A tale of it all going right: Spardac rock, Insurance Cool, Nucleus Awakes and the Infection Takes

last week at 2 Kolegas saw an interesting show take place where throughout the evening, things just kept going right and the stars all lined up for the bands. It was a pretty solid bill with The Ghost Spardac making a rare trip outside of Gulou, Amazing Insurance Salesmen coming out of post-GBoB hibernation as well as 2 Kolegas standbys, Nucleus along with Wu & The Side Effects. I fully expected the Ghost Spardac to steal the show judging by the lackluster performance each one of the other bands had put on the last time I saw them…. boy was I wrong!

Ghosts went up first to a very thin audience by Saturday-night-2-Kolegas standards. It was interesting to see the in a different environment than Mao, playing plugged in and dealing with the good old fashioned 2K reverb that can throw off the best of bands. They played their guts out like they always do and it was a most enjoyable show! I got a chance to talk to frontman Boxi about their evolution through the years, the new drummers as well as the record they released in Japan which is apparently available at C Rock… great kids with huge potential!!

Next up was the Amazing Insurance Salesmen whom I had not seen since their pre-GBoB show at Yugong. I wasn’t sure what to expect but hoped for an improved sound and better chemistry. well, guess what? They rocked the house! I have not seen the band play this relaxed or loose in such a long time! Maybe all the competition related crap was really getting to their head or god knows what. Still, that saturday night, they were back to being loose, free, adventurous and just overall genuinely performing on stage! Just a gig for the sake of gigging!

Nucleus came up afterward. I last saw them opening for Bad Mamasan when they seemed lost between a stack of MArshal Amps… well, I don’t know what bit their ass that saturday because all of a sudden, they were playing with a sense of urgency I’ve never seen on them. Pounding, shredding, fretting, vocals, timing etc… the whole package was there! I think it might have been the first time I’d seen the whole band so freaking serious on stage, men on a mission! The grunge was frreaking grungy and they even premiered 3 new songs… you gotta be kidding me? Whatever hit them that week, I want it to keep hitting them hard and fast.

Wu & The Side Effects, as is tradition, closed the night. Last time i saw them, I spoke of chemistry and personality influencing the band’s play…. Can I eat my words now? Since Steno joined the band, things have been off, including a lack of joy on Wu Kejia’s face as he’s playing. As we would say in culinary terms, the mayonnaise has taken.. The band just clicked with Wu smiling through most of the show, interacting with both Steno and Moritz. The old songs were infectious again and the new ones started fitting. Yeah sure, it’s a different Wu & Side Effects… but if they keep it this way, they’re gonna be just fine.

Big ups to all the bands that night for great and surprising performances… It’s rare to see things go so right on so many levels and I love it when that happens.