Roughly two weeks ago, reports surfaced on the interweb, confirming the opening of the new SOMA Records-backed MAO Livehouse Shanghai.

While initial reports stated the venue would open on September 18th, the date of MAO's debut has now been pushed back to Friday, September 25th, when Hong Kong twee-rock outfit (even I don't know what that means honestly) My Little Airport will travel to Shanghai for a one off show.

Although the RMB 200 ticket price (RMB 180 pre-sale) may keep many non-diehards away on opening night, the folks at SOMA have hinted at a free show the following night, September 26th, featuring a number of bands on their roster (more information on that show to come).

SOMA's MAO venture is great news for local rock music, providing yet another venue for bands to play and promoters to book shows. But it also leaves a void at their previous residence, the Zhijiang Dream Factory, which will be losing the benefit of SOMA's sound system. Fortunately, ZDF management has stated that they will continue to work with local promoters in an effort to keep the venue running, and are currently working on improvements to their own PA, amps, mics and drums.

It is still unclear when these changes will go into effect, but all of this means that Shanghai is now possibly faced with a whole new dilemma: choice. All of this begs the question: "if you build it will they come?."