Mao Pre Halloween: GAWTMY’s final? stand, Nanwu confirms and other tidbits

There were a few shows taking place this past friday in Beijing and some were quite high profile.. that said, I couldn’t not go to Mao Live for their pre-halloween bash once i heard that there was a good chance it might be Girls Are Waiting to Meet You’s last performance for a long time/ever.

Continuing the trend of decent attendance at Mao, there were a good 300+ people when I got there with GAWTMY having barely gotten started.. funny how things have changed since the first time i saw the band! The only survivors in the lineup are Donna ( drums), Bing ( Bass) and Kirsten ( Violin) with another 10 people have played in the band at some point or another.

The band members were decked out in full zombie regalia and put on what I would consider their finest performance with Aaron on vocals.. ever.. They played their usual songs with a few variations and one thing i remember thinking is how they sounded heavier on a few classics, especially with Dave’s guitar that could have been described as overly aggressive.. really liked it! This variation of the lineup with 5 persons works best so far and is definitely something to consider should they decide to get the band back together.

Not There was up next and I took that opportunity to sneak out and get some food. I didn’t like their “experimental” side or the instrumental aspect of it all, especially not after that amazing GAWTMY performance. That said, the band sounded good and on any other day, I might have stayed for the whole thing. I was later told that they did some Ukrainian rapping and other weird things.. to be continued.

Nanwu came on board next and rocked the joint out of its freaking mind.. I’ve seen these guys multiple times by now and they have delivered every time.. guaranteed good times folks!! The band has really cool chemistry and plays with the audience like very few in Beijing know how to do it. Their brand of crosstalk-rock is infectious, sleazy, poppy and safe at the same time. On Friday, they clearly mentioned that they didn’t really understand the whole Halloween concept but that since everyone was there, might as well have some fun and sing together.

Nakoma, which has been playing a lot lately, rounded up the bill. I haven’t seen them since battle of the bands so i was looking forward to a longer set. They’re good but this whole instrumental rock thing doesn’t work for me. They need to get serious about finding a singer. One thing i just noticed this Friday about Linda’s drumming: it sounds loud but she’s not putting a lot of power behind it! I kept an eye on her wrists and shoulders but could not discern any extra oomph in there.. someone gonna have to tell her to be careful, she could hurt herself drumming the wrong way.

I left before the set was over to pick up a guest from Yugong Yishan which had hosted Zippo night consisting of Pet Conspiracy and Hang on the Box.. good stuff.

and to GAWTMY: don’t hang it up please… there’s a legacy there! however, if that was the final song and dance, then you’re going out on top and in style!! For those about to rock, we salute you…