Wednesday nights – gotta love em’ – between the free shows at Temple, the fine dining in the Gulou area, and the recent addition of XP’s eclectic lineups each week (hell, they’re pretty much throwing a show every night of the week) – Wednesday night is slowly turning into my favorite night of the week full of activities to dip your toes in. So last Wednesday I decided to check up on the friendly and entrepreneurial atmosphere at XP to catch You Xi, The Planets, and Skip Skip Ben Ben and to remind myself of how nice it is to have a place that supports the alternative music scene as actively as them.
I will say this, You Xi has only gotta better since I first started checking them out. They tuned in to what makes them work and have tightened those loose screws. They can still be a little too derivative of Jack White-esque bands such as The Kills, but you know what, I dig it.
The lead singer still impresses single handedly on the guitar, with his voice flowing a lot better with the music, and Meng Yao’s on drums is increasingly becoming a pleasure to watch. And when she gets on mic, allowing for the electronics to do her dirty work, its garage punk bliss.
Holy shit! The Planets!? Now where did these kids come from!
Haven’t seen such manic inspired energy like this in sometime.
Sounding like a cross between the B-52’s and Clap Your Heads Say Yeah!, with razor sharp melodies and a lead singer who voice is freakish high and warbly to say the least, I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face their entire set. By no means were they perfect – missed beats here and there, sloppy tempo changes, and the lead’s voice really does test you sometimes (like it should) but there’s undeniable talent here.
An excitement and freshness that pulls you in. I think with some polishing The Planets have quite the future ahead of them. Looking forward to catching them again.
Skip Skip Ben Ben came next, looking mighty comfortable up on XP’s dingy stage. And as expected, they rocked my world yet again.
Really just can’t enough of these guys. Some of their guitar melodies are just so righteous in their badassness. Just listen to those opening chords of ARIZ_NA.
And special credit must go to drummer 猴子, he’s shaping up to one of favorite drummers in town, wielding those sticks like a man with nothing to lose. My ladyfriend couldn’t stand Ben Ben’s voice, calling it the most irritating whine ever put to a microphone – screw that noise though – from this man’s perspective it can’t get much better (and I’m starting to wonder what other ladies out there think of her). If you exert your voice like that, it’s hard to call it a whine – her’s is more of a narrow honed-in shrill that’s in complete control. Alright, done defending over here…just watch the damn video already.
And get over to XP already for some ear candy! I put my money on it that’ll you’ll hear something you’ll take home with you. Check below for more videos from the three bands.
You Xi
The Planets
Skip Skip Ben Ben
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