Post-Tiananmen Nihilism
Two Chinese Bands Come To Boone...Of All Places
March 11 @ Black Cat
If you were in a Chinese band and you, like all of your predecessors, had
never toured or been allowed to tour in the United States before, where
would you go? New York? Los Angeles? Boston? Las Vegas? How about Boone?
Well, we made the cut people. Don’t ask why—sometimes it’s
better that we don’t know—but come hell, high water or communist
doctrine, two bands from China—Re-TROS and Lonely China Day—are
coming to the Heart of the High Country for a live show at Black Cat on
March 11.
Chinese bands have never toured in the states before, but due to recent
loosening of restrictions, these two bands will break new ground with their
new visas. Signed to China’s largest indie label, Modern Sky, Re-TROS
and Lonely China Day have spent one year planning their trip, acquiring
difficult visas, sending their lyrics over to China’s ever-so-hip
Ministry of Culture and saving money for their $10,000 plane tickets. Ten
individuals total will make the trip, which will include random stops all
over the East Coast.
Both bands sing in English and the impetus of their art is as interesting
as their art itself.
In over 5,000 years of unbroken civilization, China has produced no analogues,
no precedents nor peers for the two bands, and so they have built a catalogue
of influence combed from Internet piracy, black market CDs and mixed tapes
worn thin by being passed from friend to friend.
As the Re-TROS bio reads, “Born in the shadow of post-Tiananmen nihilism,
the collapse of state run industry and a desert that will someday swallow
the city whole, Beijing-based Rebuilding the Rights of Statues (or Re-TROS)
delivers explosive, danceable, unsettling post punk that leaves you unsure
whether you want to take your clothes off and shake the spiders out, or
go look for a rope, a closet and a copy of Iggy Pop’s “The Idiot.”
The idea of post-Tiananmen nihilism is perhaps the most compelling story
behind the two bands. With tight governmental restrictions and the veil
of hopelessness that shrouds Beijing years after the Tiananmen Square incident,
the underbelly of China’s youth has been quietly brewing with discontent.
Young Chinese are visibly angry, with no access to western music, no access
to alternative thought—until recently.
Oddly enough, the rise of the SARS virus showed many Chinese youth that
the government couldn’t control everything and that their allegiance
to the communist state could be lessened. The problem wasn’t just
that the government was telling the youth what they could and could not
do, but more that the youth felt they couldn’t do things because they
believed the government wouldn’t let them.
That feeling of holding back is slowly fading, and Chinese bands are beginning
to branch out and test the limits—even though they still have to send
their lyrics to the Chinese Ministry of Culture. This tour is an experiment,
and if it goes well, it will pave the way for many more to come—an
even bigger reason to get out to Black Cat on March 11 to show your support.
Re-TROS is described as post-punk and angry; their singer, Hua Dong relates
like David Byrne. According to their website (www.myspace.com/rebuildingtherightsofstatues),
Re-TROS “is visceral music built from the bones up, think ubermench
rather than Frankenstein’s monster: beautiful, brilliant and brooding.
Drummer Ma Hui’s rhythms still hold the echo of the earthquake that
wiped his birth city off the map in 1976, while Liu Min’s irresistible
bass lines and staccato, strangely sensual yelps make you remember why you
first fell in love with Blonde Redhead. Standing over it all, Hua Dong’s
shattering vocals and addictive open-fisted guitar stitch the flesh to the
muscle like some demented monkey king. Even legendary composer/producer
Brian Eno was so blown away he stood in on guest keyboards.”
Lonely China Day is known for their amazing, high-energy live shows and
clean, loud sound. Time Out magazine said, “Lonely China Day have
their own unique sound, a priceless asset in an over-crowded industry. Deng
Pei’s compositions resonate with ethereal (minimalistic) constructionist
beauty.” Lonely China Day is made up of Deng Pei on vocals and guitars,
Wang Dongtao on guitars, He Feng on bass and Luo Hao on drums.
At the end of their maiden voyage in America, both bands will land at the
2007 South By Southwest Music Conference—taking place March 14 through
18 in Austin, Texas—sharing the stage with such acts as Yoko Ono,
Antony and the Johnsons and Cat Power.
Come share in an event that is both historical for China and for Boone on
March 11 at Black Cat. Help show these two bands what the High Country,
and the entire High Country community, is all about.
A little diversity never hurt anybody.
Story by Sam Calhoun
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