WHISKY KISS GO EAST – FAREWELL TO MADCAP SHANGHAI

Whisky Kiss are a Broughton-based, souped-up ceilidh band (with DJs and dancers to give the cutting-edge show a 21st-century edge), writes bassist Iain MacPhail who ought to know. We are currently touring China before moving on to Muscat in Oman.

Previously on Whisky Kiss’s tour blog, we revealed that our main gig in Shanghai had had it all. So much so that, just before we began our set, we were asked by the organiser’s boyfriend if he could make an announcement. We duly obliged, only to see this fine upstanding young chap drop down on one knee and give a tear-jerking, heart-rending paeon of emotion, outlining his love for the lovely Lucy Ye, our tour manager. His plaintiff cry ended with a proposal of marriage!

Lucy took an ice-cool 10 to 15 seconds to weigh up the scene, make her man sweat a little and appreciate the true value of her response ... before saying 'Yes!' There was only one proper response from us, namely, a drum roll during the pause (which we felt added something to the tension of the occasion) followed by a big TA-DAAAH chord upon the acceptance of the proposal, and then a spontaneous burst of 'Mhairi’s Wedding'. Altogether now, Step we gaily on we go ...

Great drama, and we caught up with Lucy’s now-fiancé after the event and presented him with a bottle of champagne.

We have come to absolutely adore Shanghai for its sheer and unashamed ostentatious approach to life. It’s a city that appears to bellow provocatively 'Bling is King! We’re here and we’re not that near (to Marx or Mao), so get used to it!' In true Shanghai style, Lucy’s engagement ring was a rock the size of a haggis supper from Rapido.

We left Lucy with a sincere congratulatory hug, and the message that 'This boy of yours better be minted, because we’ll definitely have to be your band now, and we’re not cheap'. We’ll see how that pans out.

Better news still, for us anyway, is that word has spread of our successful performances in China, and we have been offered gigs in 2012 in an Asian tour that will now see Whisky Kiss return to Shanghai (again) in February, plus the offer of first-time trips for the band to Kuala Lumpur and Seoul (where we hear that James Brown is some kind of Godfather).

As in any walk of life, it’s great to know that what you’re doing is appreciated  – in this case by the organisers and guests who have been enormously generous in flying us to the furthest East you can get, and putting us up in fabulous (and we mean fabulous) accommodation. Our team work really hard and play really hard, and I’m incredibly pleased they're receiving the rewards I think they genuinely deserve. They're a pleasure to work with.

The tour now heads onto Muscat in Oman, where it is currently sitting at around the average temperature of 31 ºC. However, there is a cyclone off the coast of India that promises to miss Muscat by a relatively fine margin. That could prove interesting, as the Ball is held in the outdoor gardens of the Intercon Hotel there: a massive bespoke dancefloor for 500 people, which stretches onto the beach and the lapping waves of the Arabian Sea. A ceilidh in a cyclone could set kilts a-flutter, and we’re all hoping the storm's predicted change of direction will happen, sending the bad weather into the sea rather than falling on us

However, before we depart Shanghai, a few words remain to be said on this jaw-dropping city and its crazy, madcap, eccentric, supposedly communist population.

Tonight we had a couple of drinks in the highest bar in the world (and if you ever get the chance to come here, take it, shake it, stir it and make the most of it). The world’s third largest building is the so-called 'Bottle Opener' in Shanghai (see photos above - no prizes for guessing which one it is). On the 93rd floor (which is actually one of the short sides of the open part of the design) there is the coolest bar I think I have ever been in and officially the highest in the world. We braved vertigo and common sense, and enjoyed the spectacular view over the thoroughly space-age neighbouring skyscrapers.

It does make you remember the poor souls who lost their lives in such a terrible and helpless manner on 9-11, and you can’t help but ponder why China can build these incredible edifices to modern excess, but without the same fear of destruction that other countries (including the US and potentially UK in London) may fear when undertaking such projects.

This city, though, is like Manhattan on performance-enhancing substances. Right next door to the world’s third largest building (and I mean right next door) there is already the genesis of a structure currently around 30 storeys high that, when completed, will literally dwarf the one we were in today. It will be the tallest building in the world by a distance, and will also feature an outside 'helter skelter' to let the rainwater collect and gather and pour efficiently down the outside. What would the Cockburn Association make of it all? This really is gardez-loo gone mad. Health and Safety should surely have something to offer on the matter (not that any of us are really that interested in listening). Here in China, they are just getting on and building the future. And it is breathtaking.

Which brings me to my overall conclusion on life in Shanghai and how Whisky Kiss have experienced it. We’ve been in the coolest bar in the world, all 93 storeys in the sky, with Kanye West and Rihanna belting out in the background. We’ve been in chic Parisian-style tea houses where Belle and Sebastian have been played (much to our joy – they are the most under-rated Scottish band of all, of course). The people surrounding us, the local Chinese, have not been fearful of who is watching them – they seem content, and they dress and act in a manner that is just like you’d see the cool set do in the chic quarters of European capitals (even George Street on a Saturday night).

Writing as someone with a healthy (or is that unhealthy) interest in politics, morality, history and cultures, this has been a challenge to digest. This is not the communism of East Germany. This is a communism that is cool, that is keeping pace with the West (where it can) and overtaking the West (where it can). The hyper-efficient, clean, functional and completed metro system in Shanghai should make our tram people hang their heads in shame. Sad to admit, but honestly, we cannot hold a candle to what they've done here.

And yet, and yet. This is not the communism of Marx, Engels or Mao (in my opinion). Mao did not undertake the sacrifices of the great long march to freedom (presumably) so that Holiday Inn could put a sexy little TV ad in my unbelievably cheap taxi from the Radisson to the world’s highest bar (complete with USA soundtrack). This is the communism of little black dress rather than little red book, and it seems both unthreatening and welcoming. I am undecided whether that is fabulous news or disconcerting. It’s certainly not what I had expected to find, and it’s all the more refreshing for it.

The final word for me has to go to the wonderful people of Shanghai in all their oddness. We can’t wait to be back in February. The guy who has been our tour driver (and his tour bus) have been literally like the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo. See for yourself in the photo below! First of all he had a sign that said 'WHIFKY KISS'. We had to ask 'Mate, are you saying we are a honking band?' Then, when he had kept in lane for more than 10 seconds (a collector’s item, let me tell you), he started guzzling (and I mean GUZZLING) vinegar from pickled gerkin jars. And the weird thing is ... he’s one of many! It seems to be a craze particularly amongst taxi drivers here. Total oddball behaviour!

So, whether it is the world’s highest, coolest bar, or space-age architecture, or the soul of the city (the ancient Chinese gardens), or the eccentric people, Whisky Kiss can only say “Shanghai, it’s been our pleasure. We’ll scan't wait to come back!”

Next stop: Muscat, Oman!