On The Scene: Yugong Yishan 28-12-2012

Tonight’s decision-making came down to taking the first bus down west down Dongsishititao – if the bus made a stop near Dianamen then I would go to XP, if not then Yugong Yishan. Looks like the odds fell in Yugong Yishan’s favor and hey, I can’t complain – I finally was able to catch Mr. Graceless, get my second filling of Snapline and Deadly Cradle Death, and watch Carsick Cars worked the crowd like the seasoned pros they are. An eclectic, hot and cold lineup of different styles – I couldn’t be happier.

Seriously, something is up with Deadly Cradle Death. These videos hardly do them justice as to the mood these two strike – I’m not sure the audience was even sure how to stomach this. Well, whoever put them on first thank you – it’s exactly the slap to the face that was needed.

It’s twisted tribal music, the type of shit that’s made in the midst of madness, or a terrible (or wonderful) head trip where the only way out is to jump right down that rabbit hole further. These two need to spread their black magic around town some more.

It’s black tar club music – demented for sure, but I love every second of it. More please.

Talk about a 180 turn – Mr. Graceless are pretty much the exact opposite of Deadly Cradle Death – a squeaky clean sun shining trio whose youthful blissfulness comes pouring out of their sound. It’s shameless in its approach but what’s amazing is how well it works.

There’s this scrappy earnestness to their music that’s undeniably endearing. While Britpop groups like Escape Plan get all the acclaim and attention, it’s these cats who come closet to capturing that Rubber Soul-era Beatles sound or early Velvet Underground – guess the tribute night and giant banana are all starting to make sense now.

Nothing manufactured about them – it’s pure, genuine and heck, I wanna bring them home to mom.

Snapline fascinates me – they are a band that seems destined for greatness. They capture a mood that’s completely their own – strange off beat, yet cool as a cucumber. They reach high and more often than not they hit that sweet spot

– that indie post-punk frantic attitude that captures this smoggy city perfectly – a desolate paranoid timid feeling that oozes with style. Chen Xi’s voice is a perfect match – a at ease calm voice that’s clearly on the edge. Though at times, the group jumps too shamelessly into art school territory – usually their shorter more schizoid pieces – for the most part, they hit a chord that few others have.

Look outside people, this is the soundtrack to our infested city. It’s intense, but boy does it move.

And of course Carsick Cars came out to audiences ready to sing along to their favorites and jump like it was 2012. What can I say, not a bit sick of it.

They haven’t lost anything – in fact, I’d say they are only getting better. They don’t look like a band that play in some dinghy joint in Wudaoku – these sons of bitches look like they could take on Workers Stadium at this point. Alright, a bit of a stretch, but fuck it, the optimist in me looks forward to that day.

“She Will Wait” is in a nutshell a perfect ode to Lou Reed’s knack for moving artful lyrics, albeit plastered across infectious looping and guitar chords. The crowd pleasing came when they covered “Run Run Run” bringing out Yan Yulong on violin – god damn. That is all. This is how you pay tribute to The Velvet Underground – kudos to S. Dummy and Yugong Yishan for capturing the magic (nice lens – puts mine to shame)

Check below for more videos from Carsick Cars, Snapline, and Mr. Graceless. One more for 2012.

Mr. Graceless

Snapline

Carsick Cars