TAIWANESE duo Power Station showed they were not ready for the retirement home last week with an all-too-brief set at O2.
The duo, which started their career as pub singers, was rather at odds with the current state of the Shanghai club scene. When electronic music started to sweep the city five years ago, live performances by bands were replaced by DJs from every corner of the world.
At present, only two or three live houses survive locally and the majority of the clubs have divided themselves into two groups - electro or hip-hop.
O2 falls into the third category with venues like Attica - it tries to balance the two popular clubbing music genres in order to attract lovers of both. Overall, the club features sexy progressive and house, while top-50 hip-hop can be also heard in its small side room.
It seemed quite a mismatch for Power Station to be playing a stage that is usually occupied by professional dancers warming up the crowd.
Both of the group members are indigenous Taiwanese which grants them with prevailing voices and natural talent for singing. While discovered by record labels in pubs, they were already in their mid-twenties and perhaps considered a bit old to start up in the entertainment business.
While they were always a rather stable performing group they were never quite among the top entertainers. Their career peaked in the mid- to-late 1990s at a time love songs dominated the Chinese pop music scene.
The duo arrived at the club directly from the hospital due to a case of food poisoning; this might have accounted for their lack of energy on the night.
But the fans were excited anyway, despite the fact that the pair hasn't released an album in two years.
Despite the short set, the fans loved them for their distinctively protruding voices, something very different from the vocals of those "prince of love songs," such as Jeff Cheung.
After a brave try at a live performance, the club's lineup is back to the usual this week with Aussie DJ Kid Kenobi and MC Shureshock on Saturday.
With excellent mixing techniques and a sensitive touch, Kid Kenobi has been championed by such big names as Fat Boy Slim and Freestylers. The Sydney-based DJ has also taken home the People's Choice NSW DJ of the Year in Australia for five years running since 2001.
As one of the busiest DJ on the Australian scene, now widely regarded as the home of the most booming breaks scene in the world, nobody could deny the Kid's ability to initiate and keep a party vibe.
After stabilizing his position in his native country, Kid Kenobi realized the need to explore foreign shores. Since then, he has been played at hot venues in London, Paris and New York, among others; now, he is ready for Shanghai.
Using a combination of popular club samples, the Kid mixes funk and old school hip-hop elements with classic break tracks and remixed house tracks.
He is confident he can stir up any crowd.
In recent years, he has worked closely with MC Shureshock around the world. Many believe that if you give Shureshock a mic, he will return with a wave.
While mastering MCing for a variety of music styles ranging from hardcore to hip-hop, Shureshock is more than ready to "break" into Shanghai's clubbing scene.
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