Satellite Voices

Shanghai

The Midi Festival

May 6, 2011

We spotlight the local highlights for this weekend’s upcoming land mark Shanghai music festival

• Text by Satellite Voices

Guest feature by Jake Newby

The Midi Festival is one of the big events in the Shanghai music calendar – especially since the Strawberry Festival was cancelled last weekend. And though the line-up of international acts is underwhelming, there’s a strong group of local bands playing.

As is often the case, there’s been a big-name casualty, with US one-hit wonders Mr Big cancelling their show having failed to get visas from Taiwan. They would have joined Japanese punks Mongol 800 and Good4Nothing, along with Canadian prog rockers Your Favourite Enemies as the foreign offerings here.

More exciting are the Chinese bands. The Shanghai contingent are well represented, with local art-rock legends Top Floor Circus – famous for singing in Shanghainese and for getting their songs banned – joined by other long-time acts Crystal Butterfly and Cold Fairyland, as well as established local bands like Boys Climbing Ropes and Pinkberry. Powerhouse nu metal band The Mushrooms are bound to draw a big local crowd, with The Fever Machine and metal act Screaming Saviour adding to this festival’s penchant for hard rock.

From Beijing, there’s more to thrash to, including hardcore pioneers Miserable Faith and the NOFX-influenced Reflector. But a more danceable highlight is Free the Birds, the new band from prolific electro-popper Helen Feng.

The cream of Shanghai’s electronic music talent will also be there, along with Manila producer Caliph8. B6, Ben Huang, LON, the Acid Pony Club and R3 are among the highlights.