Well, I'm hoping, anyway.
Tonight is the third anniversary bash for 2 Kolegas, the best (or at any rate, the most charmingly idiosyncratic) of all Beijing's live music venues. This event was awesome in each of the last two years (check out my report on last year's here): umpteen bands, an all-night party, yangrou chuanr on the lawn outside.
It sounds as though this year's event might be a little less sprawling. Only three headline bands are being advertised, and there is supposedly a cover charge (outrageous! 2K has only recently introduced door charges). It's a bit difficult to see how a door charge would be enforceable with - as happened in previous years - a rolling concert that goes on for several hours, and enormous crowds constantly alternating between the indoor and outdoor bars. So..... maybe it is just going to be a more regular sort of gig this time.
Oh, well, we shall see. A night out at Kolegas is always a blast, no matter what. And the advertised bands do happen to be the three best bands in Beijing: Ziyo, SUBS, and RETROS. Well, I find myself blowing hot and cold on RETROS: I rather liked them the first couple of times I heard them - first off at Midi 2 or 3 years ago, I think - but thought they kind of sucked the last couple of times, overdoing the suicidal angst and coming off like Ian Curtis on a bad day. But SUBS or Ziyo are usually worth the price of admission on their own.
And I'm pretty sure there will be at least a few other bands appearing......
I just hope the event doesn't get cancelled by our killjoy police force. All public gatherings are coming in for increasing scrutiny as the Olympics loom. Even setting formica stools and collapsible tables on the sidewalks outside small restaurants seems to have been banned in some parts of the city. "You want to have FUN? And you want to have it in the open air?? Not on my patch, Sonny."
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