自相矛盾 (Contradictions)- The good kind

So, went to my first concert in China. And be rest assured, it will not be my last. (Actually, will be going to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in 2 or 3 weeks).

Line up:
Chinese band
Chinese band (Brain Failure)
Chinese band
Japanese band (RaIN)
Ramones (Marky)
Cui Jian
Nine Inch Nails

Chinese bands were pretty good... loved Brain Failure. Despite its name, their music sounded like it belonged on the Clueless soundtrack. Japanese band pretended they were like Mick Jagger... stupid.

Ramones... what a joke! Marky Ramone talked in between each song (there were about 30 of them) and tried to smoothly segway into the next song, but it was incredibly comical and we thought it could have been an SNL parody skit! He'd say as soon as one song finished "Do you wanna be sedated? Because I WANNA BE SEDATED. 1-2-3-4!" And yes, we heard the 1-2-3-4 countdown for every 30songs.


It was amazing how the Chinese crowd was reacting. We were practically up against the railing (on the grass seating section) and there were a lot of Chinese cops hanging out in front of us. When the Ramones played, Chinese kids started throwing trash at the cops. I couldnt believe it!

The concert ettiqute was AMAZING. The manners the Chinese lack in the general public they make up for during the concert.
1.) No one spit
2.) We were able to sit down on the grass in between each band
3.) No crowd surfers
4.) No surging toward the front
5.) Everyone lined up/no pushing
6.) We all had our own personal space that no one invaded
7.) No one smoked pot

I loved it. Although, the lack of chaos did kind of take away from the concert. NIN is a band that ususally causes riots and bloodshed, but here, we all stood in a respective spots and bobbed our heads and hands. They were really good, but it felt like a little bit of energy was missing.


Now the highlight of the night was Cui Jian, the "godfather of Chinese rock'n'roll. I didnt have high expectations for him, but he was phenomenal! Probably in his mid-40s, always wears a hat with a small red star, very Bruce Springsteen-ish. He sang, played guitar & trumpet, had amazing drummers in the background, and a saxaphone. Wo ting bu dong (I didn't understand) his music, but after looking at concert reviews today (having to use a program that bypasses govt censors), I learned that he was actually a huge inspiration for the 1989 student protests. This is the largest crowd he has played in a very long time b/c the government won't let him play bigger venues than jiuba (bars) b/c they're afraid of his message going out to too many people. The crowd absolutely loved him! It was great to hear them sing about freedom and what have you!


Oh, and get this- we couldnt bring water inside the venue (which was outdoors) because the plastic bottles, when thrown, are too dangerous. The only thing we could drink was beer or other liquors that they put in plastic cups. Tai mafan (what a pain)!