As anyone that lives in Shanghai knows, we are not blessed with an abundance of venues in which to view live music. There is YuYinTang (which claims 450 capacity, but really can only cater for 150-200 comfortably), Live Bar (which is around 150 capacity and is so far away from downtown, it may as well be in Japan) and LoGo, to which the moniker Live House would be a massive, massive overstatement.
And so, when the Zhijiang Dream Factory came to light in mid 2008, it served as a boon to live music afficionados in the city. It sounded terrible and the lighting looked like epileptic weasels shining torches from the rafters, but it was a venue with a stage that 400 people could see comfortably. It was a massive step up.
It hosted some good shows by local promoters and recently, it has become a fairly regular destination for bigger bands and bigger crowds.
Local promoters Split Works have hosted Battles, Demerit, the Young Knives and the sellout Maybe Mars showcase; S.T.D. will be promoting Ratatat there in May; Abe Deyo did Canadian Band You Say Party! We Say Die there and local label Soma did a very well attended showcase with Shanghai based bands the Mushrooms, Zhong Chi, Momo and Little Nature.
So, it is with regret that we announce that the venue may soon be ineligible for regular usage. The Soma record label have offered the building management some kind of deal, where they (Soma) will put in a better PA in exchange for being able to book the venue Wednesday through Sunday. Needless to say, the venue is now 150% more expensive to rent, making it impossible for independent promoters to use it (it was hard enough initially).
UPDATE: Andy Best pulls less punches than the Radar here
In a world where promoters work for months on negotiating, contracting, promoting, tour managing and ticketing events (and taking all the risk), it seems bizarre that people that manage the building take the entire bar and a huge percentage of the door. It just isn’t a viable situation. We cannot see many big shows happening in Shanghai’s only 500 capacity venue after May, which can only be a backward step for Shanghai’s burgeoning live music scene.