Results tagged “blues”

            

Jeff Lang wowed the perpetually overcrowded Yuyintang with his folk/blues pickin' on Saturday. Using a mixture of pedals and a nifty food drum pad, Lang composes intricate and modern renditions of classic blues and traditional folk songs.

We've been really looking forward to the Jeff Lang concert coming up tomorrow. Jeff Lang, an Australian folk, country and blues artist is a busy guy - besides playing innumerable instruments, he's somehow managed to release nearly one record each year since 1994.

This weekend venues are still suffering from the New Year hangover and not many events are happening. You might check out blues band, Studio 188, who will be performing at the Blues Room on Saturday. Or maybe join the firecracker loving crowds throughout the city for a bit of noise.

Is the Blues Room going to change its entire concept because they've decided this live music stuff doesn't make enough money? Or maybe they have other ideas about how to go about it. We don't know what the place has in mind, but what is confirmed is that they are cutting off drummer and bandleader Al Gordon and organist Bill Heid's performance contract a few months earlier than they were originally signed up for, which means the duo's last day performing there will be tomorrow, Thursday, January 31 instead of the end of April as originally agreed.

Yet another weekend has arrived, and seems a lot of people have been talking about the opening of the Shelter. They are holding a 'soft opening' tonight and hosting Dex, from the Underground Resistance, tomorrow. For those of you who are in the mood for more of a visual than some dude spinning on the decks (or laptop), there are plenty of live shows to choose from. Just down the street from the Shelter are...

For all displaced Americans and tryptophan lovers, consider these lovely Thanksgiving dinner options for tomorrow night in our cozy little Chinese metropolis:

Lots of news from the House of Blues and Jazz in Shanghai: The latest band featured there wraps up their final few weeks at this revered and relatively long-lived jazz venue; also the club gets ready to move to its new digs over at the bund. Theo Croker and band The current band at the House of Blues and Jazz has been there already for many weeks, and they're doing great. It's a dynamic group...

Spearheaded by drummer Al Gordon, this new club is the latest addition to the Shanghai live jazz and blues scene. It’s a funky little club, literally one room, but it’s a great space and the band is solid. As the name implies, the place is not trying to be another jazz venue; rather they are concentrating on blues, funk, and soul music–and are starting and ending much later than most other venues. Most nights the club will have live music starting around 11pm, with sets running through till 4am. Al has joining him on guitar Eddie Goltz, who also is a great singer, and Peter Phillips from New York on the keyboards. They are encouraging musicians to join them for jam sessions, which is why they intentionally start the gig so late.

Okay, this vid is slightly dated, but it only just appeared on our radar screen, so hold the mudslinging if you happened to have seen this elsewhere, please.

These are definitely the dog days of summer and as in summers past, live shows have dried up with the heat. Ironically enough Shanghaiist has chosen to skip town and head to even hotter Hong Kong where PK-14, Hedge Hog, New Pants and the Re-tros will be playing in the cramped but intimate Fringe Club on Sunday.

Oh, the fun of Friday nights. After putting back a few drinks at the Shanghaiist party or SCAA charity dinner, a night of great music (Beijing bands) lies ahead.

It's possible that we just caught the recently opened Piccone Live Music Bar on a bad night, but honestly the most interesting aspect of our experience was the toilet in the men's bathroom.

Sunday night we headed down to the House of Blues and Jazz to check out the new band from New Orleans, “Continuum”. They started a couple weeks ago but already have their groove on, with an easy stage presence that shows they are comfortable playing together and a group sound that is starting to come together nicely. Front man Thaddeus Ford, who plays the trumpet and acts as MC, is a 6th generation New Orleans jazz musician, and has about four different names for each of the musicians onstage as he announces them. He and the vocalist Evelyn are actually the only ones originally from New Orleans, as their band was originally scheduled to come play later in the year but was recently contacted by the club and asked if they could come earlier. Because of the short notice they were not able to use their regular band members, but were still able to bring some solid players to fill in on piano and drums. In fact they were never able to line up a bass player before arriving in town, so they picked up Michael Brownell, a bass player who has been based in town for the last half-year or so now. In any case they are creating a good atmosphere already, mixing some jazz standards in with the funk, soul and R&B where Evelyn really shines.

Anyhow, after the taping was done the regular GigLive music show began. It was night of local punk rock, featuring Happy Sky, Mortal Fools, and Loudspeaker. We've heard that Happy Sky were formed recently, and it showed -- we know that punk is loud and brash, but you still need musicianship. After awhile, they all seemed to be playing to the beat of a different drum.

Last night, like every Sunday night, would normally be Coco Zhao’s regular show at JZ with his Possicobilities band. However, unlike most other Sunday nights, last night Coco himself wasn’t able to make it due to illness, but his band faithfully played without their fearless leader. Later in the evening they were joined by a few other musicians including Erica Li (of JZ regular Wednesday night fame) and Fox the sax/flute man.

With visions of sugar plum fairies dancing through their heads, the -Ists began to get into that holiday mood. Well, some did.

We received an email yesterday from Fabrique telling us about a "re-opening" party on Saturday, and we wondered, How many re-openings can one club handle? But this most recent incarnation looks a little more interesting than previous ones. Zooma, formerly of the old Tang Hui and formerly of the new Tang Hui, is now the GM at Fabrique, which will now be known as 4 Live (same name as the party held at the club not too long ago). Here's the musical line-up for the re-re-re-opening party: Blue Garden, Honeys, Crystal Butterfly and Zooma himself. No invitation is needed for the party and there in no cover charge. Doors open at 8 pm and there's an open bar from 8 to 10 pm. The email we received said going forward 4 Live plans to have live bands before 1 am and "underground electro music" afterward. We tend not to get too excited about such things because the live music scene in Shanghai changes so frequently, but this at least sounds promising. It's a good venue in a non-residential area that is used to music and crowds. And with his connections, Zooma could potentially bring in some solid live acts. Let's keep our fingers crossed -- and hope they start adding their events to our Public Calendar.

“Great day, great bands, great venue…but we wished more people would have turned out”. -- Unnamed Fuxing Park Jazz Fest promoter

We were naughty last weekend and became that which we hate -- we went to absolutely no shows (lovely weekend in Xitang, though). So please fill in the blanks:

We understand it's kind of sad, but we have to admit to getting a little excited when we learn of new foreign beers arriving on the Shanghai market. So we read with curious interest these two stories about two New Zealand beers that have washed up on our shores. The brewery is DB Breweries, a big outfit that owns the likes of Heineken and Amstel. The beers they are sending to Shanghai are Tui and Monteith's Original Ale. Here are the commercial descriptions for the two beers:

GigShanghai: The scoop on the city's live music scene

Or the better question is: What would you suggest a visitor to Shanghai do if they only had one night to spend in the city? (And, no, your first stop can't be a travel agency so they can extend their stay.)

We headed over to Shuffle Bar for the first time last weekend, and we have to say we were impressed. It's been described as "warehouse-y but clean," and that's about right. The atmosphere is raw enough that you can bring your indie-and-or-punk-rock friends without losing your cred, but it's also the kind of place where if you drop your jacket on the ground you probably won't have to throw it away. (They actually have a coat rack ... rock 'n roll with manners.) Shuffle Bar is one of the only places in this city dedicated to live music, and for that reason it deserves our support. They have shows -- mostly local bands -- nightly. We just hope the location (Xingfu Lu No. 137, 上海市幸福路137号 ... not really close to much of anything) doesn't hurt Shuffle's chances for success. But if Tang Hui could thrive out there, maybe Shuffle can, too.

Photo of Glen Frey, whose song "Smuggler's Blues" was a hit in the mid-80s, from eaglesfans.com.

Too often, we hear Shanghai residents bemoaning the lack of good live music, especially when compared to our neighbor to the north. Sure, we all love a good Filipino cover band every now and then, but ...