Remembering YuYinTang (Part 3): Halloween Tribute Nights
On those times I brought KISS, The Clash, The Misfits, and more to Shanghai …
You wanted the best. You got the best. The hottest band in the world … KISS!
Every night, right as KISS takes the stage, the house announcer spouts this same intro over the loudspeaker just before the band kicks into “Detroit Rock City.” A massive curtain drops, fires ignite, and the entire venue goes absolutely nuts. It’s the perfect start to the most electrifying experience in live rock and roll music.
Last November, in 2023, after 30 years of genuine fandom, I fulfilled a childhood dream by finally seeing KISS live. Thirteen years earlier, however, I brought KISS to life in China, as part of YuYinTang’s annual Halloween Tribute show. Perhaps it wasn’t quite the pyrotechnic masterpiece delivered by the band themselves, but it was an exceptional gig. One of those legendary shows that kickstarted a yearly tradition at Shanghai’s most beloved venue, where bands would ditch their own material for the evening, and pay homage to some of their favorite bands, in costume, of course.
But the annual Halloween Tribute, which became one of the biggest shows of every year, didn’t even start at YuYinTang.
The origin story dates back to the summer of 2007.
Right around the same time that I started The Rogue Transmission with Fabien, John, and Clement, I approached Reggie Bape, Li Sisi, and Albert Yu, the original promoters of the S.T.D. party collective, about securing a slot on their first Halloween show at 4 Live, a short lived, 500-person venue at the Bridge 8 development complex on Jianguo Lu.
For the occasion, I collaborated with Morgan Short, Jordan Small, and Devin Gallery of Boys Climbing Ropes to deliver one of history’s greatest Glenn Danzig impersonations. Adopting the moniker Horror Business, our tribute to The Misfits was a thing of absolute perfection.
Complete with coiffed devil hawk wigs, ghoulish face paint, and a plethora of testosterone, we performed classics like “Last Caress,” “We Are 138,” “Hybrid Moments,” “Teenagers from Mars,” “Attitude,” “Bullet,” and “Skulls.” It was an instant smash with the Shanghai party scene.
Honestly, we knew it would be a hit, so we booked a second show at everyone’s favorite dive, LOgO, signing up local groups Mortal Fools and Kidney Stone to perform tribute sets as The Ramones and the Sex Pistols, respectively. We dubbed the event Punks for Monks, and donated all the proceeds to Prospect Burma, a charity in Yangon, in the wake of the Saffron Revolution.
The shows were outrageous and packed. In 2007, an evening full of punk rock tributes was a novel idea in China, where Halloween was still a foreign concept and ritual. For my part, I subtly altered the lyrics of “Horror Business” to include the line “I’ll put a knife right in Hu,” while Mortal Fools bassist Levi delivered a full-on rant that included repeated chants of “Fuck the CPC.”
It was absolute punk rock chaos.
Following the shows, all the bands and members went our separate ways, returning to our original groups and songs, performing wherever we could, whenever we could. But, a year later, we felt compelled to up the ante.
With S.T.D. moving the Halloween show to YuYinTang, they booked SUBS from Beijing to headline. The Rogue Transmission, fresh off our second performance in the capital, promised a riveting tribute set to The Clash, while Boys Climbing Ropes stuck to The Misfits routine, this time with Xiao Punk on lead vocals.
Gearing up for The Clash set, we had to make a bit of a lineup change. Clement had obligations elsewhere (Bangkok maybe?), so we drafted Tim Anderson, an expat from Seattle who played in the Fuck n’ Rolls, to bang the drums, while Fabien stepped out from behind the kit and into the spotlight to deliver one hell of a Joe Strummer performance.
For his part, Fabi just knew the material better than all of us, so it was a welcome shift in dynamics that allowed us to enjoy each other in a different capacity and put egos aside. It takes a different energy to lead than to follow, and I was already constantly on edge trying to push my own limits with the Rogue Transmission. Tim brought some great, lighthearted energy into the room, and even John had his moment in front, performing “Guns of Brixton.”
Personally, it was an enormous period of growth, learning how to revel in the side man role, especially on nuanced tracks like “(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais.”
Once again, the performance was sensational.
Yet another year passed, and again S.T.D. ran the Halloween festivities at YuYinTang. In between groups and just starting the framework for the band that would become The Fever Machine, I didn’t participate in the 2009 show, but attended, dressed as Richie Tenenbaum, to watch Fabien and Adam Gaensler rip through a set of Violent Femmes covers. I also caught a performance by a group called Youth & the Destroyer. I eventually married the singer and we started our own band in Los Angeles, Tres, but that’s an entirely different story altogether.
Back to YuYinTang, where in October 2010, I took the lead on the Halloween show, booking the date close to a year in advance.
By then, the scene had grown enough that I knew I’d be able to convince a few groups to perform in costume to promote an entire evening of tribute sets. Boys Climbing Ropes were always good for their annual Misfits show, and Fabien’s other band, X is Y, brought in Ivan Belcic from Moon Tyrant to sing lead vocals to perform as Joy Division. We even had noise punk duo Pairs do an absurd Wham! set, but what I was really banking on was a headlining set by KISS. I knew it would be a total sensation.
Just as Fabien led The Rogue Transmission (+1) through our set as The Clash two years before, I guided The Fever Machine (+ Adam Gaensler on lead guitar) deep into the world of KISS. As a lifelong fan, I was somewhat amazed that the other guys didn’t grow up with these songs and riffs. But then again, it made sense considering they came from France, Ecuador, and Australia.
For two months, we worked on our chops in the rehearsal room, putting together a set of the hits: “Detroit Rock City,” “Deuce,” “Strutter,” “Cold Gin,” Rock and Roll All Nite,” “I Was Made for Loving You,” “Love Gun,” etc. Adam and I would get together outside of band rehearsals to do some guitar-only practices. Everything was coming together, nice and tight.
Visually, it was impossible to procure everything necessary to perfectly recreate a KISS performance, but we designed our own simpler silver and black aesthetic to pass as credible versions of the Starchild, the Demon, Space Ace, and the Catman. Whatever it was, it worked.
Even before the close to 600 people crammed inside YuYinTang, we caused a little stir among the local media, sending a fake press release that KISS would be coming to China and performing at YYT. Honestly, it was kind of their fault not to vet the info, especially since the email was sent by the already deceased Bill Aucoin. No doubt, Jake Newby, editor of Time Out Shanghai, fell for the prank. (If you’re here on Substack, make sure to check out Jake’s Concrete Avalanche, which is basically the most comprehensive English language look at contemporary Chinese indie music).
A year later, it was Miggs’ turn to step out in front, this time as Jello Biafra for our set as The Dead Kennedys. Fabien shifted back onto drums, and we enlisted J.C. Heinbockel from Moon Tyrant to join us on bass. The mixing and matching of bandmates really created greater synergy within the scene, and I was happy for Miggs (a frontman in his own right) to get some time on the mic.
As the frontman of The Fever Machine, and in some ways the Shanghai scene at large, I always relished the chance to step out of the limelight and do the sideman thing. While many people probably thought my ego was out of control in those days, it wasn’t. By then I was already working in association with the Ministry of Sport and the Wushu Administration, promoting MMA fights around China, so I had become accustomed to being put in my place on occasion.
Playing as East Bay Ray for the night, I not only had the chance to work on my twangy punk Stratocaster licks, but it was also a chance to step aside, briefly, and display some genuine appreciation for my bandmates.
Miggs absolutely crushed it. His fans were excited to see him on the mic. And “Holiday in Cambodia” became a regular part of our set moving forward, with one small politically correct lyrical change.
By 2012, I already kind of had one foot out the door, as I was preparing to leave Shanghai and move to LA. Still, we booked the Halloween Tribute show and took on the giant task of performing Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for the Deaf in its entirety. It was an ambitious project, one that probably wasn’t helped by my busy schedule that included a two-week vacation in Bali, multiple business trips to Inner Mongolia and Nanjing, and a long weekend in Taiwan in the two months leading up to the show.
However, it was a chance to connect with another Shanghai guitar whiz, Portuguese shredder Luis Coelho, who not only did some incredibly heavy lifting on the project, but also transposed all the music from a six-string C-standard tuning configuration into his preferred seven-string standard setup. It was a real eye-opening experience watching him work.
The gig also saw us reunite with Huhu Mamas frontman Brice Bougreau, who joined our group on stage to sing lead on “Hanging Tree.” It was kind of a full circle moment since, in my earliest Shanghai gigging days, I was the extra guitar player while Brice handled the vocal duties.
It was a fun and fitting way to say goodbye to the Halloween tradition I started at YuYinTang, even if Death to Giants did blow us off the stage that night with their System of a Down set.
In the eleven years since I left Shanghai and relocated to LA, the Halloween Tribute tradition has continued, with Ivan Belcic of Moon Tyrant / Death to Giants taking over booking duties for many years, eventually handing the night off to the next generation of local rockers. There’s even an offshoot show in Hong Kong these days.
Of course, there’s nothing new or novel about tribute bands playing on Halloween. It happens in major cities all over the world. But, close to two decades later, it’s incredible to see how this little idea I imported has found legs in China, at YuYinTang, snowballing and taking on a life of its own.
You’re welcome.