Who says a live
music scene has to be based out of bars? Some music-loving
lush? A recent spate of fantastically vibrant concerts at
local universities proves the fallacy of that conventional
wisdom. Two shows in as many days gave six local bands the
opportunity to surprise their supporters and disappoint their
detractors.
At 5 PM on March 29, some 150 students forked out a modest
? head and filed into a large lecture hall at Qiguang
University, a small international trade school near Fudan.
After a few last sound checks, teen band Touming
(Transparent) took the stage. Touming first emerged about a
year ago, playing the late-night sets at the Tribesman after
the featured bands had finished and moved on to their beers. A
threesome featuring two teenagers from Beijing on guitar and
bass, and a Korean foreign student on vocals and drums, they
were cutely embarrassed to take the stage and cutely thrilled
to be making music.
They've since changed their image, bleaching and dying
their hair various bright hues and growing long sideburns.
They look like they got lost on the way to joining Beijing's
punk posse the "Wuliao Contingent." The members of Touming
have become more proficient on their instruments and more
confident in their performances; their enthusiasm, always
their greatest strength, remains consistent. Despite attempts
to hide it, they're still cute, especially diminutive
guitarist Li Zhan, whose oversized white bell-bottoms
completely obscure his feet, and who while he plays keeps his
eyes anxiously focused on his former guitar instructor for
signs of approval.
With a good deal of verve, Touming started off with a few
Oasis covers. It's a step up from their previous "Breakfast at
Tiffany's" routine, and more than a few older bands have
already proven Oasis covers to be a good way to start. Then,
reminiscent of the good old days at the Tribesman, singers
started emerging at random from the audience. First came a
Hua'er (Flower) cover, very appropriate material for
Shanghai's leading teeneybop punk band, followed by a bland
collection of Chinese pop songs. Even with cover clichés like
"Ruguo ni xiang likai wo," however, Touming plays with a heavy
edge of rock energy that makes you eager to see what will
happen when they start writing their own songs. Hurry up,
boys!
Touming was followed by, of all things, a bagpipe
performance by an American student. For sheer novelty value,
the pied bagpiper won the audience's hearts hands-down. Then
came the band of Zheng Tao, manager of the Red Wing Pro Shop,
which organized the show. Comprised of two guys on acoustic
guitars, Zheng Tao's band provided, like most guys on acoustic
guitars, the standard Dylan remake. The rapid succession of
such varied performances created the feel that it was
something of a half-time show between Touming and Crystal
Butterfly, who rounded off the night.
Shanghai New Sound, a series of concerts by local bands and
Shanghai's college campuses, sponsored by ChinaNow.com, Red
Wing Music Shop (www.folkvalley.com.cn), and Shanghai's
preeminent sound maestro Sting, was launched the following
night at the Railway Science University. Touming was scheduled
to play again, but bailed at last minute, replaced by Hailang
(The Wave). Joining in were td, the Railway University's
student band; Cold-blooded DNA, a student band from the Work
Technology University; and, once again, Crystal Butterfly.
Some 450 enthusiastic students packed into the large
lecture-hall. The night started out with the five-member td,
whose style predominantly follows the Ling Dian/Black Panther
pop-power-rock school, but throws in a bluesy pace to make the
mix more interesting. td played two original songs before
being joined on stage by an aspiring karaoke queen caroling
Chinese pop covers.
Cold-blooded
DNA then took over. Essentially a duo--they borrowed another
band's drummer-- DNA started out with some really good riffs,
but failed to move much beyond that. The vocals, few and far
between, were delivered with an interesting wailing effect
that fit their music well. The paucity of vocals, however,
contributed to the impression that their entire set was an
extended jam session.
Hailang proved the surprise of the evening, offering up a
creative fusion of musical styles and an engaging stage
presence. Vocalist and guitarist Liu Xing commands the
audience with the flair of the natural extrovert, cracking
jokes that actually elicited laughs and drawing in audience
participation. His guitar technique is fantastically raw, with
the feel of tightly controlled feedback blending with his
scratchy, rock-ballad style vocals.
Hailang's musical style draws predominantly on The Doors
and Jimi Hendrix, but they refuse to rule out their options.
One song, Hei Ma (Black Horse), galloped off into the sunrise
with the twanging rhythms of a Country Western tune. Other
tunes strayed off in similarly interesting directions.
Although their music didn't quite manage the confidence of Liu
Xing's stage demeanor, Hailang seems well on its way to
becoming a very good band. Liu Xing is currently considering
emigrating to the US, but we hope he changes his mind.
The closing act
was once again provided by Crystal Butterfly. It's been a long
time since the band considered by many to be Shanghai's best
has had any large concerts, and the two venues allowed them to
shine much brighter than their usual lackadaisical bar gigs
allow. Ditching their poppier material like "Judy's Too" and
"Girl Friday," they focused mainly on a repertoire of more
intense new songs. Crystal Butterfly stood out from the other
bands in their maturity: Their style is established, they're
comfortable performing, and they know where they're going. The
rest of the line-up, for all their skill and potential, still
seem like underground grungesters.
Shanghai New Sound's next stop will be on 25 April at the
East China Normal University with performances by Sweet Honey
Baby, Crystal Butterfly, and Cold-Blooded DNA. Email newsound@netease.com or
stay tuned to ChinaNow.com for future performances of the
concert series.
