Fantastic Voyage
John here with my wrap-up.
What a fantastic adventure! Yes, there were stresses (touring is hazardous, especially when the cultural rules are unknown). Yes there were organizational/communication issues, and the sound at the festival was questionable. But in the end, we Rocked the Jing, and when we left, I think most of the immediate problems had been worked out and we left a good impression. Plus a lot of press: Emily had arranged for print, radio, and national TV interviews with us.
Rod and Emily have another week travelling around the country -- hope they have a great time (bound to be stress-free without the rest of us.) We heard from them on Saturday afternoon and know they made it to Chengdu, despite their hurried departure.
On the way to the aiport, Haonan took us to KFC -- "Wait here for ice cream!" he sang giddily as he jumped off the bus. We felt like the St. Mary's Sinfonia schoolgirls, being rewarded for being such a well-behaved punk band. The soft-serve ice cream was wonderful -- our first officially-sanctioned Western snack (we had eaten pizza at Eudora Station, the expat hangout next door to the hotel, but that was on our own dime, not The Party's.)
Here are the heroes of this story: Emily for putting it together and making it happen, Haonan for his professionalism and organizational skills, and Kevin Cain [aka Vin Dog -- Kevin Barrett was remonikered Special K so as to distinguish the two Kevin Patricks] for his no-muss, no-fuss filmmaking ethos (as well as providing insight and stability during the trying times.) Thanks also to Kat for her dispatches from the front.
I also want to acknowledge the diverse and interesting musicians that we saw (and got to know a little,) like the guys from Acadian band Blou, Mina and Maaka from Kiwa (find them at www.wai100.com) and Moscow rock band Mumiy Troll. Also props to expat Americans (like Bree, Adam Lowry and Lee Clow) who helped us understand what we were experiencing. And Wen for her cross-cultural interfacing skills.
Thank you, PRC and the people of Beijing, for inviting us to your country, for treating us with patience and great generosity, and for being so interested in the kind of cultural diversity that the Pop Festival program represents. We were honored to be part of it.
Let me sign off with this thought, a message of comfort to all nations, from a Chinglish T-shirt that Kat bought: "Seeingmemore, loving Im a sweeheart in the world it snot yousomethinge."
I think that says it all.
What a fantastic adventure! Yes, there were stresses (touring is hazardous, especially when the cultural rules are unknown). Yes there were organizational/communication issues, and the sound at the festival was questionable. But in the end, we Rocked the Jing, and when we left, I think most of the immediate problems had been worked out and we left a good impression. Plus a lot of press: Emily had arranged for print, radio, and national TV interviews with us.
Rod and Emily have another week travelling around the country -- hope they have a great time (bound to be stress-free without the rest of us.) We heard from them on Saturday afternoon and know they made it to Chengdu, despite their hurried departure.
On the way to the aiport, Haonan took us to KFC -- "Wait here for ice cream!" he sang giddily as he jumped off the bus. We felt like the St. Mary's Sinfonia schoolgirls, being rewarded for being such a well-behaved punk band. The soft-serve ice cream was wonderful -- our first officially-sanctioned Western snack (we had eaten pizza at Eudora Station, the expat hangout next door to the hotel, but that was on our own dime, not The Party's.)
Here are the heroes of this story: Emily for putting it together and making it happen, Haonan for his professionalism and organizational skills, and Kevin Cain [aka Vin Dog -- Kevin Barrett was remonikered Special K so as to distinguish the two Kevin Patricks] for his no-muss, no-fuss filmmaking ethos (as well as providing insight and stability during the trying times.) Thanks also to Kat for her dispatches from the front.
I also want to acknowledge the diverse and interesting musicians that we saw (and got to know a little,) like the guys from Acadian band Blou, Mina and Maaka from Kiwa (find them at www.wai100.com) and Moscow rock band Mumiy Troll. Also props to expat Americans (like Bree, Adam Lowry and Lee Clow) who helped us understand what we were experiencing. And Wen for her cross-cultural interfacing skills.
Thank you, PRC and the people of Beijing, for inviting us to your country, for treating us with patience and great generosity, and for being so interested in the kind of cultural diversity that the Pop Festival program represents. We were honored to be part of it.
Let me sign off with this thought, a message of comfort to all nations, from a Chinglish T-shirt that Kat bought: "Seeingmemore, loving Im a sweeheart in the world it snot yousomethinge."
I think that says it all.
posted by Kat at 11:47 AM
1 Comments:
Congrats on the trip! I only came across this now, so I missed the build-up. And to think, I can say that I've seen international sensations the Urinals back when they were playing small clubs in LA...
Post a Comment
<< Home