Gig of the Year??

Oh yes, we all had a lot of excitement at Midi (and, for some, frustration at Strawberry), and have stumbled upon some fine, unexpected gigs over these past couple of weeks (like The Redbucks at Zui Yuefang, The Verse at Jianghu, Shan Ren at 121, and the eccentric Nordic jazz experimentalists Parallax at VA Bar), but the show I most wanted to see - and missed! - was The Karpenters playing over at the grand old Exhibition Centre near the Zoo (at least, I think it was that one; Beijing has too many "Exhibition Centres"!).

Long ago, I remarked upon this country's strange obsession with Karen Carpenter. She was one of only a handful of Western music stars to get any exposure in China in the 1970s, and is probably the one most fondly revered to this day (it's a toss-up between her and John Denver). Hence, the May Day visit to Beijing of English cover band The Karpenters was the most anticipated gig of the year (decade, millennium) for many local music fans; and the tickets were therefore stratospherically expensive. Far too dear for impoverished little old me. And I dare say they were all snapped up weeks in advance by Chinese Carpenters idolaters, anyway. They look like a pretty decent band, though. Maybe I should start saving for the next time they come.

I note that the advertising here was billing them as 'The Carpenters' with a 'C' - check out the poster on the local listing on the City Weekend website linked to above. I have long toyed with the idea of finding a skinny 60-year-old woman with a decent voice to front a 'Carpenters Comeback Tour' in China. I figure most Chinese are unaware - or reluctant to believe - that she is dead, and would readily accept such a well-intentioned deception. John Denver could open for them.