Remembering YuYinTang (Part 1): Joyside & The Rogue Transmission (June 20, 2009)
On this very day, 15 years ago...
Last Friday, June 14, I woke up to the announcement that long-running Shanghai rock venue YuYinTang will permanently close its doors at 851 KaiXuan Lu on June 30. Right after I was informed by former bandmate Adam Gaensler via social media, I continued the chain, reaching out Miguel and Fabien from The Fever Machine, Ivan Belcic (ex-Death to Giants/Moon Tyrant), and many of the great friends I made performing on that stage. Without a doubt, it’s terrible news. YuYinTang has long been the epicenter of the Shanghai scene. It’s the venue where I performed more than any other, and holds a special place in my heart.
For years, I spent a few nights there almost every week, promoting shows, hosting bands, drinking in the park. And while my initial gut reaction was one of sadness, that emotion quickly shifted to one of gratitude for having so many opportunities to frequent such a great place that fostered its own community, where Shanghainese locals, expats, and a generation of rockers from around China convened in the name of music a damn good time.
Many people might not even realize that this isn’t even the first time YuYinTang has closed down. Back in 2007, before the Olympics, its original warehouse venue, down a random dark alley off LongCao Rd, was shuttered, suddenly. At the time, that felt like a terrible loss in our nascent scene. Personally, I felt super bummed. It was the very first place I went out after moving to Shanghai in 2007, the same night I stumbled upon the French crew that became my initial group of friends in the city: Fabien, Brice, Jima, and Balou.
Close to 20 years later, I’ve come to the realization that nothing is sacred. Especially in China, where land developers can swoop in at any time and demolish courtyard homes and historic lanes for no real good reason other than supposed economic progress.
So, with YYT on the verge of closing, I’m taking a few days to count down some of my favorite memories of this iconic place that will forever own a piece of my heart and soul. Besides, it’s a great excuse to jot down a few words and kickstart the old writing muscles that have been dormant for a bit too long.
June 20, 2009: The Rogue Transmission Opens for Joyside
In China, there’s some common belief, true or not, that the official weather is never reported above 40-degrees Celsius (that’s 104 Fahrenheit) because it would enact some government decree requiring businesses to shutter, while still holding employers liable for paying salaries. I can not confirm this to be true, but I can say that on June 20, 2009, Shanghai was a balmy sweltering 40-degrees, at a minimum. The kind of scorching mess where your skin immediately bubbles up with drops of sweat upon exiting your apartment. Humidity so dense it hits you with a sudden force.
In other words, muggier and hotter than a Mississippi swamp in the height of summer.
On this particular day, The Rogue Transmission was set to play one last show before our annual summer hiatus, opening for iconic Beijing punk band Joyside at YuYinTang. We’d been personally selected by the group, who we had befriended around the scene, to support them on their farewell tour.
Back in 2009, The Rogue Transmission was in killer form. After a year and a half of gigging around China: Beijing, Nanjing, Wuhan, Changsha, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Tianjin; and a successful EP release, we were prepping to go into the studio to record a full length.
Gaensler had joined our lineup a few months prior, in March, after our original guitar player, Clement Bouvron, moved back to France. Adam’s tasty shredding licks clicked instantly with Fabi and John’s rhythm pocket, and we raced through 2009 with some big-time gigs, like opening up for Carsick Cars and Snapline at D-22 on May 1, which was basically as hip a club show as there was at the time.
Opening for Joyside carried that same cache. We had actually played with them once before, a year prior, so we knew there’d be a huge and eager crowd. And, while YYT could hold about 300 people squished together like sardines in an airtight tin can, the promoters at S.T.D. sold close to double that in covers, with the overflow spilling out into the sprawling park behind the venue.
It was the perfect recipe for a hot and steamy cosmic gumbo of rock and roll, Tiger Beer, and body odor.
The show itself was rather memorable. The Rogue Transmission blazed through our 10-song opening set, and it was plenty sloppy. Tough to play super tight when your hand keeps sliding off the fretboard and drum sticks go flying because there’s a lake forming between your palm and the wood. But, the energy was right, and that was our hallmark as a band. We were pure, unbridled energy personified: Always.
For our closing number, we ripped through “Quitter,” a good, old-fashioned boogie woogie rocker, with a harmonica solo in the bridge. That night, however, I left the harmonica at home and decided to dive into the crowd and mosh it up with the YYT faithful after the second chorus. It was a well-received bit of pageantry and allowed plenty of time to return to stage before the final chorus. At the time though, we had no idea this would be our final live number as a band.
We had just recorded basic tracks and were heading back into the studio for some overdubs the following week before going on our standard summer break. Actually, we were slated to open for Nine Inch Nails at a festival in Shanghai in August 2009, promoted by Ticketmaster and Emma Entertainment. But, that gig was eventually canceled due to the upcoming 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.
We were also booked for the Qingdao Golden Wave Festival in September, but a week after our second studio session, John Lynch, our founding bass player, broke the news that he was walking away from the band. At the time, I didn’t know how to keep this particular group going without him, and the album was scrapped. Fortunately, I still have the studio tracks that may just see the light of day in 2025 (did I just announce a new record? Don’t quote me on it), which is how Gaensler and I reconnected the other week.
But back to Joyside …
2009 was actually their true peak as a band, after the pissy drunk sloppy wastoid era, before the watered down harmonious primetime TV performances.
Preparing for their first breakup, after the release of their EP Maybe Tonight, Joyside briefly toured with a five-man lineup that featured both Xiao Hong and Yang Yang on guitars, along with founding member Liu Hao on bass and Guan Zheng on the skins. Of course, Bian Yuan was up front, looking dashing as ever. They were already the elders of the D-22 scene at that point and had delivered some exceptional festival performances, notably their main stage set at the 2008 Modern Sky Festival in Beijing.
That night, Joyside played like it would be their last gig ever, nailing every single note. Yang Yang, on his sparkly silver Gretsch Electromatic Double Jet, and Xiao Hong, rocking his black Gretsch Falcon (a guitar I later borrowed for tracking The Fever Machine’s Living in Oblivion LP), traded crystalline licks, while Bian Yuan dazzled the crowd with his boozy drawl. It was an exceptional set from one of China’s greatest punk bands. Legendary shit, without a doubt.
Many beers in the park followed. Bian Yuan and I toasted more than a few, while Fabi and Xiao Hong shared their own drinks and camaraderie. Later there was an envelope full of cash. Crisp red hundreds with Mao’s smug portrait adorning every single one. At the time, life didn’t seem like it could get any better.
There’s more than a bit of irony wrapped up in this particular vignette. It was Gaensler who first broke the news of the YuYinTang closure to me, just days after we started to discussed this unreleased recording session. The Joyside show at YYT on this very date, exactly 15 years ago, was never meant to be our final performance. It’s just how the chips fell.
So remember, all good things eventually must come to an end. It’s just the way it works in life. Still, I’ll always carry the fond memories of YuYinTang and the people I shared the room with in my heart.
Stay tuned for a few more trips back to 851 Kaixuan Lu before YYT closes its doors on June 30.
Photos courtesy of Polymathochist, Tim Franco and Adam Gaensler.