Lu Wan Rock

originally posted may 22

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ratatat are from new york and they are awesome. essentially they are an electronic music production duo with a unique sound that draws on many influences. though after hearing them play i think of them as a band with two people. yes, the drums, loops n sounds n arrangement and stuff are prerecorded. and there are no vocals. but the songs have structure. and the bass and guitars are played live and looped magnificently. there are other instruments on stage too, such as a melodica, drums, an autoharp, and was that a mellotron on stage?

they know how important it is to make a good visual presentation in a live show – guitarist, mike stroud has some killer rock moves and great hair. there were excellent visuals playing on the screen through the entire show, some of it synched to the music. did anyone else find the images of abba with their eyes or entire faces inverted a little disturbing?

some of their non-dance influences seemed quite obvious to me – j.s. bach, mike oldfield and queen. evan’s use of an autoharp on stage is cool and it really adds to the bach feel as it’s sound is reminiscent of a harpsichord . there’s not enough autoharp in rock these days. there also seems to be an undercurrent of classical/baroque style chord progressions running through many of their tunes. it’s a little like what justice was doing on their first album but with more scope and vision. the chord progressions are also really reminiscent of mike oldfield of tubular bells fame. which brings me to my next point – layered, distorted, backwards guitars. what a cool sound! ok so they’ve have been recording backwards guitars since the beatles and hendrix. and mike oldfield and bryan may of queen have been layering guitars and making guitar orchestras since the 1970s. but putting it all together and adding a nasty electro beat and fat (ph) distorted bass – you’ve got RATATAT!! not all their tunes are made for the dance floor.  it’s clear that these guys are real musicians playing real instruments, with an ear for what sounds great.

now let’s have a quick look at the pedals they were using. it looks like first in the chain is a wah-wah pedal. i didn’t hear much distinct wah in the set, but it’s quite possible he’s using it as a filter to help him get that distinct tone. next is a moogerfooger ring modulator . followed by what looks like a regular volume pedal. next is a classic – the proco rat . this, in combination with the univox super fuzz , gives mike his meaty distortion tone. i don’t know what the green one is below the super fuzz. any help is welcome. after the mystery pedal comes the real power behind the sound – the digitech whammy pedal . that’s the red one with audio dregs stickers over the regular branding. this thing pitch bends and harmonises and basically makes you sound like an orchestra. neat. you’ve heard it before in rage against the machine.

before ratatat was wuhan’s own AV Okubo . i am a fan of these guys. i’ve seen them a few times in shanghai and beijing and i even shared a bill with them last year at logo. they never fail to impress – their dance-rock stylings appeals to both the electro crowd and the fingers-in-the-air ( \m/  \m/ ) posse. their tunes are full-on and the four members of the band are solid musicians. it was good to see how cautious they are about pig flu.

Youth and the Destroyer are a new band on the shanghai scene, but they looked like heavyweights, so comfortable on the dream factory’s stage. they oozed charismatic attitude as they presented their wares to an already packed room. it’s kinda nu-r0ck, full of swagger.

good work dream factory on a new sound and lighting system. it looked and sounded excellent. it was hot in there but i can’t imagine it was worse than the overcrowded beijing show at mao live house on wednesday . but the dream factory needs to lift their game as far as the bar and drinks are concerned.

• with no staff there to collect bottles, the floor was littered with bottles rolling and breaking everywhere.
• warm beer is no fun for anyone
• just get a fucking cash register, enough with these bullshit transactions that take forever
• have more than one person serving
• RTFM

/rant