How Kana Nishino Made Me Go Back To Hong Kong/Kanayan Tour Asia 2013
I think it was late 2011, when scouring the Jpop music charts, when I discovered Kana Nishino. Her singles always topped the charts, but like a lot of Jpop groups and artists, there wasn’t that much of an appeal to me, I was quick to judge her as dry and generic. I eventually did give her music a try, starting from songs from her third album, Thank You, Love.
So, yes, the day actually came: I have fallen in love with a Japanese pop star.
SH Dispatch #27: Gang of Four & AV Okubo
Let me start by thanking TimeOut Shanghai for picking me as the winner for free passes to the gig. Pity I didn’t have a “+1″ to bring.
Gang of Four
The news that Gang of Four was playing in Shanghai as part of the Jue Festival came at a time when there were too many things going on for me. I did want to go, since I do like the band, but I’ve skipped the Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s Hong Kong leg of her world tour a few weeks ago, so yeah, if I don’t see this one either, I’ve suffered a more significant loss already.
There’s someone in me that wishes what I just wrote was a joke.
SH Dispatch #26: Mosh Night
Last Sunday, at Yuyintang:
Local black metal outfit 墓志铭 were easily favorites of the night. I’ve seen them before, donning corpse paint, which they skipped wearing that night. The great thing was, despite that, and the lack of a moshpit that was replaced by some annoying tourists who just didn’t get it, I appreciated the band so much more with this repeat viewing. I really don’t keep up with a list of Shanghai bands to watch and listen to, but one slot is now surely guaranteed.
SH Dispatch #25: YYT Women’s Day Live
Last Friday, at Yuyintang.
Cold Fairyland
Cold Fairyland was a name often dropped whenever I happen to read something about the Shanghai rock scene, which I later found out to be justified. Shades of Lisa Germano with Dead Can Dance right there.
SH Dispatch #24: Shooting Idols! SNH48!
“Nihonggo desu ka?” was a question posed to me by one guy to my left in the crowd. He has probably been asking me several questions before that, but I was too busy to pause and reply, since I was trying my darn best to shoot SNH48, an idol group based in Shanghai, franchised from the Japanese pop moneymaking entertainment juggernaut and cultural phenomenon that is AKB48.
SNH48
I was buried six rows deep from the front row. Most of the people in front of me were about my height, hence I think I got a favorable position, considering I was there only an hour and a half before the performance. This was advertised in their Facebook group, to coincide with one of the Hongkou District’s Lantern Festival events, which fell on a Sunday. It was also a free gig, so even if there’s the fact that I don’t really enjoy the music much myself, I bet it was going to be a worthwhile experience, minus the usual cost in seeing these sort of things.