I found a perfect way to ward off bad vibes on this past Friday the 13th.  I went over to The Live Bar on 721 Kunming Lu to hear a performance by one of the regulars at Open Mic.  His gig went off really well, and the whole atmosphere was lots of fun.

Glen at The Live Bar

Glen, our pal from Open Mic, sang one original song of his own, and two others.  I’d heard him perform both of the others (not the original) at Open Mic.  He’s always very entertaining at our little gathering, but he really outdid himself at the Live Bar.  I was impressed with how composed he was, and also with the range of his performance.

Glen's gig on Friday 13th

After Glen’s set, a band came on who had some hard rocking pieces.  They opened with Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” and followed this with several Ozzy Osborne numbers, including “I Don’t Want to Change the World,” “Miracle Man,” and “Mama I’m Coming Home.”  They performed one original piece too.  The original work was in Chinese, though the rest of their set was made up of English songs.  They were really very good.

a hard-rocking crew at The Live Bar

There’s an ongoing Friday night performance of local artists at The Live Bar, if you’d like to pop in and enjoy an evening there.  I enjoyed being at the place.  I’ve read a lot about the underground bands that come out of Beijing, and have lots of CDs by those groups.  I didn’t know there were little places like the Live Bar in Shanghai, where this brand of hard rocking, subversive band flourishes.  I was impressed with the quality of the performance, and will probably pop in again sometime soon.  It’s a great spot to experience a side of China’s life that is often missed by the casual traveler in the country.