Is MAO Livehouse a goner?
The crowd rocks on at MAO’s opening night.Say it ain’t so! China Music Radar tips us off to rumored plans for MAO’s demise. Seems the property owners are looking to turn the site into a high-rise apartment complex.
We can’t say we’re too surprised. The 1,000-capacity venue sits amidst the prime real estate of Shanghai’s Redtown compound on Huaihai Xi Lu.
Though it’s been open for less than eight months, MAO has already outlasted its predecessors. The past couple years saw a revolving-door-cast of clubs occupying the same space: 02, Club Candy, WTF…
When local record label Soma stepped up to the plate last year with support from Japanese investors (the same folks behind MAO Livehouse in Beijing), Shanghai concert-goers were thrilled to finally have a mid-sized venue with a decent sound system.
Talk of closure may be only hearsay, but don’t be surprised if MAO goes the way of Windows Tembo and 4 Live (R.I.P.) in the near future.
