Monday, September 28, 2009
Saturday night I had the pleasure of listening to some really excellent indie rock coming straight out of Beijing. Santos Party House's basement venue felt like a roller disco: its mirror ball and neon graphics on the walls gave the small space more depth than it actually has--a great venue to see and hear up and coming bands up close.
Within 30 seconds of Hedgehog's set the first thought that ran through my mind was, “Beijing is the next center of underground rock and roll,” if it's not already. The melodic guitar riffs actually caused me to put down my gin and tonic and pay attention--not an easy feat to accomplish! (Hear some of their tunes here). I bought their first CD on the spot--which says something. It has been years since I actually purchased a new album... I can't even remember the last one. Their new album, Blue Daydreaming, is out now.
In Hedgehog I hear hints of Beach Boys surf rock mixed with trippy, loopy infusions of Dengue Fever. Throw in some Chinese lyrics and you have yourself a premier Chinese indie rock trio. Their set alternated between melodic hypnotization and rock and roll bounce. Hedgehog performed "Toy & 61 Festival" flawlessly before seamlessly bleeding into "Love Tosh"--the mostly Chinese crowd took this part of the set in stride, but I wanted to jump through walls it was so good. This was the point when the band seemed to come alive. The crowd eventually caught on, lit up, and bounced around a little more.
No doubt the heart of the band is the drummer Atom. Watching her is alternately akin to watching rhythmic ocean tides or a racing heart beat. The rest of the band is accomplished, but to tell the truth, no Atom, no Hedgehog.
Check out an interview and profile of Atom here:
After their set I approached Atom and said, "I really enjoyed your set, hen hao!" and gave her the thumbs up sign. In Mandarin, she asked, "Do you speak Chinese?" I laughed and said, "Hell no!" at which point she promptly turned around and walked away. Well, so much for that friendship!
Queen Sea Big Shark follwed Hedgehog. They had some really catchy tunes along the lines of Hedgehog. Their show stealer was the erotic, tomboy-ish lead singer who oozed sex appeal and danced with the crowd. She was electric! The rest of the band was animated with ample supplementation of electonica. Unfortunately, I had to split before the last group, Casino Demon, came on, so no report there.
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