Why I am excited about the MxPx concert...

Next Friday, legendary punk band MxPx will play in Beijing at the Mao Livehouse music venue. People have been asking why I am so excited about this, haven't you already seen their concert 4 times before? Let me explain why I am so excited about this:

When I was 16 years old, I was the typical youth group kid, listening to Christian rock music exclusively, "edgy" bands like Jars of Clay and Dc Talk. One night I was in an internet chat room (do those even exist anymore?) and was chatting with a guy who called himself PxPx as his online nickname. I asked him what it meant and he said it was based on the band name MxPx. He then asked me what music I liked and I told him I really liked Christian band Jars of Clay. He said I should check out MxPx then, they were probably similar to Jars of Clay.

Assuming they were a Christian rock band based on our discussion, I headed to that mecca of rock and roll music: Promise and Praise Bookstore in Oxford, MS. They looked at me like I had lobsters crawling out of my ears when I asked for MxPx. I then headed on down the mall to the Sound Shop music store. They just looked at me. No one had heard of this band! Months later, at high school graduation, someone gave me a cassette (do these even exist anymore?) of music themed for the graduate. MxPx's song "Teenage Politics" was on the tape. It was unlike anything I had ever heard. It was angry yet positive at the same time, a song about navigating the strange world of a teenager. Still thinking they were a Christian rock band, I went to my pastor, Dr. Charles Nestor and asked him if he could order their album for me. He looked on his computer and found the album "Teenage Politics". Weeks went by and I forgot I had ordered it. One day I was visiting Dr. Nestor in his office and happened to see that copy of "Teenage Politics" buried under a stack of papers on his desk. He then gave it to me for free since I had waited so long on it. The songs on that cd became the soundtrack for my late high school/early college life.

Turns out the band was on Tooth and Nail Records, a record label that has always walked a thin line between the secular and the spiritual. This company has been known for some of the bigger names in mainstream music today like Anberlin, mewithoutYou, and Underoath as well as Christian music success stories (through their Christian market focused sister company, BEC Recordings) the O.C. Supertones, Plankeye, Jeremy Camp, and Hawk Nelson. They have also spawned some lesser known, but no less marvelous talent, like Starflyer 59, For Love Not Lisa, Stavesacre, The blamed, He is Legend, Roadside Monument, Ninety Pound Wuss, and Joy Electric. The members of MxPx were Christians (but not a Christian band) and this came through in some of their songs but most of their songs just dealt with everyday life experiences: What do I do with my future? Will I meet a girl? All of the songs meant something to me and I could easily relate to all of them.

I have grown up with the band, as their songwriting has matured so have I. I am the same age as the band members. As they were navigating their late teen years, so was I. Now as they are navigating young adulthood, so am I. Is it a coincidence that during the same year I am in Beijing they are playing a show here? I don't think so.

Their lyrics have continued to include the spiritual and the mundane, but everything is written from a perspective that there is more to this life than meets the eye. I am proud to be a fan of this amazing band.

"There's got to be a better place than this world.
She said its the best time of our lives,
we shouldn't be thinking about that now,
she turned my words around,
and I let it happen everytime."

"Well he's a chick magnet if you know what I mean"

"Still don't know what I want to do,
probably still ask you if I knew,
what I'm doing now seems to be okay, i
f it's your will, if it's your way"

"Teenage Politics its too confusing
Politics Schmolitics, too confusing"

"These days so few seem to have faith
In the son of man and in his grace
I feel your breathe upon my face
As you replace, my broken wings"

"You are your own secret weapon
Its all up to you to come out swingin"

"They said we need to play it better
They said just sing like Eddie Vedder
Bring us something we can sell"

"The piece of paper that you've got
says you can get into my pocket
but you can't get inside my heart
or inside my head"

"There's nothing quite like
being sure of what's inside your heart"

"Responsibility
What's that!
Responsibilty
Not quite yet!"

"am i the one that's going crazy?
i'm so tired of masquerading
i pretend to be so well adjusted
maybe it's just me and i'm disgusted"

MxPx Tickets Info...

A couple weeks ago I received a comment from someone who found my blog and was interested in how to get MxPx tickets for their May 22 show at Mao Live House. The only way to get them is to go to the venue. Get them in advance as they are cheaper.

Prices:

Advance- 180 RMB
At Door- 250 RMB
VIP Package- 580 RMB(I have no idea what this is and the girl I talked to on the phone at Mao didn't know either.)

For maps and directions go to the following website:

www.maolive.com/main.html

I hope the lone commenter finds the tickets. If you do, maybe we can meet AT THE SHOW! (and if you are a true MxPx fan you will know why I capitalized those three words.)

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.

Holy Rice Cakes Batman!...

I do most of my grocery shopping (particularly for hard to carry home items like water and drinks) from a website called Beijing Home Delivery. It is a wonderful service run by a group of English speaking Chinese men. The prices are reasonable and you get all five of the city's English expat magazines delivered with your order. Most of their items are sold in Sam's Club type quantities which saves you some money on not having to have delivery so often; they do charge a small delivery fee, but because a large quantity of groceries is hard to get home on the subway, you end up spending that money on a taxi anyway.

My latest order arrived this morning. In addition to the usual Cokes and bottled water, I ordered a bag of rice, the smallest one they had, and since I don't know the metric system, here is what I ended up with:

I think I will have enough rice until I leave China mid June! Most Chinese families use lots of rice per week, so these large quantity bags are common. For singles and other families that use less, you can buy rice "loose" in the produce section of the stores by scooping how much you need into a bag. I thought based on price and the fact that it was the "small" size, I was ordering about a pound of rice. I guess I need to learn the metric system; this is bigger than most bags of dog food I have bought before!

Xian Tim...

On Sunday night, I headed out late on an overnight train from Beijing to Xian. What follows is a full report on the experience.

Part 1- I'm on a train, don't you ever forget!

Beijing West Railway Station

Arriving at Beijing West Railway Station can be a bit intimidating due to its size. It is the largest of three stations in Beijing and is currently the largest in all of Asia. China has an extensive railway network linking Beijing with any city in the country and even with Russia, most destinations are just an overnight ride. Once inside, its not that difficult, you run your luggage through a scanner and then find your track by matching your train number with a track number. Its a good thing numbers are written the same in English as they are in Chinese though, because everything else is Chinese!

After locating my train's track, I had some time to kill so went off in search of some food for dinner. There were several Chinese restaurants, a hamburger stand, and even a Peking duck restaurant as well as the usual McDonalds and KFC. I settled on a Chinese cafeteria style restaurant and ordered some jiaozi- boiled dumplings. They were good, nothing special, but good.

My train started boarding in an hour after dinner so I made my way to the lounge area and killed the time on my Nintendo DS. Soon after boarding, I made my way quickly to my bunk in the hard sleeper cars. Hard sleeper is the economy sleeper class. You are in an open, clean, compartment (no door) with 5 other travelers. There are 6 bunks in the compartment. An upgrade to this would be the soft sleeper, but the only differences are a door and 4 beds instead of 6. Beyond that there is deluxe soft sleeper (2 more comfortable beds and private Western style toilet) but if you can afford deluxe soft sleeper you might as well book a flight. Hard sleeper is the recommended way to go, its the way the locals and adventurous foreigners do it. Even though they say the hard does not refer to the comfort level of the beds, I found that to be an adequate description! All in all it wasn't bad, lights went out shortly after ten and I slept decently. My only problem was one of my bunkmates who insisted on watching movies on his laptop until well after midnight without headphones! Hey buddy you aren't the only one on this train. The Chinese men in my compartment handled this quite well though eventually getting him to turn the volume down to a more acceptable level.

Crowded Hard Sleeper Car

My Bunk

Part 2- Arrival In Xian
Xian is an ancient city surrounded by a mostly reconstructed city wall. It is in Shanxi province. The city is so beautiful, smaller than Beiijng. I kept trying to figure out why it was so beautiful and finally later in the day it hit me: trees, there are trees everywhere! Its been so long since I've seen so many trees!

The Beauty Of Xian, Mountains Surrounding The Terra Cotta Army Museum

After navigating myself out of the Xian train station and locating my hired guide, Penny from China Travel Service, we set off to the first stop of the day, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. That is the tower you see in the following picture. It is at the center of an Ancient Buddhist Temple built as a storehouse of Buddhist scriptures that were brought from India. Throughout the tour Penny told me many interesting stories about the various rooms in the temple even explaining the meaning behind the murals in the temple rooms, things I wouldn't have gotten on my own.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Later I stopped for a picture with Happy Buddha. My guide told me that while I was getting my picture made that a person said "Look at that foreigner, his belly looks like Happy Buddha!" I always knew I had the body of a god!

Come On Get Happy!

Part 3- The Terra Cotta Army
Next, it was on to my real reason for the trip, the Terra Cotta Army. This is one of those things you have to do in China. The army is located about an hour's drive from Xian. On the way we stopped at a factory where they make souveneir warriors and I got the following photo:

At The Factory

In the factory, I got to watch the process of making a souveneir warrior. They make them in all sizes from desktop size up to life size. After the short tour, I was escorted to the obligatory gift shop. The sellers were pushy but not too much. Having seen this before on previous tours I didn't waste much time here because I knew I couldn't afford most of it and then had no way of getting most of it home. (Who actually buys life size lions carved out of jade and then pays thousands of dollars to have them shipped to the U.S.?) I picked up a couple of small warriors and was on my way. My tour guide was quite surprised at how quick I was. Most tours spend about an hour or more on these shopping excursions. The tour directors make a comission off of the sales, although I am sure she didn't get much from my paltry purchase!

Next, the warriors. The Terra Cotta Army was contructed under orders of the first emperor of China's Qing dynasty, the same man responsible for the Great Wall. He desired to continue his rule in the afterlife. In 1979, some farmers were digging a well and started digging up arms, legs, and heads. They sent them off to the government who found out they had discovered the tomb of this emperor! Today one of the farmers sits in the gift shop (they say it's him) and signs autographs. After a short film with some of the worst acting and props I have seen (I hope the real Qing army didn't wear plastic helmets!) I was taken through each of the excavated pits. It is a work in progress, many of the soldiers are still in pieces and are being restored by archaeologists. Here is a picture of the largest pit, sorry it's in black and white, my new camera allows you to change from color to black and white and sometimes just takes pictures in whatever color it feels like.

Pit Of Warrior Ruins; Can You See The Horse's Rear End?

After several hours at the warrior museum, I was hungry so my guide took me to a restaurant where I had a delicious dish of breaded deep fried chicken cooked with cashews, peanuts, and deep fried strips of potato. I have never seen this dish in Beijing! I also got to watch noodles being made and sample a local delicacy, Pomegrante wine. It was very strong and I could barely handle the communion cup sized sample!

Delicious Lunch

Part 4- Back To Beijing
Later, after the tour, I wondered around downtown Xian on my own for awhile and then headed to the train station. I got ripped off by a rickshaw driver but if you don't get ripped off at least once in China, you haven't really experienced the country. While hailing a cab, the rickshaw driver pulled up and offered to take me to the train station. "Duo shao qian?" I said. (How much money?) He showed me a ten and a twenty rmb bill. Okay, 30 rmb is reasonable plus I haven't ridden on a rickshaw yet. (I don't have a wife to make angry life Clifton did!) It was a cool ride, he took me through a lot of back streets and I got to see how the locals live in Xian. After arrival at the train station 20 minutes later, I handed him my 100 rmb note and he handed me my change all rolled up. I didn't think to count it but upon arrival at the train station I realized he had given me the 10 and 20 rmb note he had shown me. The 30 rmb cab ride cost me 70 rmb! Oh well, he probably needs the money plus it is all part of the China experience! (Actually I am sure he gets rich pulling this scam on foreigners all the time.)

The Xian train station is a nightmare: crowded, dirty, and hot. I had a couple of hours to kill so I played more DS, watched The Office on my Ipod, and listened to MxPx for awhile. Once back on the train, I was again in hard sleeper this time with a very friendly Chinese couple and 2 others. I headed to the diner car for dinner and had a simple stir fry of pepper, onions, and beef with green tea on the side. It was a decent meal and the man in charge of the diner who seemed to think he was running a place of the caliber of Emeril or Gordon Ramsey gave me a good laugh. Next, it was Benadryl and passing out in my bunk. I arrived back in Beijing early, around 6:30 am exhausted but glad to have added another unique experience to my year in China.

Diner Car

Back To Beijing

An Easter Gift...

In the picture above, you are looking at an Easter Egg. This was a gift from one of my students and frequent blog reader, Tina. Tina had noticed how on my blog last week I mentioned that I really missed the Easter Eggs this year. Tina got this egg at church last Sunday at Haidian Christian. The Sunday School children at this church made these for the congregation. They are hollowed out egg shells that have been hand painted. Pictured on the egg is a cross as well as the Chinese symbols for peace, appropriate to me as I end each class by saying to the students: "See ya when I see ya! Peace!" (something I picked up at Camp Stewart a few years back, it is how we ended activities there)

On the surface, an egg may not seem like much, but to me it represents what I love most about China and will miss most: the thoughfulness and kindness of the locals. This student remembered that I mentioned missing Easter Eggs and also made sure to personalize it to my personality. That took a lot of thought to do. I am continually impressed by this type of thoughtfulness on the part of my students here, none of my American students ever were even close to being this kind.

Tonight, I head out by train to Xian to visit the famous Terra Cotta Warriors, expect lots of pics when I return on Tuesday.

Easter Sunday...

Unlike Christmas, Easter is a western holiday that has not yet been commercialized in China. That was actually kind of refreshing as it allowed me to focus solely on the religious significance of the day rather than being bomarded by images of clucking rabbits on tv selling chocolate eggs and grown men in bunny suits giving out cheap candy to children. It also led to some interesting conversations with Chinese friends who had never heard of Easter before. I did miss the colored eggs though, well maybe next year.

This morning I attended the Easter service and celebration at Congregation of the Good Shepherd. The service was a beautiful combination of music, liturgy, scripture, preaching, and communion. Pastor Dan preached an inspired sermon on the importance and benefits of sharing our faith in Christ. The worship room was filled to standing room only (people that my friend Bro. Brian Rainey would call "Easter Lilies" as they attend only on Easter). The choir was magnificent proclaiming the message of Easter through song.

After the service, the children had an egg hunt in a nearby park and the adults had coffee/tea and chatted. I was able to meet several new people as well as get caught up on EF happenings with fellow EF teacher Sue from EF Dongzhimen Center.

Following the coffee time, we went back inside for an elaborate Easter luncheon buffet catered by the Capital Club. The Capital Club is an organization of foreign businessmen. One part of our agreement with them is that they provide our meeting space in their function hall but if we need any food, we have to use their catering service. While it is expensive, I felt the meal was well worth the 180 rmb per person (about 30 bucks, although if you can't afford the full price wealthier members of the congregation do help make up the difference for those who can't pay). The meal featured a Chinese barbecue station with duck, chicken, and pork; a carving station with ham and prime rib; a salad buffet; lamb and chicken; various vegetables; and an elaborate dessert station with make your own waffles, cakes, and ice cream! I felt like I was at the Bellagio buffet! It was definitely of the quality you would receive in a five star hotel.

Here is a video compilation of the service as well as some pictures:



The Altar Ready For Easter


Dessert Plate With Chocolate Rabbit