Gig Recap 现场回顾: Ping Pong Lab 乒乓实验室 (2020.08.22)

Ping Pong Lab 乒乓实验室: RUBUR, Jianz, 表面情侣, Dahlia Rosea 玫瑰博士, RID 热地, ReJianBeiShaShou 热键被杀手 (Bandai Namco 未来剧场 2020.08.22)

Finally made my way back to Bandai Namco last weekend – this time on the basement floor – for the Ping-Pong Lab – a two-day festival centered around the back and forth volleying of electronic music and rock and roll. So essentially, one band ends their set and you can immediately turn around to welcome in the electronic act. It’s a bit jarring at first, and definitely works better on paper than in execution, but I kinda dug the hell out of it – especially as the electronic acts became more and more immersive (just make sure you time your smoke breaks accordingly). For the second evening of the evening, the organizers gathered some killer acts covering a variety of genres and temperaments.

It was my first time to check seasoned Shanghai shoegaze act RUBUR, playing their first set in nearly a year, as the band prepares for an upcoming tour and the release of their new album. And yeah – this is how I like my shoegaze folks – dirty, ruthless, and haunting. As I mentioned before ‘there’s a turbulent, transcendent beauty at play within RUBUR’s palette – a modern-day poetic urban bent beneath the layers of noise and splintered, simmering decay that pierces deep.’ 

Shanghai rockers Dahlia Rosea (who also helped put together the event) followed electronic act Jianz bringing their detached crusty blend of alternative rock and psychedelic simmer. They’re a band that seems to get better each time, invoking a sound that’s both accessible and dangerous.  

The true highlight of the evening was the impassioned Xiamen noise-rockers ReJianBeiShaSho (following electronic duo 表面情侣) who have upped their game since I last caught them in Beijing. It’s noise rock with an emo heart that’s not afraid to break a few eardrums in the process. Not many bands let their voices hang out like these kids, and attached to some infectious melodies on top on that – they’re a band that we’ll be hearing a lot about come next year.

The evening closed out with two guitar-infused electronic sets from Liiii+Woody and Mongolian troupe RID – the latter who shed down to duo form – giving a lush ambient-filled set that took their ancestral palette and filtered it through some sprawling soundscapes – a fitting end to a stellar night of live music.

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