The lead singer for Queen Sea Big Shark swivels on stage in a spectacularly mirrored dress that makes her look like a cross between a mermaid and a disco ball. Obviously a little drunk, she turns languidly to her guitarist, nods at him, and then suddenly the whole band blasts out in a perfectly synchronized explosion of guitar buzz and backbeat. The singer smiles nastily and then throws herself into a frenzied dance while chanting out snatches of barely intelligible words. Within seconds the audience in front of the stage erupts in a frenzy of dancing.

Queen Sea Big Shark was formed in 2005 and almost from the very beginning became one of the most watched bands in the Beijing scene and one of the most admired among the younger bands. They have a hard, very funky but also very hard-rocking sound that in some ways recreates the New York scene of the early 1980s. Like bands of that time and period – Bush Tetras, the Contortions, ESG – the Sharks combine tight rhythms with very loud, raunchy guitars.

Musically among the most sophisticated bands in Beijing, Queen Sea Big Shark are immensely focused in both their song writing and their performances. Their stage act displays a ferocious discipline that consists of Cao Pu’s guitar (one of the best guitarists in Beijing) backed by an incredibly tight rhythm section. All of this control anchors the band in a way that throws singer Fu Han’s out-of-control gyrations and frantic singing into sharp relief. Fu Han’s spectacular stage presence is at the heart of the band’s power and makes their live act one of the best in China, and it doesn’t seem to matter to their stage show whether the audience consists of hundreds of screaming fans or a few friends.