Beijing pulls the plug

Beijing bands are famous for attitude. But while mohawks, chains and what Ed Peto, organizer of the popular Red T Gloaming nights at Stone Boat, calls the "angsty, amplified stuff" may hit the right rock note, the music often fails to live up to the hype. More and more venues and musicians are emphasizing musicianship over rock stardom by pulling the plug and going acoustic.

Peto, whose fourth Gloaming night on August 25 features the Upstepper Soundsystem, Beijing's best local reggae outfit, devised his monthly acoustic showcase as a way to "expose musicianship" by giving bands a chance to take themselves more seriously. According to Peto, acoustic performance allows for more nuance and control than the typical plugged-in concert. The results of the first three Gloamings are encouraging, with both performers and audiences enthusiastically embracing the slower, more intimate live sets.

Leo Lee, frontman of acclaimed rockabilly band, The Scoff, which went acoustic last month in D-22's recently re-vamped Punks on Wood series, sees these gigs as an entirely different type of experience from regular shows. "There's so much more freedom when you're playing acoustic," he says, noting both the challenges but also the pleasures of his band’s quieter moments.

Michael Pettis, D-22 co-owner, whose experience in the music biz stretches back to the heady New York scene of the 1970's, characterizes musical talent in Beijing as largely "raw and lacking in self-confidence." Hence July's high-profile re-launch of the Punks on Wood unplugged series. For all the bravado, posture and volume of a full-on punk show, Pettis says that performing acoustically requires a greater and subtler courage.

Pettis and Peto agree that the recent rise in acoustic performance signals a true desire, from both artists and listeners, to see Beijing's bands move forward musically. Stone Boat's intimate Gloaming nights on the pond in Ritan Park are well attended and warmly received, as are D-22's Wednesday acoustic nights.

In surveying the current acoustic scene, Pettis is more confident than ever that talent is alive and well in the Beijing rock scene. He was genuinely moved by Demerit's Punks on Wood performance last month, calling it" significantly more dramatic without the amplification."