On The Scene: Mao Livehouse 26-02-2012

As was the case for the night before, tonight in many regards was a treat for myself. I’ve seen Residence A countless times, know almost all their songs, can sing along (in my rudimentary Chinese of course) – so at this point I was willing to let myself loosen up a bit more, and take enjoyment out of seeing my buddies become newfound fans and rejoice at Mao Livehouse for Residence A’s debut album Wake Me Up From The Winter. This was a celebration, and with the devious amount of wine bottles stowed away in our jackets, I was ready to toast the boys.

Having missed Me Too (a shame as they are a great band worth checking out), this was first outing with atmospheric post-rockers Glow Curve, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I was able to get into their music. Using minimal vocals and instrumentation that I can only describe as arithmetic, one really has to let the music sink in. It’s not something you can jump into midway, you need to stick though it, beginning to end – the real beauty of the music here is in the buildups, the tension shifts, and arrangements which take time to ferment. And though sometimes the payoff isn’t worth the journey, when it does work, it works wonders.

There is some truth to the notion that a lot of post-rock sounds the same, but that’s almost like saying a lot of classical music sounds the same. Perhaps that’s why I was more drawn toward their songs with vocals incorporated – it added a more personal touch to the music, giving the often moving thematic arrangements a bit more oomph.

All in all, Glow Curve didn’t disappoint and I’m curious to see what other post-rockers in Beijing are coming up with.

A year and a half ago I first caught Residence A at the Global Battle of the Bands, where they lost, due to incorporating a pre-programmed loop to this little ditty, “第101个路灯” –

I think it was pretty obvious that there was something to these boys. Since then, Residence A have been working their asses off, playing every venue, filling their sets with more infectious songs, edgy rock albeit with a pop sensibility that makes them instantly listenable. Fast forward to now –

I’d say that hard work is starting to pay off. I’ve pretty much said all I can about these boys at this point. Some may argue that they’re too polished now, too ‘tight’ – well of course they are, that’s what consistent gigging around will do. They’re pros now, and can play their songs effortlessly. I don’t think they’ve cooled down or have ‘lost it’ – Zhao Zhao is still a explosive ball of energy, that gleam is still in his eye, and the drummer still looks like he’s about to explode in his pants every second he’s playing those drums. Fact is, Residence A deserve to play with the big boys now, and if their jaw-dropping 32 city cross country tour (self-planned nevertheless) goes as one hopes, they’ll be seeing plenty of spotlight in the near future. So here’s a toast to you, Residence A!

Click below to check out more videos and photos. And don’t forget to grab their album, which can be found on taobao here and in selected record stores around town, maybe. Oh, and I was one of the assholes who took your jumbo posters…out of love though.