Category: Music

It was my second time to attend the annual local shoegaze fest, and I intentionally did not research much about the bands playing. All I really knew was there were local and Japanese bands in the roster, much like last year’s gig. That was good enough to convince me from my usual solitary weekends in Minhang.

Soft started the gig with sublime, classic shoegaze riffs that I decided to put my camera away for some time. I highlight “classic“, since having listened to the genre since the mid 90s, there’s a personal attachment involved here.

Continue reading How A Shoegaze Fest Made Me Realize Grunge Revivalism Exists

The You’ll Melt More! + Pikarin show in Shanghai last July 24 was part of  a local otaku convention, an event that wasn’t listed in my normal sources of events and gigs. This was a near-miss in my radar, and one that would be under a regret shortlist if I did fail to attend it.

Model turned pop idol, and now known as a ‘20,00 year-old idol from hell‘– Pikarin showed up with two corpse-face-painted dancers, with flag props with pentagram-like symbols. She would sing and dance in an almost typical idol fashion, but would break into metal growls, and kick random audience members, myself included.

Continue reading Pikarin / You’ll Melt More!

Shanghai has a rich jazz history, which I have always wanted to explore. There’s always been that reluctant feeling in stomping on uncharted live club terrain. All it took to bring myself to JZ Club, the top jazz venue around here, was that they were closing shop after 12 years.

Continue reading JZ Club Shanghai, Lite, Mitsume, and 2016 is Halfway Done

Godspeed You! Black Emperor – QSW Culture Center, March 19

I don’t normally do an image search of bands before I watch them, but I did this time with Godspeed You! Black Emperor, since I’ve always known the band by name, can say I’ve listened to them a few times, but I don’t know how they look like. See, since I take performance photos, this helps. The search results weren’t the motivating sort, though, since they don’t fit the face-the-audience mold. Anyhow, I was there for the music and whatever spectacle awaits me.

Continue reading Godspeed You! Black Emperor