On The Scene: Jianghu Bar 05-10-2013

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Getting a little behind (again) so let’s get right into it – a couple weeks back I swung by the Jianghu Bar to catch East German singer-songwriter Peter Piek spin some whimsical Elliot Smith-lite material that tempted to turn me into a love yearning junior higher. I have to mention though, my girlfriend’s mother was in tow, straight outta Xian – so this was an endurance test for her as well. The verdict – well, let’s just say, she caught some wonderful zzzzzz’s during the show. Hey, they can\’t all be winners Mrs. Zhang! Before though we were treated to the acid folk minstrel that is Daniel Taylor.

Sometime contributor Joe Bloggs summed it up perfectly a month ago when he caught Daniel Taylor so I’m gonna plug in his wonderful write-up here – check it out below.

I know to some, the idea of acoustics set are something to be scoffed at due to their unbridled self-indulgence self-circle-jerk, but imagine Jeff Buckley on acid in the Aztec settings of Mexico and we are somewhere near painting the very colourful picture needed to describe the sound. The playful execution of tonality was an intoxicating listen from this huge talent.

The screeches and low beats left all presence knowing that all the spectrum is at the finder tips of this fine vocalist. An advert for the art of one man and a guitar – the newly pleasure in watching a man in his deconstruction of old platitudes which has left many music fans fear the acoustic gigs, will not disappoint, for this was an experimental endeavor which the ecstasy I took was not expecting .Fans of Wild Beasts, Fleet Foxes, the errie side tones of Leonard Cohen, will appreciate as will anyone with a broad enough mind to see an experimental evening of music minus the electric guitar.

Granted, ecstasy would’ve definitely helped a bit – but there’s a lot of truth to those words. Daniel Taylor is a needle in the hay that’s on the cusp of something – not any clue what, but believe me – there’s something there.

I wish I could say the same for Peter Piek, the visiting East German singer-songwriter who does have a lovely catalogue of music online – melodic soft indie pop that reminds me of a lighter, more uppity, version of Elliot Smith.

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Nevertheless, tonight the cards weren’t in his favor as he struggled to connect with the audience, ending up looking more like a deer in the headlights. It really was cringe-worthy – a damn shame cause there was plenty of talent here. Here’s to hoping the rest of Peter Piek’s tour ran more smoothly (he had literally just landed five hours prior) but dude, get a grip on yourself.

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