Results tagged “yyt”

In case you couldn't tell about how excited we got before they even came, we heart the Handsome Furs. We chatted with them before their show at Yuyintang, we photographed them rocking the stage (and found other online photosets too) and...

           

A massive, frantic crowd attended Yuyintang on Saturday night, catapulting Handsome Furs to Shanghai rock folklore. The Handsome Furs, composed of Dan Boeckner and his wife Alexei, make a neat Canadian Sid and Nancy. Their onstage charisma helped steam the room and fans, both old and new, went genuinely nuts. The music was fast, danceable, and loud, 70's punk ethos mixed with electronic loops and beats.

            

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.

Ah, Shanghai on the weekend. Once a desert for those of us interested in catching an act or two, now so bursting at the seams with great music that we virtually spread ourselves thin every Friday and Saturday trying to take it all in. So we've looked through what's going on and picked the events we think sound the best.

So if last weekend was all about local bands for local people, this weekend is dominated by wai di ren. Whether it's "ghost punks" from some little hamlet in the US of A, northern monkeys from the capital or a band from the harmonious region of Xinjiang, there's a distinct outsider flavour to the next couple of days.

So we always get pretty excited about the bands Split Works brings over, but this has got us literally jumping up and down in our rooms in glee. The Handsome Furs, the indie rock duo project of Wolf Parade's Dan Boeckner and his wife Alexei Perry, are going to hit up Yu Yin Tang on September 5th. Tickets will be 80RMB at the door, and 70RMB if you book it early through Taobao or by email. Opening acts are yet to be decided, but heck - we don't care who's up on stage with them... the Handsome Furs are coming. THE HANDSOME FURS ARE COMING!

There is something goin down

UPDATE: Pinkberry have been forced to withdraw from Saturday night's line up at Yuyintang (their bassist's wife is seriously ill, we wish her well).

Ugh. Summertime in Shanghai and livin' ain't all that easy. It's too darn hot one minute, sun showers the next. Luckily, Yuyintang have just installed a new air-con unit in the main room making it just that little bit less hot 'n' sticky. Live Bar? Well, they've got dirt cheap beers. And Soma Live? They seem to have melted away altogether for now. So here's where to get sweaty this weekend:

With his closer involvement at the livehouse, we can also expect more Miniless artists performing there in the coming months adding another dimension to Shanghai's live music scene. We spoke to Hans about the label and his hopes for its future.

This weekend is all about hero worship. Miserable Faith are the kind of metal band that causes diehard fans to get their name and logo tatooed across their bodies; Joyside's Bian Yuan sexy swagger is enough to make you weak at the knees; while Shanghai's own folk heroes Dan Shapiro of The Rogue Transmission and Pu Pu of The Mushrooms will also be in action building their own cult followings. Last weekend may have been a quiet one, but the next few days are anything but.

We're not going to lie - this weekend pretty much belongs to hip hop. There's a couple of good rock gigs in the next few days and some great shows on the way later this month (the Miniless Showcase will be amazing and Joyside are in town for the first time in ages backed by The Rogue Transmission for example), but given the limited options this weekend, we'll keep it brief.

There's not exactly tumbleweed blowing through Shanghai's live music venues this weekend, but it's fair to say that compared to the steady steam of bands we've had in recent months, this weekend seems a quiet one. Of course, Torturing Nurse's NOIShanghai show will ensure it is anything but, while SOMA are bringing together some of the city's brightest young bands tonight.

Pedants might point out that Thursday night (and indeed Monday, included below) doesn't count as the weekend. But frankly, this is no place for pedantry. With the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, the weekend really is starting early.

I have a dream... a song to sing. Yeah, that's right, we're quoting ABBA. What of it? We won't be expecting to hear that song tonight (probably for the best), but instead you will see eight local bands performing as the artists who first inspired them to get into music at Yuyintang's "Back to the Beginnings of Dreams" night.

Yep, this weekend is a big 'un. We probably spend an inordinate amount of time in YYT anyway but, if it wasn't for the Antidote Festival down in Zhujiajiao, we'd probably just camp out in Tianshan Park this weekend.

Last week was so packed with great live music that this weekend looks pretty tame by comparison. Not that the city's music venues are resting on their laurels for long. Once punk legends Sham 69 have finished up their set, you'll be just a few short days away from visits by AV Okubo in support of the excellent Ratatat, Gay Fish favourites Carsick Cars (who'll be bringing The Gar back to town too), and Casino Demon as they release their new album. Not bad. But first thing's first - this weekend:

Music lovers can get their weekend started early tonight with three great events going on around the city.

Decisions, decisions. Time was, choosing your live music for the night in Shanghai was easy: you headed to Yuyintang, occasionally the Dream Factory if there was something big on. Maybe, if you were into something a bit different, you'd head out to Live Bar. Generally speaking though, there was one stand out gig on a weekend and it was a pretty straightforward choice. Well, no more, if this weekend is anything to go by. We're not saying this is a brave new world yet, just that we hope it's a sign of things to come. If it is, picking your weekend gigs is going to get a lot tougher. But don't you dare go complaining that there's too many options.

Canadian Jewish rap is truly something to behold. And tonight, you'll be able to behold it at Yu Yin Tang when Socalled (aka Josh Dolgin) hits the stage. Socalled is known for mixing hip hop with slightly less street sounds - drum & bass, folk music and klezmer.

Friday marks off the start of a festival bonanza! The biggest music event going on is the Zhenjiang MIDI Festival, which will feature dozens of Chinese bands - both established and up-and-comers rocking out for three days in Zhenjiang. Sadly, Zhenjiang is a good two-and-a-half hours away and some of us are just way too busy (or way too lazy) to make it out that far. Luckily, Split-Works has brought us some great music worth staying in Shanghai for.

The forthcoming holiday means that the weekend is coming early for a lot of us. For music fans, it's coming even earlier with a solid five days of gigs starting tonight for anyone who's not heading out of town for Midi or the other festivals taking place around China. There's more mid-week action next week as well, which we're very excited about but will keep under our hat for now. A full weekend run-down, including the Straigh Oota Canada shows will be here on Friday as usual, but here's what's going on tonight and tomorrow:

This week's events are all about artsy music, from the "art-punk" music of Top Floor Circus and the "audiovisual experiment" of When Jam Becomes Art, to the fun and crazy Straight Oota Canada lineup that starts this Friday.

Update: Oops! Sorry, just realised that Torturing Nurse show is on Saturday not Sunday!

Recent shows have got people talking about whether Shanghai needs another dedicated live music venue in addition to the city's current home of rock Yuyintang. Soma seem to think so, but their decision to make a deal with the owners of Zhijiang Dream Factory has caused waves in the local music scene and some fairly heated debate.

Just when you thought it was safe to enjoy a slowly growing and community-built live music scene, something comes out of nowhere to shake things up again. YYT will no doubt be packed for Re-TROS this weekend. Does that mean Shanghai needs a mid-sized venue? Probably yes. Does that mean it's sustainable to run gigs in a mid-sized venue 4-5 nights a week? Probably not (though we wish it did). Does it mean that venues can afford to start making ridiculous demands of promoters? Definitely not.

So you thought Midi was the only festival game in town? Think again. Three music events - all festivals of a sort - covering three different types of music are heading your way in the next month or so. Yes, we know one of them is related to Expo, but World Music has the right to a festival too and bringing in those kind of artists was never going to escape Haibao's reach this close to 2010. We'll have more details on all of these nearer the time but, for now, here's a preview:

The last few weeks have seen a steady stream of great gigs on the Shanghai live scene, something that is set to continue this weekend. Does this mean that the city needs more gig venues? We're not so sure, but there are a few signs of some more live options coming our way. First, a certain underground rehearsal studio has started putting on the occasional show and will host Torturing Nurse's 5 year anniversary in a few weeks. Second, Soma - the people behind the Indie Top label, which hosts bands such as Momo and The Mushrooms - are reported to be looking at opening a live venue as well. Of course, this is a sign of the increase in recent months in the number of talented local bands capable of putting on a great live show, but we'll wait to see whether such expansion is sustainable.

Yeah, we know we put them twice in the headline, but that's how excited we are about the Hard Queen EP release. We don't normally go in for bias - we try to give you an overview of all the live music taking place in the city. But this weekend, there's really only one gig to head to. If you can't get into Hard Queen's music then we have to seriously question your ability to hear.