Drowning Fish 溺水的鱼, Caution Slippery 小心地滑, Clams Getaway 蛤蜊大逃亡
– LOFAS 2021.08.31
Whole Lotta Lofas, Whole Lotta Love
Tuesday Night’s Lofas showcase of up-and-coming bands did not disappoint, although my performance at work the next day did. Let’s get into it…
– Philip Hsu, Contributing Writer
Opener Oyster Escape – sorry, Clams Getaway, hit it off with There, There by Radiohead, which in my opinion is one of the Alt-Rock Legend’s best songs, although Thom Yorke’s vocals are a bit steep of a bar to meet. Nonetheless, I was thus and soon thereafter reassured that Clams Getaway is a musical band with serious songwriting and jam capabilities, polished vocal presence, rhythm section and integration of live band elements. The songs just sound good, bringing edge with that unsettling minor key yet also delving into popular and meatier pop sounds with perfect timing, and presenting lyrics with meaning. Oyster Pancake – Sorry, Clams Getaway are really a band to watch here as they continue to polish their act and find a little bit of a louder, stronger and even more confident sound, we want Moar Swagga!
Drowning Fish continues to make the rounds in Shanghai’s livehouse circuit, and have added additional band members since the last time I saw them at Magpie. Abyssal Plain-style guitar and vocal numbers now enter cosmic realms assisted by those graphics you really don’t want to stare at for too long under normal circumstances, let alone when the keyboard is going single note Hans Zimmer and that existentialist feeling enters the chamber of your mind, locked and loaded.
Bass and guitar run wild while the lead singer croons in English, Chinese, and Nihilism. I mean, I liked them the first time, and this is still great, maybe needs a little bit more integration of the pieces. Drowning Fish are definitely hitting that mood though, and not in a cheesy way either – the group is maturing well, it’s now just a matter of whether it’s becoming a bleu, brie, Red Lester, or something sharp enough to serve at a party where 50 year-old men in tweed jackets comment on their wives’ spending habits while outside of their wives’ earshots.
Anyway, Caution! Slippery! is the actual name of the band and while it’s not clear to me how their music is reflected in the vital words inscribed on the side of the middle school custodian’s cleaning cart and sign, they are a totally impressive unit. I hear a combination of grunge and punk rock with RHCP at depth, a cohesive act between all pieces with driving vocals, rhythms and rich stage presence. Rocking or relaxing into a groove, Caution! punctured the ennui of the night with a roar and did not let up, true performers which reminded me of some of the best festival bands I’ve seen in my day in the United States. Those hazy afternoons where the real steel came out in the middle of the sun-drenched stages after those Brooklyn-bearded acts sang some lovey-dovey words written by Capitol Records…Next year at Strawberry, my friends, Next Year at Strawberry!
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