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To the People,
Shit, it's always good to go to Yuyintang. If the weekend passes without YYT hearing from me, I get nasty texts from the place about hypothetical dalliances and I got to buy some chocolates to get back in her good graces.
But this isn't about me, it's about you. And you need to go to Yuyintang tonight, 9 pm, 60 RMB.
Scary Magic will be playing, and they're a heap of fun. Those are some sincere cats and they jump around and scream. And that's not including their 2 lead singers. I call their music party rock, because if I had a frat party and Otis Day and The Knights were unavailable, they'd be my go-to. Just as long as Pheel gets the lyrics right to “Sympathy for the Devil.”
Banana Monkey - Baby in Red
Banana Monkey... those guys are pretty good too, I'd say so. Singer Bono (just go with it...) has one of those grins that is sincere and simultaneously taking the piss out of everyone in the room. The heedless grin says, “That was very nice. And now here's a fucking rock band.” They play garage rock, but fear their occasional disco shuffle and punk breakdown. Beware ye masses!
And what the hell, I'll be there, too. I'll probably introduce the bands, likely DJ rock and roll tunes, and most certainly yell at each group in turn to hurry their asses and get to the stage. But that's not all.
No, these are perfectly fine, fine, super fine reasons to go to the show. But wait, bozo, there's more. I've prepared a top 5 list of reasons you need to go to Yuyintang tonight. Check it out.
Mohanik from Ulaanbaatar
1) More, More, Mohanik
Headliners tonight are Mohanik, all the way from the “red hero” of the country of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar. They've come through Shanghai twice before on tour, and if you've seen them before, you can stop reading now.
That's because their shows speak for themselves. They play real intense post-rock, with heavy beats punctuated by long droning guitar that fills any room with tension. Their willingness to do this – regularly slowing down the spinning of the room to a crawl from a previous punk rock twirl – is breathtaking stuff.
MOHANIK - SINCE I BECAME WIND
2) “Certain Things Have Come to Light” Come to Light
Get hip to this: the debut of a new band. Ivan Belcic sang in the metal band Moon Tyrant, drums/screams for improv heavy spazoid Death to Giants...and now he's got some bluegrass for your ass. Or something like that. I don't know, and you don't know either. Because nobody has heard his new solo project, “Certain Things Have Come to Light” - but you will if you come to Yuyintang at 9:45 pm.
Here's what I know. He'll be accompanied by guitarist Adam Gaensler of the Hellhounds/Macaronians/bald happy guy and Fierce Franco, mandolin player/occasional rapper for The Horde. They'll be playing acoustic versions of songs from Ivan's new album...along with a bluegrass cover.
3) More Beer!
The kind folks at Vedett Extra White are providing free beers for the first 50 people who come out tonight. Personally, I won't be indulging – I save my inebriation periods for award galas – but that means more for you!
I'll add that Yuyintang in no way had to allow us to do this, so blow their mind by buying extra drinks from them.
Banana Monkey
4) MonGOlia
Hey, this is the launch party for the second annual Rock Naadam. Rock Naadam is the annual philanthropy/music exchange project between China and Mongolia I set up. Last year ancient and historical Shanghai bands Boys Climbing Ropes and Moon Tyrant went, along with The Horde, and brought back some crazy stories and kind words. They played concerts in front of perplexed people in restaurants, they played in front of thousands of people in the town square...but most importantly they played, and that's something very, very few international rock bands can say about their stays in Mongolia.
This year, Banana Monkey and I are going. Our plane leaves Sunday. We'll be playing a bunch of show, taking part in two conferences, and more (see reason 5). Banana Monkey will be the first all-Chinese rock band to play in the countryside of Mongolia ever, and quite possible the big city (shout out to Little Punk of Boys Climbing Ropes). Pretty cool, right? So come see us off proper, as we might or might not inadvertedly discover one of these while we're out there.
BANANA MONKEY - DOUBLE TROUBLE
5) Go for The Kids
But fuck us, right? We're just some bums. We eat our noodles one slurp at a time, just like everyone else.
Still....do it for the kids.
These cards here were prepared by local school children and will be delivered to orphans in Darkhan, Mongolia. They will be hand delivered by Banana Monkey and I, sponsored by....you! No angel investors, no big organizational hierarchy. Just people helping people. Thanks for the support!
Check out the interview with Mohanik below:
WORDS: BRIAN OFFENTHER
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