Frank and the Bear’s Great Adventure – Joint Tour of Frank City (CN) and Chinese American Bear (US) 2024
Prologue: Digital Romance on Social Media In a corner of the digital world, City Flanker and Chinese American Bear have long been ‘likes’ acquaintances on Instagram. Until that star-studded night, a message flashed across the screen like a meteor – ‘How about a tour together?’ Frank’s heart began to race on this side of the screen, and on the other side, the bear’s excitement was palpable. Thus, the prelude to an adventure quietly unfolds. Chapter One: The Clash of Dreams and Reality Frank passionately described the grand blueprint of the tour to his agent, only to encounter the fog of the market. ‘Tour? This year’s market…’ Before the agent could finish, Frank was already eager: ‘New album, live sharing, I yearn for it!’ The agent fell silent until the bear’s voice broke the silence: ‘Flight tickets? I’ll take care of it myself!’ The clash between dreams and reality is a challenge and an opportunity. Chapter Two: The Special Forces-Style Journey 17 days, 14 cities – a grueling journey. But for City Flanker and Chinese American Bear, it is also an adventure full of unknowns and fun. Although the two bands live on opposite ends of the Pacific, the unique chill of China’s east coast and the quirky humor of the US west coast should become romantic elements that can be repeatedly synthesized during the tour, with different outcomes each time. Chapter Three: The Interweaving of Music and Emotion Sometimes, Frank focuses on the rain, while the bear secretly brings back the sunshine; Frank tells the beauty of youthful love with heart, but the bear adds an adult’s humor to it. These slightly retro romantic sentiments make one feel a hint of warmth in the cold wind at the end of the year. Chapter Four: The Charm of the Protagonists Don’t mistake anyone, in our story, Frank is the traveler who inadvertently shows his earphones, and the bear is the wanderer who keeps singing ‘dumplings’ and ‘bubble tea’ in Chinese. Their charm lies not only in their music but also in their love for life and their persistent pursuit of dreams. Epilogue: Inviting Every Friend Now, we extend an invitation to friends in the 14 cities along the way to join this adventure and become a wonderful character in the story. At the same time, we sincerely invite music lovers to share with us the romance and unique charm of your cities.Whether it’s an old and dilapidated street, a hidden treasure trove, or a legend known only to locals, we are eager to hear your stories. During this special forces-style itinerary, Frank and the little bear will secretly take time out and slip out of the unconventional tour route to experience the city secrets that only you can tell us (Don’t let the agent know). We believe that every city has its unique soul, and your sharing will add more color and vitality to our tour. About them: Chinese American Bear. Chinese American Bear is a unique and light-hearted bilingual Chinese-English pop rock duo. The band is composed of Anne Tong and Bryce Barsten. They create highly rhythmic and ‘not too serious, food-loving’ music in their recording studio located in Seattle. Their style is described as a combination of Melody’s Echo Chamber, The Flaming Lips, Dusty Springfield and Care Bear. Their live performances are compared to ‘punk shows for toddlers’. Their cumulative play count on various platforms has exceeded 1 million times and has been reported and praised by media such as VOGUE+ (China), BBC Music, KEXP and international publications such as Under The Radar, DORK, C-heads, FLOOD, Loudwomen. Their songs are not only included in multiple editorially recommended playlists on Spotify, including New in Indie, Chill Vibes, Fresh Finds Indie, Bedroom Pop, Fresh Finds, Chinese Indie Picks, Group Singing, Independent Frontline, etc., but also appear in the official in-store playlist of H&M. About them: City Flanker. Emerging in the slow and gentle city of Shaoxing, City Flanker is an electric dreamy shoegaze band currently residing in Hangzhou. The collision and fusion of synthesizer electronic dance elements and shoegaze-style psychedelic sound walls evolve into an unpredictable urban atmosphere and hypnotic real dreams.
In the summer of 2024, the band released their brand new album ‘A Long Tomorrow’, which has a hint of the salty sea breeze, a touch of the hot and humid rainforest, a sharpness of urbanization, a rawness of the wilderness, and a touch of magical realism – a style perhaps only a novelist from the islands along the South China Sea could possess. Originating from Shaoxing in the Yangtze River Delta, they draw nourishment from the increasingly developed city and derive inspiration from their identity as ‘urban outsiders’, culminating in this work. ‘A Long Tomorrow’ maintains a hazy distance between the voice and the listener, fitting the protagonist Frank’s self-identity as an ‘urban outsider’ – living in the city, yet always unable to blend with the habits of city dwellers, wanting to escape yet being restrained by certain forces, reminiscent of Luo Dayou’s sentiment that ‘Taipei is not my home’. Amidst this fluctuation between connection and detachment, Frank falls into endless memories and imaginations. For Frank, who has lost hope in the city, he is willing to see everything as so dreamlike, so transcendent of the world, and sometimes the images that appear in his mind, he can no longer distinguish whether they are memories or imaginations. The full text is open on 12/23, Monday, and the performance starts at 8:00 PM. The actual duration of the performance will be determined on-site.
