On The Scene: Mao Livehouse 04-10-2012

Really, all I wanted to do tonight was relax, get a little nighttime biking in, explore some hutongs, curse the green laser pointer dude in Houhai, and eat my god damn sink snacks. But I had to drive by Mao Livehouse, and it had to be free. It’d be stupid not to at least have a gander, right?

If they’re any constellation to my actions, at least I got to finally catch Gum Bleed, the scrappy punk band who have been making waves in Beijing for quite sometime.

Old school indeedy oh – back when punk actually meant something – these guys have a pump fisting, “for the youth” kinda attitude that never gets too pretentious. Rough around the edges but catchy enough to second guess whether or not these were covers being sung – all headlined by the lead’s growl of a voice.

He’s got some charisma for sure, a manic goofball quality that makes you either want to throw a yangjing at him or down one with him. Kinda makes you wanna pogo.

And then this, coutesy of HD….

Maybe someone needs to explain how this brand of metal works – death, doom, speed – these aren’t really full songs here, more so like bursts of concentrated rage. To say I was confused is an understatement – fifty five seconds and these guys are spent. Ten minutes in and I still thought they were doin sound check – “maybe the next one will be longer”, I kept telling myself. Nope. It’s like the worst case of blue balls ever. But judging by the horde of sexy, tattoo girls by stage I suppose these guys know what the fuck their doing. Or hell, maybe they’re just as surprised, and are just wondering when that other shoe is gonna drop – get it well the gettings good eh. In that case, godspeed HD, godspeed, cause this “1,2,3,4!” ain’t gonna get my pants off anytime soon.