On The Scene: Mao Livehouse 25-07-2013

Eventually after seeing show after show, band after band, you start to get into the cycle of seeing your favorites over and over again. Which is fine for the most part – but getting too comfortable can be have its disadvantages. So last Thursday I set out for Mao Livehouse to check two bands, Me Guan Me and Lazy Camels, who despite their veteran status, I’ve yet to give the time of day to. And am I glad I did.

Rock and roll is alive and well with these seasoned gents – pure unadulterated fun. Check out more below from Me Guan Me, Lazy Camels, and new kids on the block The Big Wave.

The Big Wave continue to impress with their shameless ode to New Order and that my friends, ain’t such a bad thing. Especially when your shit is as catchy as this –

“Cancel false, cancel right” – ummm ok, awesome. Love the hooks on these cats. They know how to throw down the gauntlet when necessary. They even manage to hit some emotional chords with this number –

great backing track (though again, sounds very familiar). Really, great things are in reach for the trio – with a little more work they might be onto something.

Me Guan Me is the perfect combination of grit, indie sweetness, scrappy garage punk, and genuine love for rock and roll at its purest. Proof:

All love up there – it’s not often you see a band have this much spunk on stage – they look like old pals who have been playing together for years (oh wait, they have) and they’re relishing every chord, enough to the point where they’re not afraid to stretch a song well past the five minute mark without losing any of the momentum. Like I said, not too shabby – now can we get these guys back on the circuit again.

The theme of hearing familiar tropes with genuine gratitude and craft continued with Lazy Camels, who came across Radiohead and the Vines rolled into one. Nothing wrong with that, though obviously it’s hard match Thom Yorke’s ‘instrumental voice’ though Cui En tries his darndest.

I’ll give them this – they know how to work the mid-tempo change up, really evaluating their songs to whole new levels, giving them a ‘larger than life’ tone.

It doesn’t hit every time, and there was a tid bit of guilt felt afterwards, but when they hit, it works gangbusters. But really, cut this early Thom Yorke nonsense out. It ain’t going to happen.

 

Rock and roll made in china, with love. What’s not to love?