Shanghai Bands | BeijingDaze

Apr
5thJue Festival – Shanghai Night in Beijing: We Ain’t no Foes, Let’s Be Friends on The Rainbow

This one might take the crown for tackiest blog post title.. it’s also the king of late posts as it comes a full 2 weeks after the fact but hey, Beijing is keeping me busy. To say that I had been looking forward to this show would be an understatement… Talk about this night started months ago after Friend or Foe visited Beijing last winter and it was finally here. Fuzzy Mood was scheduled to get things started over at the drive in. I missed their set and from what I heard before, that was not necessarily a bad thing. They’re good kids, trying hard and we’ll leave it to that until I actually hear what they’ve been sounding like the past few months. I’m sure Ruby has some choice words to describe them. By the time i got there, it was time to stand up and answer the question: Are you a Friend or Foe? The trio hit the stage like a bat out of hell an proceeded to rip through their catalog of high energy goofy Alienesque Rock n Roll. I’m not sure how else to describe their music really… it’s fast, it’s punkish, got tons of attitude and is about as unpretentious as it gets.. I mean we’re talk songs about “Snorting Clorox” which by the way is even better live than on the record ( Read the Review). I have this theory about how the band didn’t actually come from outer space but they were subjected [...]
Nov
18thDouble Take: Friend or Foe – My Claw is Never Limp CD review

something is brewing down south folks… I’m not sure what it is but there’s definitely some quality coming out of Shanghai that we don’t get to see in Beijing. Don’t get me wrong, we have “some” quality up here but when you look at the quantity, the ratio is pretty dismal. Shanghai is not blessed with as many live music venues and it’s definitely harder to get noticed there so maybe that creates a sort of natural selection that we could use up here. One of the latest examples of this trend comes in under the name: “Friend or Foe”. My interests in this record was mostly from the conceptual and graphical perspective. I loved the artwork… then I heard the damn thing. How does it stack up? BD on My Claw is Never Limp I love me a catchy album or song name and this one does not disappoint. I don’t really know the band members but that’s already a good insight into their personality.. having now read a few interviews with them, I like what i see. But what about the music man… the music? The opening number, Terrorized, sets the tone right away! power chords, fast riffs, sharp vocals that keep me tapping my feet and wanting to jump up and down. That’s just the start! “Friend or Foe” is an interesting track: subtle, understated but in your face at the same time. It benefits a lot from a different production and interesting mixing! I love the [...]