Bandu music: plain luxury

It is always a great affair, the Bandu’s irregular concert salon, for Chinese traditional and ethnic minorities’ music enthusiasts. Bandu was an independent music workshop sited in 50 Moganshan Road that I heard several years ago. The plan for a visit was made long time ago, but it never got realized till last Saturday.

“If you have never been to 50 Moganshan Road, you are out of Shanghai’s art loop” reads from an article of Shanghai Daily. True enough, among Shanghai’s white-collar, being artsy is labeled as one of the criterion of “in fashion”, or otherwise, you have announced to discard the advantage of enjoying the modern life.

On Saturday, I wrapped up early at Shanghai museum and headed directly to the art zone. Along Suzhou creek, everything has been modified to keep pace with China’s economic evolution, new apartments erect like after-rain’s bamboo shouts, taxies and private cars traverse across the city. But walking past a modern residential area and turn left, a row of former factories and warehouses suddenly brought you back to the Mao times.

Of course, people have good reason to spend a day to feel the flair reminiscent of the scene. They may come here to capture an art exhibition’s opening ceremony, or buy a painting for their new decorated house, or share ideas with the artists in residence, or even dating. Outside a half-discarded bar, two girls were taking photos with an old-style bicycle sitting under the window, trying to freeze the interesting spot they found and a good memory.

To be convenient, I inquired the destination from a complex guard standing at the gate; he nicely pointed the way with a strong Shanghainese accent, “Walk along the lane, Bandu music is located right at the opposite of the tallest building in the zone”.

A wood-board carved with four Chinese characters “半度音乐” (Bandu music) confirmed me of the place for tonight’s live concert. I arrived two hours before the starting time and the staffs were still busy setting things up. Without disturbing them, I began to study the small cozy venue.

It is of a normal primary-school classroom size, and the owner divides the room into two function areas, the office and the bar. On two sides of the bar wall, CDs that are hardly seen in other music shops were displayed on the wall racks with prices labels of “BANDU 70RMB” and “BANDU 80RMB”, most are from the founder Liu Xing and the musicians it wants to promote. Under the rack, there are a few Chinese traditional music instruments for visitors to touch and feel.

Without spending too much effort had I finished peering around, I decided to sit at the corner and read Agatha Christy’s The Bartram's Hotel while listening to pure traditional music. In Shanghai nowadays, a place of tranquility is expensive, or in the other words, I was temporarily enjoying a place of plain luxury with lots of content going on in the atmosphere.

Only after a few pages, the tenders started to move chairs and benches into a triangle-shaped back pantry. It suddenly drew on me with a haven of peace and happiness. Old as they were, the bamboos and wood pillars had gone off in splendid style, as long as anyone could remember. The performance area can merely be called a stage, only a stool was served with a cement background at the back. Peeling up over the pillar, a glass ceiling protects you from bad weather while doesn’t disconnect you from the outside world. The real beauty I found out later was that, the performers’ movements could be reflected on the glass during the night for the back-row audiences to appreciate.

The night finally came down and the small pantry was occupied as it always has been. All attention was drawn to the 2 square-meter stage with two beams of dim lights crossing over to Lu Shasha, one of the three musicians. Everyone is expecting.