Going chic with some new pants

• Source: Global Times
• [11:27 July 23 2010]
• Comments

In the video for their song "Culture Supervisor," Go Chic's vocalist Ariel Zheng chants over and over "I'm a culture supervisor, gonna teach you some manners" as a group of Taiwanese high school students engage in various acts of hazing, includ-ing forcibly shaving someone's head and throwing water balloons filled with urine. Eventually the members of the band get involved to stop the hazing, and it turns into a brawl in the classroom. The authorities come, and the video ends with mug shots of all of the members of the band. The video is notable not only for its depictions of Chinese students behaving badly, but also for its visual representa-tion of the raucous and freewheeling style of Go Chic's music. Their sound is a combina-tion of electronica and punk, featuring straightforward, repetitive up-tempo disco beats underscoring wailing, distorted guitar lines. The overall effect seems as if one is listening to traditional electro dance music, but is constantly prodded by a new energy.

As well as its music, Go Chic is also notable for their wild and ragamuffin fashion sense. All of the members continually appear in an outrageous array of bright neon colors which grab attention as much as their music does. Producing their music under the mantra "F*ck sad songs and slow jams, this is Go Chic!," the band's energetic and flamboyant style has garnered a significant amount of attention recently. With an appearance at America's famous South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas and a spot opening for electroclash legend Peaches, the band's popularity is grow-ing. Tonight at Mao Livehouse from 9 pm, the band will be co-headling a show with the Beijing electro outfit, New Pants.

A veteran of the China rock scene, over the years New Pants has transitioned from making straight-ahead punk rock to more disco-based, electro anthems. In addition, the group has also got into filmmaking, producing a film called Wild Men Also Love which can be seen on their website (http:// www. douban. com/ artist/ Newpants/).

The show promises to be a real hoopla, displaying not just music and film, but also providing a space for the vintage T-shirt retailer Nengmao. Expect to see their trademark vintage track jackets and tourist T-shirts on display. Fashionable folks may not want to come fashionably late, as the first 200 people in the door get free T-shirts especially designed for the event, featuring a series of lightning bolts layered on top of each other.

Event: STD Presents Go Chic and New Pants

Add: Red Town, 570 Huaihai Road West, near Hongqiao Road

Entry: 120 yuan