It was an engaging show and a good way to relax and reflect before going back to NYC. I'm not entirely looking forward to my busy yet "productive" lifestyle. I wasn't even able to leave it behind while I was here. But I do miss my friends and my own family. Big Up MEAT HOUSE. And I'm excited about having new members in the band.
Moving backwards, here's where I left off in the last post...
The final club Kung-Pei and I visited was The Wall. I was hoping for a better than average time, because as much as I had enjoyed going out to hear music, I hadn't really found a club that felt entirely comfortable to me. The Wall was actually in the basement of a generic office building (which was odd,) but the stairwell looked promising.
At the bottom of the stairwell was a small, kinda hip mini-mall. There was a rehearsal studio, tattoo parlor, bar and cd shop.
The club was pretty big, had good sound, fun lights and even dry ice!
The first band was solid but were very reminiscent of the Goo Goo Dolls,(which now includes my highschool friend Ryan,) so Kung-Pei and I decided to hit the cd store. Once inside, it was clear this was a Kim's or Newbury Comics-style venture. I saw Broken Social Scene prominently displayed on the counter and an assortment of 'zines on a table.
A feeling of comfort and relief overcame me. I really don't really like a lot of indie rock, but there's something about that snobby esoterica that feels like a home. After talking to the store clerk, I learned that the store was an extension of a local label called White Wabbit. White Wabbit was started by the singer of a local indie band called Nipples. The label grew from exclusively putting out Taiwanese indie rock to also distributing music from various U.S. and UK indie labels. Very savvy business thinking! The clerk let me hear some bands on White Wabbitt and it was nice to finally hear some rock/pop that was interesting and adventurous. Kung-Pei and I went back to the club and heard a couple more bands, but the real find of the evening was White Rabbitt. Later that night, I went home and started connecting some of the bands I had heard in the store to others in this newly diescovered "indie" scene:
Sugar Plum Ferry
8mm Sky
The Shine and Shine and Shine and Shine
This was an encouraging night. Even though the clerk said the crowds for these indie shows were small, at least the music exists.
Among the various family activities I've done in the last couple of weeks, one was the visit to a memorial temple. Ashes are stored there for families. The remains of Vera's uncle are there, he died 2 years ago and was the patriarch of the Tang family.
Food for the afterlife..
Money for the afterlife...
I could continue with little anecdotes and ditties, but instead I'll just leave you with an assortment of pics. They should give you a disjointed and abstract sense of my visit, which basically reflects the experience itself (blah, blah, arty detachment, etc etc)....
1 comment:
I don't want to miss it when you hit that high.
Evan, I love you very much.
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