.
Just admit you screwed the whole evening up and in the future focus on the bands on the stage. That's what "GigShanghai" is supposed to be about isn't it?
I have to agree with Bill. While your efforts are appreciated you need to be a little more diplomatic and learn how to deal with criticsm.
Bill - point taken. I react strongly to those who offer nothing but negativity to those who are trying to promote the scene - end of the day, despite whatever is being posted, attention is being drawn to the scene. This is not about me, I've admitted in many shows that I just happen to have a studio, like music and have a voice of an angel (kidding); if it is coming across as the GigAric show, then I am more than open to suggestions on how to stop that - even I wouldn't listen/watch.
Datou - 9pm? Never from our phone, man - since we started GigLive, it's always been 10pm.
"Eat me"? Kindof shot all credibility there.
As for sitting at the back with my "ass kissers", yeah - after a month of planning and all of the effort that we put into it, I did want to surround myself with the people who made it happen. Not supporting Mortal Fools? See previous write-ups here on this site.
Was there a lot of screw-ups Wed night? You bet -and most all of them were my fault; but at the end of the day, the place was packed, bands got coverage, Sonnet got the exposure they deserved and 99...okay, make it 92% of the people had a good time.
Per your "more focus on bands", believe me - I want it...but one band/film crew/etc was all I could afford. We do want more, but you're still going to have to sit through me doing 1 minute of news (which there was, and always will be), intro'ing clips and doing the interviews.
By all means, you can check out "upcoming.org" if you don't want to sit through the show - and I mean that with all sincerity....why? 'Cause it sounds like you actually give a shit about the scene, despite it all.
A
Datou
No one likes to be shooshed, but I think Aric has a point when he said that he told the guy to shut up because he was interrupting. Of course, as someone said before, Aric could have been more diplomatic, but if you think about it, the faster they are done, the faster you get to the music. It's not as if he was trying to prolong the "video wankathon" just for the hell of it. Patience is still a virtue. A drink and several conversations later, the taping was done and the music began.
"I react strongly to those who offer nothing but negativity to those who are trying to promote the scene - end of the day, despite whatever is being posted, attention is being drawn to the scene."
Even the haters can't bite back at that.
-- MoJo
I was at the show too... this is what I saw through my rose colored glasses... All U Can Drink Carlsberg for 88 rumbas (A good deal). Some taping thing going on that didn't seem to bother me to much. I used the time to talk with my friends (Da Tou included). A Bitch slap of a fight. (I have seen better cafights) but entertaining nonetheless. And finally... The Mortal Fools debuting their new song Beer Journey. The song was written about me going to get a few beers at Lawson's only to be hit by a taxi crossing the street. I was hoping for a love song instead.
All in all... I still had a good time. CJ
Ha ha - this is true. I think most get into more of a scuffle getting off of Line 01.
As stated here, and in an email from Datou's friend, while we might not all get along, people are talking about, and attending more and more shows (see: Dan's post today, Sunday, on the MPark show last night*), which is what we want.
A
*wicked show, well done to Archie & Co. doing what we previously labeled "impossible".