Archive for the ‘Mayday’ Category

Now this is what I like to see

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

Call it coincidence, call it fate, but Mayday has officially scheduled their 3D concert movie to open opposite the Taiwan arrival of Cowboy Jay’s Hollywood-filmed Green Hornet. That’ll be an interesting weekend at the box office. I remain deeply skeptical about the Green Hornet film for reasons that have very little to do with Cowboys, though of course, I’ll probably see it nonetheless. Anyway, both films have 3D, so there might be a little contest for screens, but Ashin told fans not to get too worked up about it; just relax and buy a ticket when you have the chance. Masa pointed out that that kind of language makes it sound like Mayday is already surrendering to the greater box office mojo of Jay. (Which in light of Treasure Hunter, seems wholly unnecessary to me.)

Something else I’ll probably see at such a time as I get my hands on it: Leehom’s film, which premiered with great fanfare and was attended by Mayday and Cowboy Jay. (The latter isn’t really that big of a surprise – Leehom has always shown up and made nice for Jay’s new films.)

Anyway, when asked about new album plans, Ashin remained in zen mode and talked about it not even being an issue until after the movie’s out. However, he joked, they’ve already decided to title it “Take Your Time,” with major singles being “No Rush,” “New Enough,” and “Start a Bit Later.” (He also poked a bit of fun at A-mei and Jolin’s latest albums, which contained titles like “a concept album” by including it in his new album working titles.)

Mayday is on a vacation now, but managed to appear for a promotional activity that involved them running three legged races with small children and talking about what they do to promote environmental improvements. Monster joked that you can set your air con at 28 degrees (Celsius, obviously!) and just wear a lot fewer clothes around the house. That man is a secret nudist, I suspect. Maybe not so secret. The other suggestions included things like sorting trash and rising buses. (You know what’s really bad? For the first time in over ten years, I’m commuting by car instead of bus or foot – and I kinda love it. It makes me feel so…. American.) But Stone implored the crowd to not drive, and to ask their parents not to drive. Nope, still not feeling guilty.

Finally, Mayday played for the Miaoli Art Festival over the weekend alongside Cosmos People, Won Fu, Champion, Magic Power, 831 and other acts. Some fans camped out for up to three days to get tickets to the show, a sign of true devotion.

Mayday’s NFL Show, part 3

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Mayday’s favorite football team, the New England Patriots, are on tonight (preseason, of course). So in honor of the occasion, I finally formatted this post of more Mayday NFL episodes. I don’t think I realized how many there were still to go! Well, now that it’s football season again – and less depressing than last year, because I get to watch it this year – I’ll finish watching the episodes. I first watched these a while ago, but I recall these three had me in tears, I was laughing so hard.

Episode 7 (12/31/09 – okay, did *anyone* watch this live? Even if you were home and watching tv, sodagreen and the Superband were on the Jiangsu Satellite Network New Year’s special):

  • Today we’re talking about cheerleading.
  • What, boys can’t be cheerleaders? Boo, hiss. I was really hoping to see Ashin wield some pom-poms.
  • I think this is the most I’ve ever heard Ding Dang say at once.
  • By about halfway through the episode, they look like they’re standing in some random yard. Can you imagine looking out the window one morning to see six Patriots cheerleaders, the mascot, and a Taiwanese band standing in your driveway?
  • Darn, I was hoping Guanyou and Monster were going to lift Masa.
  • What’s all this about a tie? What a cop out.
  • Haha, Guanyou missed his punt. But Ashin’s kick really should have been scored as 0.004.
  • Way to go, Stone! Definitely the all-around best at the sport so far.
  • Episode 8 (1/7/10):

  • Yay! NFL history day!
  • Okay, is it just me, or does the montage of Princeton scenes seem like the opening of a Korean soap opera?
  • Wait, today’s test is about being a student athlete? Okay, I’m going to be brutally honest here: I was a student tutor for the athletes at my college. Granted, I did not go to Princeton, but there is some room to question the notion that the only kids who play in college are the ones who study successfully. And we all know about how well certain members of Mayday study….
  • The lesson in articles – “THE Superbowl” – is hilarious.
  • Really, Ashin? The black anti-glare makeup makes football players look like American Indians? Well, maybe the Redskins and Chiefs, anyway.
  • Hahaha…. “Imagine you’re talking to a bunch of five-year-olds…” Oh, that was a bit harsh. But to be honest, his original description would be hard to follow if you a.) don’t know anything about football and b.) don’t really speak fluent English.
  • Is that “Mission Impossible” playing in the background? For throwing a football ten years into a big net?
  • Episode 9 (1/14/10):

  • Great advances are being made in person-to-person US-Chinese relations while tailgating before a Patriots game.
  • Oh dear: Mayday learns Beer Pong.
  • This family they kicked out of their site must be wondering what on earth is going on here.
  • ‘Course, for me, football food is pizza and potato chips, not burgers. But then, I don’t do a lot of tailgating these days.
  • Is that just plain hamburger they’re forming into patties? No onions or spices? I don’t know why I’m feeling critical – I haven’t voluntarily eaten hamburger since I was 18 (I’m more the veggieburger type) – but that looks a little bland to me.
  • Is Masa back there flirting with those girls? *coughjailbaitcough*
  • Hah! Masa and Monster don’t know it, but they seem to be making a Jucy Lucy. Classic Minnesota boys, very good. I’ll make you into Vikings fans yet.
  • Stone looks very natural with his barbecue. Ashin’s doing the public service warning against drinking while grilling.
  • Does the last line on the hamburger scorecard really say “would not feed to my dog?”
  • Can I just say, these episodes are so random – and so rarely about actually how to play football – that they seem made for Mayday. Who knows if the boys are still trying to follow it, but if so, they should be happy – the Patriots are ahead now at the end of the 3rd quarter.

    Ashin’s Guide to Music for Running

    Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

    [Ashin has a newish (August 12) blog entry on a subject very close to my heart: music for jogging and running. As a result, I had to translate, but I could not help having a lot of editorial comments - always identified by the brackets - and I'm adding some of my own favorites on the end. :D ]

    In so many things we bring music along to keep us company, so no matter how hard they get, they can still be pleasurable.

    A long, solitary road trip, an endless wait, because of what’s collected in the mp3 player, is transformed from being dry and dull to being a marvelous journey.

    Jogging, with the addition of your favorite music naturally becomes twice as enjoyable!

    I’ll share with everyone my “Running Playlist,” version 1.0:

    “Welcome to the Jungle,” Guns ‘n’ Roses [amusingly, Ashin misses the plural on the end]
    My high school idols, that fierce sounding voice was instantly popular with us “soon-to-be adults.” In this song there’s a rarely seen shift from slow to fast tempo, it’s well-suited for warming up and and accelerating.

    [This is a great running song, I agree, though it starts out so fast I can't quite see it for the very start of a run! Two notes. First of all, look how young Axl Rose looks in that video! Amazing. Second of all, Ashin would have been what, 12 when this song was released? 11? I know, because i was 9. 'Course, that same year was the formal end to Marital Law in Taiwan; this makes me wonder if the song only got there when the boys were in high school, or if that's just when he discovered it.]

    “Who Am I, Who Am I, Who Am I (我是誰我是誰我是誰),” Magic Power
    Magic Power’s songs often have a very steady beat, driving one step in front of the other, very well suited to listening to while jogging. Everyone is occasionally seized by a sense of listlessness; jogging is not only a physical activity, but also kind of therapeutic. I’m just me; when I’m feeling lonely and useless, I can take myself jogging and push all my troubles to the back of my head.

    [Preach it! I've always run much more for stress relief than physical health. When I was finishing up my dissertation in grad school, I'd get my best ideas out jogging; for about six months there, I never went without a pen to scribble ideas down on my hand. Of course, that was summer in DC; by the time I'd get home, I'd have sweat them all away!]

    “Get Out,” Magic Power
    Another MP song, just like “Who Am I, Who Am I, Who Am I” (that song title is so long!), the song “Get Out” is really inspiring when you’re getting tired and short of breath.

    [I don't know Magic Power at all - no opinion one way or the other, as I confess looking up these links was the first time I've listened to any of their songs. I'm always a little skeptical of a band with a designated DJ - it's just not my kind of music usually. But if they've got good songs for running, perhaps I should give them a try. I did not fail to notice, of course, the heavy emphasis on B'in Music artists on this list, though....]

    “Jump – Remix by Stone,” Mayday
    Listening to one of our own songs while running seems weird, I’m always a little worried that I’ll be out on the road and start singing along. But Stone’s remix fills me with energy.

    “To Be With You,”
    Mr. Big

    In high school, this band was the idol of everyone in a band, every musician’s skill honed to perfection. As it turns out, an incredible band can get huge fame starting from a single, simple love song, ha.

    [I don't think there was anyone at my school who was not obsessed with this song. We all thought it was so romantic and poetic, especially "waiting on a line of greens and blues...."]

    “Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy,” Mr. Big
    Another of Mr. Big’s famous songs. These days, following my mi Coach day and night, I think a lot of people will find the mi Coach to be just as close as your “Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy.”

    “SHERO,” S.H.E
    Because of producing responsibilities, a mid-production version of this song has always been with me. What makes it different from your version is that mine has S.H.E singing an a cappella version of [erm] “Beethoven’s Fifth” at the beginning.

    [Did S.H.E have a song called, "命運交響曲"? Are there, um, lyrics to this? Now, as much as it kills me to confess this, I can sort of see the chorus of "SHERO" being good to run to, at least for people unlike me who do not feel compelled to pull their own hair out every time S.H.E starts singing. For me, the song might interfere with my pacing.]

    “My Adidas,” Run DMC
    Don’t be skeptical; a heavyweight American music group really did once write a song called “My Adidas.” And it’s absolutely not any kind of advertising song – it was because in African American society, having a pair of Adidas shoes was apparently like having wealth to flaunt and collect, hah.

    [Of course, Ashin does not mention that the song was originally released in 1986. On a somewhat related note, I often wish I could get Ashin to come and audit my general history courses. I just sort of think he could use a better grounding in such things, if his lyrics are any indication.]

    “Night Cat (夜貓),” Della Ding

    When I first heard 831 band member Uplee’s demo for this song I liked it right away – I’ve always liked music that combined rock + dance music elements. This song’s dance moves are really interesting; next time Show Luo “pays his respects to a queen of dance” he could add this dance. :)

    [Hahaha... I *love* Snarky!Ashin. So much fun. And at least he recognizes that this song was just Ding Dang channeling Jolin....]

    “Let’s Break Up (分手吧),” Della Dang
    Another one having to do with producing; I have three production versions of this song on my Walkman. Uplee took charge of the arrangement – it starts as an acoustic guitar ballad, then suddenly turns into rock at the chorus. The bridge is particularly unusual; every time I hear it I smile as I run.

    [That's all well and good, but my running playlist has the original A-yue version of this song, and I admit I do prefer it. Though this song does raise the question: did B'in Music buy up all of A-yue's back catalog for Della to cover??]


    “Love Foolosophy,”
    Jamiroquai

    This band’s music has a kind of lasting charm no matter when you hear it. Disco+Funk style, combined with wearing my [Adidas] “Clima Cool [cool breeze]” shoes, makes each step like a bursting cool breeze.

    “Cosmic Girl,” Jamiroquai
    Another Jamiroquai song; I have to wonder whether this band’s drummer might also be wearing “cool breeze” shoes while hitting the bass drum?

    [Wow, Ashin gets his funk on. This begs the question: does he by any chance have a little ABBA in there to run to?]

    Okay then, next time I have a chance I’ll share more with everyone.

    If you have any running advice of your own, you’re welcome to stop by and leave a message. I’ll also share my experiences with you! :)

    http://www.runyourselfbetter.com

    Mayday’s 5K Challenge is underway!

    ***

    Okay, that’s the end of Ashin’s playlist, but here are a few of my own favorites for running:

    “City (城市),” sodagreen

    In spite of the fact that they never seem to play it in concert, this is one of my favorite sodagreen songs, and one I like no matter what the occasion. As it happens, though, this is also an awesome warm-up song. Start with stretches, getting out the door, maybe walking a bit to get going, and then by the second verse, start the jog. By the time it swells near the end, you’re running.

    “A Petal of Freedom,” Glay
    This song maintains a decent beat all along, has a few tidbits of English that are nice for those of us with no Japanese and therefore no real sense of what the song is about, and in a couple places the music swells to a climax that makes me want to run faster and – if at all possible – embrace the air. It’s hard to describe, but it just makes me feel happy. Must be all that “Don’t Worry” business – I mentioned earlier that I run to relieve stress, and this song really helps.

    “Back to Black,” Amy Winehouse
    This is a good early-to-mid run pacing song. Nice beat, not too fast, fun to listen to.

    “OK,” A-yue

    When I’m running, the rule is: if it’s A-yue, I want to hear it. :P

    “Prince Noodles (王子麵),” Kid & Dream (i.e. Mayday’s Monster and Ashin + Stephanie Sun)
    I switch up the Mayday songs on my playlist pretty frequently, and I admit for running I lean more old-school: “Motor Rock,” “Chu Chu Chu” (even with its annoying slow-down on the bridge), “People Life, Ocean Wild,” etc. But this song seems to stay on the list no matter how much I move around the others.


    “Lover, You Should Have Come Over,” Jeff Buckley

    Another song which, despite the frequently meloncholy tone of the lyrics, just makes me almost perversely happy with the swelling of the music. It’s an odd choice for exercise, I imagine, but I love the lyrics and the feel of it so I’m always glad to have it come on.

    “I’m Not Jay Chou (我不是周杰倫),” Totem Band

    Another good pacing song, and I do love the touch of cowboy-oriented snark as they mumble the lyrics. :)

    “Them (他們),” P.K.14
    Another great pacing song with a good beat. Admittedly, the switch up at the chorus can throw you off a bit, but I run around a lot of corners so they never seem to faze me.

    “Loved Wrongly (愛錯),” Leehom Wang
    This is my running uphill song. Seriously. The good beat doesn’t really kick in until over a minute in, but it always gives me a push when I’m at a “heartbreak hill” (i.e. something steep and near the end of a run). It might be that I’m picturing all the sweaty shirtless boxing in the video, but hey, whatever motivates you, right?

    “Mama Told Me Not to Come,” Three Dog Night
    Near the end of a run, this is a great song for keeping momentum. Actually, I’ll run to just about anything Three Dog Night, with “Let Me Serenade You” scoring high as another favorite.

    “Bad Romance,” Lady Gaga
    Admittedly, this is the only Lady Gaga song I know. I’m a little behind on the English Top 40 at the moment, but this is a GREAT song for the end of a run. I always look for it on my iPod shuffle for the last half mile, when you want to speed up and finally sprint in.

    Anyway, here’s hoping Ashin posts some more of his running suggestions! I’m always on the lookout for good songs for the playlist.

    Radio silent

    Monday, August 16th, 2010

    I’m not dead, just moving cross country. But the internet guy comes tomorrow, most of the boxes are cleared away, and there’s a lot of Mandopop news. For example, Mayday debuted a new song called “OAOA” at the Taichung concert. Now, for the time being, my internet comes to me via my local coffee shop, so I haven’t heard it yet. I do admit that I didn’t much care for either “DNA” or “Audacity” from this concert tour, so I’m apprehensive. But what if it’s great?

    Meanwhile, Ashin was a special guest at a Show Luo concert, and called his dancing to the song “Dancing Diva” (which is a Jolin song, right?) “really girly.” Given Show’s recent concert wardrobe, though, it’s hard to know if that’s a compliment, a criticism, or just an observation. Speculation is on that Jolin will join Show at his concert in Chengdu, which might make the song seem less girly or just the right amount of girlishness.

    Guanyou is skating a fine line in the meantime, on the one hand being the model to promote his wife’s clothing line “Drumming Fan,” but on the other hand, suggesting that he pose with a topless model. Who is apparently not his wife. As it turned out, though, Guanyou channeled Ashin through the photo shoot and got all awkward and embarrassed about it. (Though it is just me, or is there a double entendre in the last paragraph of that article? Maybe it just translates badly… or I’m just taking it places it shouldn’t be going!)

    Beyond the big Taichung 3D filming concert extravaganza, Mayday was also out with some big names – 1976, 13 Band, Won Fu, Tizzy Bac, Cosmos People, etc. for a 6 hour show at the Taipei stadium. It sounds like a blast; I’ve only read promotions for it, though, so I’ll have to see if there was news about anything fun happening at the show itself. (Side note: have flip-flops always been “人字拖”? Weren’t they just “拖鞋” until they became this ridiculously huge international phenomenon in stylish footwear and not just cheap slipper-like things to cover the soles of ones feet? I’m just remembering that eight years ago I couldn’t go into the Chiang Kai-shek memorial building in Taipei because I was wearing disrespectful flip-flops, and now I’m curious if that has changed with the terminology.)

    Anywho, that’s the quick and dirty, and once I’m back online for real, I’ll be updating again from Eastern Standard Time.

    Nothing New Under the Sun

    Sunday, July 18th, 2010

    Mayday’s plan to create Asia’s first 3D concert film has encountered a setback. Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki has had her 2009 concert tour converted to 3D and it will be released across Japan next month. The massive spectacle was one of the more elaborate concert tours in Japanese music history, and the movie will feature aspects of the show itself (and it’s ridiculous – I mean, impressive – ten costume changes) along with backstage features.

    Well, how about being the first Chinese act to have a 3D concert film? The first male act in Asia? The first band?

    Speaking of 3D, the news came out a few months ago that Cowboy Jay’s foray into Hollywood would be delayed from the peak release time in December (around the holidays) to January so that they can make it into 3D. (Warning, Cowboy aficionados: that link is from a very, very funny Minnesota writer who is clearly unconvinced about Seth Rogen as the Green Hornet. As are we all, I daresay.) The trailer is out now, and I had two initial thoughts. The first is that I’ve already seen this movie – or, at least, every scene and joke in that trailer has been done before. And probably done better. The second is that love him or hate him, Jay probably needed to be dubbed. Kudos to the man for speaking English that well given how little he knew when he started – I say, give props where they are due – but that accent and role makes him a caricature of every kung fu fighting, wonky-English-speaking Asian character in American film history. If Gondry and Rogen were serious about having a new and creative approach, why not start there? The third thing (okay, I had three thoughts, not two. So sue me) is that although there is clearly a gag here about the sidekick being far more adept than the hero (gee, that’s never been done before), I want Britt Reid to be at least sorta capable and Kato to be at least old enough to actually know and have invented all this stuff. Which I’m not really getting from the trailer.

    Anyway. I’m sure I’ll see this movie (I see most comic-related movies eventually, though I might be the only person anywhere who hated The Dark Knight for being *too* dark), though I doubt I’ll bother with the 3D.

    Who in B’in Music could best take on Lady Gaga?

    Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

    There’s something so fun about the random English in Chinese news articles. This Mayday-related article references DNA, Lady Gaga, someone called “A John,” a live DVD, and that something’s OK. Trying to fill in the gaps without reading the rest could be a little like Mad Libs.

    In actuality, B’in Music artists Della Ding, Yen-j, Mayday and Rene Liu are all prepping for concerts. They’ve had joint photo shoots and rehearsals in preparation for the events beginning July 17, and of course the boys in Mayday are trying to get Della to call Rene “younger sister (師妹)” – something that’s terribly embarrassing for Della, as she might have entered the B’in Music family before Rene, but she’s definitely much newer to the music industry and should be the true “younger sister” in the relationship. Rene just finds it funny.

    Della (Ding Dang) leads the way with a performance that challenges Lady Gaga (who apparently does not have a well-known Chinese name), Beyonce and Rihanna’s dance music performances. She’s been secretly practicing all kinds of moves, working with professional dance instructors, and enduring every hardship for the sake of the performance. Um, Lady Gaga? I always thought that if someone in the B’in Music label were to take her on, it would have to be Ashin. It just seems so logical to me, even if he didn’t really have the craziest outfit for the “Masquerade” video. If I could design a Gaga-esque costume for Ashin, though, I think it would be composed entirely of dangling denim suspenders… hundreds of them, developed into some sort of free-form denim suit with lots of dangly bits.

    Yen-j has his own secret weapon: his coach is Masa. Masa likes his performances, and even had him over to watch DVDs of live performances of other famous artists to study up on how to be compelling on-stage. Perhaps the bassist is working up a little consulting business on the side for those gaps between albums and tours. Monster, meanwhile, has been teaching the US-raised Yen-j fun Taiwanese slang, thoroughly embarrassing the boy (or forcing him to act embarrassed; that’s a tough call).

    Here the boys are promoting the sold-out Taichung concert, alongside discussing their latest commercial for Mass Mutual Mercuries (or whatever the company is called in English). In the spot, they are dreaming big about what they want: Ashin a home, Stone a car, Monster a recording studio, Masa to travel the world, and Guanyou a new baby. These are, one imagines, the major things that people save for, though I’d suspect the Mayday boys are mostly doing pretty well on attaining them. The real problem, however, is getting me to focus on that article, and not on Ashin’s dangling denim suspenders in the pictures. Oh, that the man had never started designing….

    Speaking of advertising, Mayday has appeared in ten separate ads on either side of the Taiwan Strait just in the first half of this year along. But this article notes that of all the dreams in this latest ad, Monster’s is closest to the mark: the band has always invested part of its earnings back into the recording studio, typically by dividing earnings six ways (and leaving the sixth for the studio). Their long tenure in the studio that Rock Records helped them set up needs to come to an end at some point, if for no other reason than that Guanyou’s drumming is disturbing the neighbors.

    Finally, when not designing pants that make me crazy, Ashin continues to work on his StayReal line; they are to be topping off the big Shanghai Modern Art exhibit last month with an appearance at the Taipei Toy Festival; though listed in this article as “StatReal,” Ashin and No2Good designed a series of dolls for the occasion.

    No jail time for Guanyou

    Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

    So. Remember last summer when Mayday drummer Guanyou got caught up in an illegal operation to buy and sell stolen cars? His story was that it was all an accident, as the famously frugal father tried to get a good deal and didn’t look too closely at the source.

    Well, the good news is that the Taichung police believe him. They recently filed a lawsuit against the suspects operating the stolen car ring, including charges for forging documents to claim the cars were legitimate. Their interviews with Guanyou and his wife convinced them that the pair did not realize what was going on.

    In response to the news, Guanyou expressed his thankfulness for getting an opportunity to learn from the mistake: when a bargain sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

    No Masa, Ashin will never let the rumors die

    Sunday, June 6th, 2010

    You know, I said years ago that Ashin’s periodic playfulness with the press it at least partly responsible for the Masa and Fish rumors lingering as long as they did. Fish would deny, Masa would deny, then Ashin would hint otherwise, and we’d start a new cycle. Masa thought it was all behind him when the rumors came out that they’d broken up, then again when Fish got married. But the unstoppable force behind all this lingers: we still have Ashin.

    At the Malaysia stop of the DNA tour, on the second encore, Ashin informed the crowd that the band had planned to playing the song “Can’t Hear,” which Ashin originally wrote for Fish Leong, but decided against it he worried about making Masa too unhappy. Masa’s reaction was a mix of laughter and, no doubt, a bit of frustration.

    The band brought Ding Dang along to the concert (Ashin seems to have forgotten that he was once promoting rumors between Ding Dang and Monster), and she and Ashin sang “Embrace” together. They were supposedly standing close together while singing the romantic song, leading Ding Dang to get a big embarrassed, but she performed well nonetheless. She also sang her song, “I Love Him.” (Oh, and good news on the Ding Dang front: she appears to have changed her English name to “Della,” which is a HUGE improvement over her former English name, “Ring.” A-ding-ding.)

    It had been two years since the band had visited Malaysia last, so there were worries that they’d be unfamiliar to the audience, but the fans proved them wrong. Moreover, they promised Ashin they’d still be going to see Mayday ten years from now. In his speeches to the crowd, Ashin kept calling everything and everyone happy; for example, “Mayday is happy, because all of you are happy, so I’m also happy, thanks everyone for giving us happiness!” Ashin needs to beef up his vocabulary; maybe he can listen to books on tape while he’s out jogging this summer.

    On the standard, lengthy adventure through “Love-ing,” the crowd’s noise level seemed to die down; the reporter attributes this to the fact that they’d been shouting all through the concert and were getting tired. I maintain that the whole world just might, at long last, be getting tired of that song. But Ashin joked with them, “You’ve all changed, your sound has quieted, your enthusiasm has waned, our ages have increased, we head for home much earlier… does everyone want to go home?” That brought the noise level back up, as fans made clear they were not ready for the show to end. End it did, however, after around three hours. It was a little shorter than Hong Kong, but hey – that’s longer than the Mainland China shows I’ve attended.

    I wish, though, that someone had taped Masa in the dressing room after the show; I’d love to hear what he had to say about Ashin’s latest shenanigans.

    DNA Hong Kong, redux

    Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

    If you think you were busy last weekend, imagine how a certain five bandmates must feel. Over the weekend, Mayday held four concerts in Hong Kong, the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh shows in that city since this tour began. And, one hopes, something to hold the people of that fair city over until the band decides to start touring again, which is gonna be a while. All of the concerts sold out, demonstrating once again that Taiwan fans have got nothing on Hong Kongers when it comes to Mayday enthusiasm.

    To reward these fans, the band played around thirty songs, including fan favorites “Motor Rock,” “Jump,” and “Stubbornness.” As they played, the fans got more excited, which translated to the band… leading them to go overtime three nights in a row. On the last night, the crowd’s enthusiasm was infectious, and the band added the songs “Nobody Else in My Heart,” “Is That Alright?” and “Peter and Mary,” before finally ending up with “Fool.” On the last night, the show didn’t end until after midnight, so you know there are some serious fines in their future.

    In one show, the inevitable chorus of “Love-ing” was performed with a twist; Ashin found a little five-year-old boy in the front rows, and brought him up on stage. Ashin asked the boy if he knew who they were, to which the boy replied that he did not. Ashin chided him not to mistake the band for (egregiously awful) boyband Lollipop. The little boy then sang “Love-ing” with the band, suggesting to me that he might have been a plant. (I’m sorry, a five-year-old in the front row of a rock concert? Plant.) Ashin then told him that he doesn’t care if the little boy doesn’t know their name, because being able to sing their songs is enough.

    Now, for some randomness: in Hong Kong, Mayday played a bit of “You Give Love a Bad Name” by Bon Jovi. Oh, I would have loved to hear that – I spent part of the 80s and most of the 90s loving that band (I still love the music, I just haven’t been following the more recent albums). My mom and I can’t hear that song without miming Richie’s action in the video. Except that Ashin sounds a bit weird in English, and, of course, he flubbed the lyrics. But I love it anyway. LOVE it.

    So, still to go for DNA: Malaysia, Xi’an, Nanjing, and Taichung.

    In other news, the 3D movie was inspired at least in part by the ubiquitous presence of Korean entertainment on Taiwanese television; seeing Taiwan’s culture increasingly subverted by the Korean wave, Ashin decided that if South Korean boyband TVXQ can do 3D, then so can Mayday. And upon hearing that another South Korean boyband, Superjunior-M (which has Korean and Chinese members and records Korean-style pop hits in Mandarin) had been nominated for a Golden Melody Award, Ashin joked that the band is busy researching how to get considered for Korean music awards.

    I look forward to Mayday: The Korean Album sometime soon. :P

    Imagine Ashin’s suspenders flying straight at you… in 3D!

    Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

    Okay, it’s that time of year for me – when all I do is eat, sleep, and grade papers – but I took a little break tonight to check in on the boys. And oh my, but I’ve been missing a lot.

    First of all, there are plans afoot to film the concert in Taichung this summer in 3D, creating Asia’s first ever 3D Concert Film. Here’s what I’m not getting: is it going to play in theaters? You can’t watch 3D at home, right? (Confession: I’ve never seen a movie in 3D. And no, I skipped Avatar – I saw Dances with Wolves, aren’t they pretty much the same thing?) (Oh, I’m just kidding – I’m sure I’ll watch it this summer.) (Oh, second confession: I didn’t watch the video I just linked to – it wouldn’t load – so if the answer to that question is in there, please let me know.)

    Now, in other news, Mayday is going on the Mandopop equivalent of the “Couch to 5K” program; the band followed up their concert in Wuhan last weekend by attending the “Adidas 2010 Popularize Running Plan” launch in that city. Mayday’s recent world tour proved a major challenge to the band members’ stamina, and they have discussed the need to engage in a bit more physical training. Adidas created an 80 day training plan for the band, to help them train to run over five kilometers starting on June 1. Actually, I should take a look at that plan – I have a 5K coming up in July, and my running schedule has gotten really spotty while I’ve been in China.

    They’ll report on their progress through photos, video, and web diaries. You can follow their progress here. The decision to get Mayday to run 5K, according to Ashin, must come from the five in “Mayday,” though he jokes that if that’s the case, at least they aren’t named “5566.” Heh.

    Now, here’s the fun part of the news: Mayday plans to challenge sodagreen to a race. :D The band was asked if they feel a lot of pressure because sodagreen was nominated not once but twice for best band at the Golden Melody awards this year. Ashin replied that it was fine; playing music is like a very long marathon, so Mayday asking sodagreen to run with them is a way to invite them to take this long run with them, so they can enjoy the run together. Well said, Ashin.

    So speaking of Wuhan, that concert seems to have gone well. I hate to say it, but if you’ve been following along on this tour at all, you pretty much know the whole story already; the band played a five-song encore (the standard set that ends with “Tenderness”) and the crowd didn’t want to leave. You know. So far, though, I haven’t been able to find news articles on the Australia/New Zealand tour; I’ll keep looking though.

    In other news, the band has now scheduled a new concert for Nanjing in July. (I find it interesting that Mayday is back in Nanjing – and Beijing, and Australia – all in under a year. They must be planning a decent length hiatus after the DNA tour, don’t you think? Otherwise why all the double stops?) So normally, I would be all over this Nanjing concert, but… after two years in China, I’m moving back to the United States at the end of June. I’m sorry to miss this concert (and a few other interesting tours this summer), but it is time to move back home.