Yaogun, Out of China

And while we’re on the subject of live appearances (because we are, after all, quickly approaching jWc’s Feb 14 Toronto Reference Library talk, about which a nice blog post was written by the library folks), why not check in with yaogun making its way into the wider world, live.

While Chinese bands touring abroad is not exactly front-page news, it is still news-y when bands hop the Great Wall for gigs overseas. In the first few weeks of the Year of the Dragon, there’s been some action on the yaogun-abroad front.

Proximity Butterfly went on a two-week Australian tour from mid-Jan through early Feb.

Three bands (AV Okubo Xiao He and Nova Heart) plus a talk and slideshow from photographer Matthew Niederhauser in Sydney. Photos of the event are here.

Shanghai duo Pairs hit New Zealand for a two-week tour late Jan-early Feb; also in New Zealand in early February, was Chinese reggae outfit Long Shen Dao.

More importantly, though, are the upcoming chances to check out sounds from China in a city near-ish you.

Carsick Cars, Nova Heart, Duck Fight Goose (whose 2011 album, Sports, is pictured at left) and, word is, others yet to be officially added are heading to South by Southwest (aka SXSW), the massive festival-conference that takes over the clubs of Austin, Texas. Presumably these bands will use the cross-continental opportunity to hit an additional city or two while they’re in our neck of the woods. Details to come…

 

One of the afforementioned bands, the well-traveled Nova Heart, will cross yet another international border and head to Canadian Music Week, taking place in late March in Toronto. In 2009, the Toronto festival brought a delegation of China industry folks, including yours truly (and had Lonely China Day perform). This year, southwestern-Chinese folk outfit Shanren 山人 will also make the trip. Shanren comes through Canada on what they’re calling their Shangri-La to North America tour, and it is a tour that is extensive enough to warrant a crowdsource campaign to raise money:
Tuesday, March 6 – Pianos, New York, NY
Saturday, March 10 – Ollie’s Point, Amityville, NY
Sunday, March 11 – The Blockley, Philadelphia, PA
Wednesday, March 14 – The Outer Space, Hamden, CT
Thursday, March 15 – Chameleons, Pittsfield, MA
Friday, March 16 – Dock Street Underground, Staten Island, NY
Saturday, March 17 – Ran Tea House, Brooklyn, NY
Sunday, March 18 – Iota Club & Café, Arlington, VA
Monday, March 19 – Iota Club & Café, Arlington, VA
Tuesday, March 20 – The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
March 21-25 – Slacker Canadian Music Fest, Toronto, Canada

More to come, I’m sure, in the near future. For now, we hope for a day in the not-so-distant future, where touring Chinese bands are such a regular occurrence that the excitement raised is from their respective fanbases, rather than the media at large. On that note, a blast from the past, Subs’ tour poster from 2006 — a tour which I put together and narrated in blog form — that sums up, in a mere nine just-grammatically-imperfect-enough words, the state of affairs that remains today:

Red Rock: China Tour 2012 – Updated!

In which the tour manager becomes the tour-er
(while also, still, being the tour manager)…

Red Rock is returning to the Motherland. Thanks to an invitation from the Canadian Consulate in Shanghai, author jWc will hit the Shanghai International Literary Festival and the Bookworm International Literary Festival in March, 2012.

Details are still coming, as you’ll see. Updated on March 6:

Red Rock China Tour 2012

2012.03.10 Saturday
Shanghai
Shanghai International Literary Festival
Glamour Bar
17.00

2012.03.11 Sunday
Suzhou
Bookworm International Literary Festival
Bookworm Suzhou
In conversation with critic/blogger/then-some Andy Best
18.30

2012.03.12 Monday
Shanghai
Shanghai International Studies University
Round-table discussion with students at Intercultural Institute
Speak at SISU Journalism School

2012.03.13 Tuesday
Nanjing
Nanjing University of Arts, College of Pop Music
Lecture

2012.03.16 Friday
Beijing
Bookworm International Literary Festival
Beijing Bookworm
As part of Pop-Up Magazine

2012.03.17 Saturday
Beijing
Bookworm International Literary Festival
Beijing Bookworm
In conversation with critic and former Rolling Stone (China) editor Hao Fang
Part of the JUE festival

2012.03.18 Sunday
Beijing
Bookworm International Literary Festival
One Way Street Library
Panel discussion (Chinese), details TBD

2012.03.19 Monday
Hong Kong
Asia Society (more info)
Author talk

 

Expect updates as new information comes in. Also updated regularly is Check in regularly at this here page on upcoming Red Rock events in a city or town near you, wherever you might be.