2013-9-27: Lost Era Rebels and a Little Pacalolo Impact at 2 Kolegas.

i’ve been bitching about new music or lack there-of over the past year… and i’m not alone. Still, a few folks been telling me that there are a couple of new bands worth catching and that i should come out of my cave for a bit. On a cool little friday night, i decided to just do that and head over to 2K for a little taste of Era Rebels and Pacalolo. I figured i was overdue for something fresh.

Era Rebel been getting a lot of hype lately on the soundstage and also courtesy of smartbeijing amongst others. Delta blues from China is what’s it’s being advertised as and that got me curious. I knew the band under their former moniker of “pirate pistol” and i wasn’t impressed by them then. Could a little name change make a difference? Listening to frontman CHen Xi talk, i was under the impression i would be listening to a Chinese version of Devils at the Crossroad. It wasn’t.
For all the delta blues talk, what we had that night at 2 Kolegas was straight up hard rock covers, mostly 80s that.. i must recognise, were well well executed. Good new party band with a dynamic frontman and decent playing? check… saviours of rock? nope. Still, it was good to see. They’re following the steps of Jacky Danny and Los Crasher. In all fairness to the band, had i bothered listening to them before, i would have realised that i wouldn’t be heading any Muddy Waters songs.

Pacalolo is no newcomers to the scene. They have been around in some form or another for since 2009 and i do remember catching the tail end of their show when they opened for Hang on the Box at Mao in 2009. However, what i remember them for even more was this quote on one of their interviews:

The homogeneity of Beijing’s music scene and its roots could have a wonderful book written about it’s evolution. We first heard rock and roll music watching our parent’s pornographic videos. Those were the first foreign media to be smuggled into China, and the music made me and my brother go out and start a band. The new musician may be influenced by the internet most.

Interesting parents i’d say. Well, that night at 2 Kolegas, the band really stood out. I love their blend of electro and rock. I also dig the original lyrics.
Thing with music, i don’t care how it’s labeled.. and watching pacalolo perform that night, i could see something special. I could also hear something special. I’m not sure why they didn’t make an impression on me back in the days but now, i still got the chorus “big brother is watching you” playing inside my head. The one thing i came out with that night is that they are talented and have “it”. i’m looking forward to a little more Pacalolo in my future. Now if i can convince the singer to take some vocal classes, she will blow the roof at any gig.

More on Pacalolo at their douban:
http://site.douban.com/pacalolo/room/126485/
Check out the Rolling Stones covers they have on there.

More on Era Rebels at their douban:
http://site.douban.com/Era_Rebels/