Labor Day Weekend...

Part 1- Its A Pretty Good Wall, Not Great
Labor Day Weekend in Beijing apparently means one thing: music and lots of it! However, I started my Labor Day with a trip to the Mutianyu secion of the Great Wall. Early on Friday morning me and my friend Carol headed out on a three hour bus ride for the mountain resort town that is built up around this section of the wall. Riding through the mountains made me feel like I was in the Smokies. Indeed the section of the wall is so touristy, I felt like I was at a Great Wall attraction that had been built in Branson or Gatlinburg.

After getting tickets, you walk through a street lined with vendors selling all sorts of "tourist kitsch" souveneirs. There were t shirts that proudly proclaimed "I climbed the Great Wall!", the famous one day watches showing Mao Zedong waving to the crowds (so named because one day is how long they work for after buying them), hats, and the one I bought: the Terra Cotta Warrior Chess Set!

After making your way through the stalls, it is time to board the gondola to the top of the wall. (Gatlinburg anyone?) It is a creaky five minute ride that is bordered by beautiful mountain scenery. At the top, you are able to walk along a restored section of the wall and look into the distance at ruins that are unaccesible to the public.


View From The Gondola


Another View


I'm the king of the world!


Me and EF Teacher Carol Who Vounteered To Be My Guide For The Day.

When you've seen enough of the wall, it's time to head back down, this time on a bobsled run that curves the length of the mountain. I was going much faster than I should have been and had to stop very quickly as the Italian woman five people ahead of me was freaking out and kept stopping her sled and holding up traffic. All in all, a fun experience and definitely different from my first experience with the Great Wall.


Bobsled Run


Alright Italian Woman, Out of My Way!

Part 2- We ain't got no place to go, let's go to the punk rawk show!
After returning to Beijing and getting a short nap, it was time to meet my friend Karen to head over to D-22, one of Beijing's best spots for hearing live, indie music. This is the venue's third anniversary weekend and they are celebrating with three nights of great bands.

D-22 represents everything I love about indie music: many of the staff such as bartenders (who are very friendly even if you just order a coke) and door staff are either musicians or filmmakers. The place is not fancy, it is all about the music (and occasionally the movies). Run by an American man who is a college professor and wanted to provide a place for his musically inclined students to perform in Beijing, D-22 is the cultivating ground for young talented musicians in this city.

All the ingredients for a successful punk show were there: the true punks with their wild hairstyles, the preppy college kids, the preppy college kids who want to be punks but shop at Hot Topic rather than thrift stores, international students miles away from home (and their home country's more restrictive drinking age laws, 15 kuai Tsingtao for everyone, Tsingtao party!, Who has money?), the young hipsters who are slowly losing their hipness (me), and the old gray haired guys who just love music and don't care what anyone thinks (me one day). All in all it was an ecletic mix of foreigners and Chinese all united in their love of music.

Opening the show was a Chinese band whose name I did not get. It consisted of 2 guys and a girl all three playing guitar and the occaisonal violin. I have never seen someone "shred" on a violin before though. They weren't extremely experienced, but you could tell they love playing with each other. Their smiles gave this away immediately. They are talented and with a few more years polisihing their sound, I think Beijing can expect great things out of this band. This is when music is real and means something. They reminded me of a young Starflyer 59.

Up next was a group of Americans from Shanghai named Rogue Transmision. They played a rockabilly infused punk rock and at times reminded me of Gasoline Heart. This band, especially their frontman, had the most energy and stage presence of any band in the evening. After the show, I purchased a cd that their lead singer was selling and he seemed so appreciative even going so far to ask my name and thank me for buying one. I have never seen a band be that appreciative to the fans. Can't wait to see what happens with Rogue Transmission in the future.

Beijing punk veterans The Gar took the stage next. They are a pretty standard pop punk band and while I enjoyed their music, it was hard to follow Rogue Transmission. Their stage presence just didn't measure up and most of the crowd seemed to agree with me because while they received a good reception, people took more time to visit with the band more as background music.

At 1 am, the room darkened and a screen dropped down. An energy was in the air. It was time for the band everyone came to see: Carsick Cars, the leader of Beijing's indie undergound. Taking pages out of Sonic Youth and the Ramones' books, Carsick Cars didn't disappoint the eager crowd. I also can't help but think of late 90s rockers Morella's Forest from the heyday of indie rock on Tooth and Nail Records. With simple but catchy lyrics and infectious melodies, Carsick Cars know how to excite their fans. Before they took the stage we were treated to their first music video: Mogu Mogu (Mushroom Mushroom) a trippy, psychadelic video that could have been filmed on the set of Willy Wonka. Carsick Cars didn't disappoint, playing a mix of their hits and brand new material ending with the anthem of the Beijing underground: Zhong nan hai. Zhong nan hai is the name of the building from which the Communist party runs the country, it is also the name of a popular, cheap cigarette brand. Is the song about the cigarrete or a subtle jab at the government? It is up to the listener to decide.

Here are the lyrics roughly translated to English:
Zhong nan hai, Zhong nan hai
I only smoke Zhong nan hai
Zhong nan hai, Zhong han hai
Who smoked my Zhong nan hai

Not exactly Shakespeare, but gets a crowd stirred up.

Amidst the crowd surfing and head bobbing, the crowd responded by showering the band with Zhong Nan Hai cigarrettes, a Carsick Cars show tradition. Here is some video I got of their closing song:


Also check out the following links for their 2 music videos, the first one was shot at D-22:

Zhong Nan Hai: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XODIzMjc2MA==.html

Mogu Mogu:
http://www.vimeo.com/4372048

I arrived home at 2:30 am and was a zombie at work today, but it was worth it to see bands on the forefront of music in Beijing today.