Thursday:

Heart Attack feat. Sean Leow

Everyone’s favorite heart-throb entrepreneur takes over the decks for Not Me’s weekly indie night. Given all the stuff he hears as one of the founders of Neocha, there will likely be a lot of cool Chinese stuff on hand.

Not Me, 21 Dongping Lu near Wulumuqi Lu

10:00 start, though Sean will likely not go on until later

No cover

Friday:

Wan Xiaoli: Summer Solstice

It’s well past the summer solstice, but Wan Xiaoli brings his tour to Shanghai under that name anyway. His write up bills him as a folk artist, in the Bob Dylan sense not the songs that rise up spontaneously from the people sense, though obviously there’s a connection there. In any event, the music part of it is more developed than in the plain-strumming-as-backdrop-for-lyrics version of the genre, though word is that his lyrics are quite hip as well. My Chinese isn’t good enough to know. Check out his Douban.

YuYinTang, 1731 Yan’an Xi Lu, enter from Kaixuan Lu

Doors at 8:30, music starts at 9:00

60 RMB cover

Free the Wax One Year Anniversary featuring Francisco

Free the Wax, who have been specializing in producing live electronic shows and bringing leading proponents of said style, along with DJs, to our quaint little hamlet are celebrating one year of rocking it. Francisco of IT/Nature records will be the headline DJ for the anniversary with support from Elnomo, Trix, and Yen.

The Shelter, 5 Yongfu Lu near Fuxing Xi Lu

Doors at 9:00, Francisco around 11:00

50 RMB cover

Saturday:

JZ Big Band

Since Nicholas Bouloukos took over the JZ Big Band he’s been doing things a little differently than his predecessor did. He’s changed the repertoire and the personnel, done new arrangements and written new tunes for the band. He continues this week by replacing American rhythm section stalwarts EJ Parker and Chris Trczinski with Brazilians Tinho Pereira and Leonardo Susi to go for a more Brazilian groove. This week will be something of an introduction for this variation of the big band as Nicholas tells me it won’t be all Brazilian repertoire this week, and EJ and Chris will definitely be back again later, but it certainly will be something to check out for those of us who are starved for Brazilian grooves here in Shanghai. I believe Abraham Carmona’s group will play the first set but I’m not sure. The JZ jam session will follow the big band show.

JZ Club, 46 Fuxing Xi Lu near Yongfu Lu

10:00 start

30 RMB cover, free after 1:30 or so

Santiago Salazar presented by Void

Void continue bringing great techno talent, this time presenting Santiago Salazar from LA by way of Detroit, where he did some stuff for Underground Resistance before forming his own label, Historia y Violencia. His gritty but melodic productions sound great in my living room and we’ll see on Saturday what he does, if anything, to translate the emotion to the dancefloor. Support from Nat Alexander, MHP, and Shanghai_Ultra.

The Shelter, 5 Yongfu Lu near Fuxing Xi Lu

10:00 start

50 RMB cover

Fiesta Plastidécor (An Indecent Dance Party)

Plastidécor bring their infectious jams to Logo. Smart Shanghai alleges that ” After taking a nine-day vanboat from Madrid, Spain’s production/DJ duo Plastidecor arrives to rock LoGO this Saturday on their one-day visa. Expect neon-electro, erotic Spanish techno, and explicitly sexual house music until sunrise. Supported by the infamous Baijiu Robot.” I don’t know about that, but judging from the Myspace it sounds like a fun show.

LOgO, 13 Xingfu Lu near Fahuazhen Lu

Get there around 10:00, I guess

20 RMB cover

Bigger Bang

I know, I know, I usually only do two picks per weekend night to make things easier on you guys, but I just couldn’t decide between these four. The JZ show will be of probably the most interest and groovial satisfaction to me, Santiago Salazar is pretty emotionally and texturally involving, and then Plastidécor and Bigger Bang both will just be really fun shows. These guys do fun dance rock that sometimes sounds like Mega Man themes and sometimes more straight rocking, with adorable vaguely ESL sounding growly vocals from a cute frontwoman. Are there any Beijing bands without a woman lead-singer? I need to start me one of those and sit back as the profits roll in. That’s just a slightly catty aside that has nothing to do with this band though. Incidentally, this is an S.T.D. show and Sonnet are the opening band.

YuYinTang, 1731 Yan’an Xi Lu, enter from Kaixuan Lu

9:30 start

40 RMB cover

Sunday:

To make up from my profligacy in the Saturday department I’m going to leave you kids alone on Sunday. See if you can find out about a show on your own, or just take it easy. Have a good weekend.

Love,

Mike