Chinapunx
Wednesday night John, the Kevins, and I took a cab to the Chinapunx show at the Nameless Highland* bar in Anhuili.
Just getting there was an adventure for us. We hadn't taken a cab anywhere yet--although plenty have tried to annhilate us when we cross the street. (And you really have to scurry and dodge to get across Beijing's broad boulevards.*) Haonan had no idea where the club was when I showed him the address. We got the concierge to write the name in Chinese for us and gave that to the cab driver.
What a champ he was. First he got us to the general vicinity and then asked other cab drivers, passersby, building guards, and bicyclists where the club was, narrowing the location. For those of you familiar with Tokyo--it's like that. No real street addresses but the directions get more and more micro--district, neighborhood, building.
There was a pretty fair crowd outside the club, even though the show was supposed to start at 9:30 and it was 10 ish. A police nuisance of some kind. Ah, just like old times. We talked with some of the expats outside the club. Bree abridges the Brontes and Jane Austen for Chinese schools.*** Lee teaches at a Chinese middle school and sings with End of the World.**** Adam is a software engineer and keeps a blog on Beijing music: http://www.chaile.org/*****
We pay 30 yuan to get in--about $2.40, I think, but I've been shaky on currency conversion. It's not long before the air is smoky and I've got a bottle of Beijing Lite beer. Ah, punk rock music as Nature intended.
We enjoy a great evening of six bands, all very different, all great. Bree and Adam fill us in on who the bands are. (I have photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/urinals/) John works the room and meets some of the audience and musicians. There are a lot of girls in the bands and one or two Americans. Adam later explains to us that the musicians are either the children of the well-to-do who have the leisure to rehearse or live far out in the country where it's possible to get by on very very little. Lee says that when they want to sing something inflammatory, they sing it in English. But the authorities don't care very much because it isn't a very big movement. Most of the other pop music is utterly apolitical.
After the show, we go outside and discover it's pouring. We quickly catch a cab and go happily and wetly back to the hotel.
---
*I forgot to ask anyone what the name means.
**Good thing I still have my Tehran street-crossing skills.
***Jason, finally a version of Wuthering Heights you might be able to stand!
****Nori, he shares your great love for the No Child Left Behind idea and standardized testing.
*****Adam's blog has a link to a browser that gets around the Great Firewall of China--it has a link to this blog.
Just getting there was an adventure for us. We hadn't taken a cab anywhere yet--although plenty have tried to annhilate us when we cross the street. (And you really have to scurry and dodge to get across Beijing's broad boulevards.*) Haonan had no idea where the club was when I showed him the address. We got the concierge to write the name in Chinese for us and gave that to the cab driver.
What a champ he was. First he got us to the general vicinity and then asked other cab drivers, passersby, building guards, and bicyclists where the club was, narrowing the location. For those of you familiar with Tokyo--it's like that. No real street addresses but the directions get more and more micro--district, neighborhood, building.
There was a pretty fair crowd outside the club, even though the show was supposed to start at 9:30 and it was 10 ish. A police nuisance of some kind. Ah, just like old times. We talked with some of the expats outside the club. Bree abridges the Brontes and Jane Austen for Chinese schools.*** Lee teaches at a Chinese middle school and sings with End of the World.**** Adam is a software engineer and keeps a blog on Beijing music: http://www.chaile.org/*****
We pay 30 yuan to get in--about $2.40, I think, but I've been shaky on currency conversion. It's not long before the air is smoky and I've got a bottle of Beijing Lite beer. Ah, punk rock music as Nature intended.
We enjoy a great evening of six bands, all very different, all great. Bree and Adam fill us in on who the bands are. (I have photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/urinals/) John works the room and meets some of the audience and musicians. There are a lot of girls in the bands and one or two Americans. Adam later explains to us that the musicians are either the children of the well-to-do who have the leisure to rehearse or live far out in the country where it's possible to get by on very very little. Lee says that when they want to sing something inflammatory, they sing it in English. But the authorities don't care very much because it isn't a very big movement. Most of the other pop music is utterly apolitical.
After the show, we go outside and discover it's pouring. We quickly catch a cab and go happily and wetly back to the hotel.
---
*I forgot to ask anyone what the name means.
**Good thing I still have my Tehran street-crossing skills.
***Jason, finally a version of Wuthering Heights you might be able to stand!
****Nori, he shares your great love for the No Child Left Behind idea and standardized testing.
*****Adam's blog has a link to a browser that gets around the Great Firewall of China--it has a link to this blog.
posted by Kat at 6:36 AM
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Modern Sky Bands Only, a special day in the Chaoyang Pop Music Festival for the Youth Day
(May 5, 2004)
In the afternoon of May 4, the 4 most favorite bands under the Modern Sky – the New Pants, the Convenient Store, the Muma, and singer Jiang Xin and her band – all performed in Chaoyang Park for the Chaoyang Pop Music Festival, which helped the whole activity played a significant role for the Youth Day of China.
As the pioneers of the youth's pop music, the New Pants got on first. Not only with their energetic music, but also with their special cartoon MV, they conquered the youth. The first song She's Automatic came from their third album. With the music got on, the audience became more and more enthusiastic and responded in rhythm, the atmosphere there got hotter with every note. Afterwards, the New Pants performed several classical songs: Our Time, I Don't Want to Lose You, and I'm OK. During the intervals among the songs, the main singer Peng Lei exposed his habit of collecting dolls – he has got a pretty crocodile in the park.
After the performances of the New Pants, it was the Convenient Store's turn, who has earned a great deal of support recently. Their album Five Star, which was published earlier this year, has earned them the best new band in many standards. When the singers began dancing with the music, the response was immediate: the fans countless screams attracted more and more tourists in the park to the stage. All the audience were influenced by their British style, and the main singer Guo Shuo. Being a young band, the Convenient Store fully took their experience of about 200 performances and encouraged the atmosphere to get higher and higher. The fans accompanied them all through the songs of The View, Set Off to Siberia with swinging hands and screams. Finally, the band played their favorite Cannon Fodder with all the audience.
The Muma, with its rock style, was introduced after the Convenient Store. Although they kept low figures for years with little propaganda, their creativity and performance remains to be on the top level. With pure strength, they have earned a unique position in the industry – the best rock band of Pepsi Music List. Additionally, their performance on the very day proved it to be true – before the performance, the main singer Muma said peacefully, 'may the god favors you with beer, since you have nothing in hand.' With the music of the old song Steps, the feelings of the audience reached its peak at the moment: some fell in deep thoughts, some cried out, and some in tears.
The last to perform is Jiang Xin and her band, which is on fire at the moment. In order to keep the consistency with Modern Sky Bands Only, Jiang selected her band to be quite strong: drummer Gu San used to serve famous singer Cui Jian; Yu Yang, the main singer from the former Iron Kite for the guitar and musician Liu Wentai for the bass. With the pure and easy music of the song Don't Be Afraid, Jiang sang the lines ‘to be happy and to be brave’ confidently. The song, encourages the audience to face the difficulties, influenced the audience as well as the singer herself, she jumped up and down in the applause like a child.
After that, Jiang played a newly written one the Dust, with which he expressed his feelings about emotion in tunes. Her performance attracted many people, not only the fans, but also her friends. Under the quest of all the people around, Jiang sang, without music, the champion song Pandora, with which the audience gave a big chorus. Her performance ends with the song Purity (the Sunflower), Jiang expressed her adamancy, peace and optimism with music, and everybody was smiling.
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