Aric throws in the towel
I'm leaving town for a bit, but I'll go ahead and skip the numerous metaphors that usually begin a columnist's final entry. Shanghai got to me and instead of kid myself into that whole, "the scene is going to get better," I decided to take off for a few months instead. This town stopped being funky a while ago and started to seem like a time-share presentation that you have to sit through in order to get the free jet-ski. Simply put: no pay-off.

There's no need to rehash what's gone on these past few months in this town, just a simple look at the live music line-up six months ago as compared to now, and you'll start to feel the drag. Thankfully, by the time this column gets published, I'll be gallivanting around SE Asia trying to shake off some of whatever it was that somehow made its way through the polluted skyline and down to most of us in the biz. Even more ironic is that I'll be meeting up with a few former prominent Shanghai DJs who also fled under the guise of "political refugee."

Wait, I don't mean for this final write-up to come across as bitter. In fact, a quick look back should tell you that it would be hard for the scene to become any worse, which means (insert ray of sunshine here) things have to start over and at least the people in town who make the scene (the artists, promoters, organizers and venue owners) are all the more wiser for the recent headache they've gone through. So it will get better. It has to get better. Again, I don't mean that condescendingly. There will always be live music, trust me, and with the current state of things, there does exist a chance for a true underground movement. Soon I'll be in Myanmar checking out a few bands and let's be honest, if I'm catching gigs in Myanmar, there will be an aural restoration in our little town. It simply has to happen.

That's all I got. I'm seriously spent and looking forward to a break. I'll be back. I think. Even if I'm not, I can walk proud with three-plus years here and a job that paid me to go out, but not once did I ever set foot in Dragon Club–there's something to be said for that.

Aric S. Queen