Our Beijing trip has been a decadent one to say the least. Perhaps it's the 50 cent bottles of beer available at the grocery store, or the free screwdriver and karaoke parties at amazing clubs following each day of the Beijing Pop Festival. Perhaps it was those things plus the countless things to see, do, eat, and buy, for next to no expense to anyone from North America. As a friend of ours said before we left, "keep on rockin' in the un-free world"...Pangs of remorse lightly pepper one of the most amazing times of my life.
The Beijing Pop Festival was a blast and our festival show went very well. We were well received and, apparently, a few spectators actually knew our songs! It was an amazing experience because, of course, we have never played anywhere in China before. The experience completely exceeded my expectations, and was really the highlight of the trip...
A few words of advice for those planning to play Beijing...BRING YOUR OWN KEYBOARDS! Apparently, just because almost every hi-quality electronic keyboard known to man has parts that were manufactured in China does not mean that a working and usable keyboard actually exists in China. Don't get me wrong, all our backline was great...except, perhaps, the keyboard...I'm sure we will soon post a pic or two of Barrett and S.J. struggling to get a good sound out of it. Oh, and, uh, ya, bring a 220V-110V converter with you just in case you happen to play a club date...
Despite the conditions that many people living in Beijing must endure, they are generally a very friendly and delightful people which lessens the remorse that hovers. They are, at least outwardly, very friendly and happy. From the wonderful staff at the hotel, to the cab drivers that never accepted a tip; from the organizers of the Pop Festival, the fans that wanted a photograph...All were wonderfully pleasant and accommodating people. Their hospitality and demeanour was especially helpful because of the considerable language barrier that existed between us. If you were to take the same trip, all those times you had to endure pictionary or charades during the holidays would have finally come in handy. The only problem is that we soon started to talk to each other with broken English and hand gestures...hopefully we'll recover.
Many thanks to Lea (our interpreter) not only for helping us out of a customs jam at the airport, but also for helping us get to the festival on time, etc. We ran into many very nice and helpful folks throughout the trip, and it has been a trip that I will never forget...not only for the festival experience, climbing the great wall, seeing the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, but also for how well we were treated here...I hope we can come back soon and experience more of China.
I just want to give a special shout out to the members of the British band The Crimea...they were a fun bunch of blokes to hang out with, drink with, and sing songs with.
I'm sure others will have stories...I was just the unfortunate one to have to come home early. Stay tuned for more stories, some of which will likely include the locations of the Beijing Zoo, as well as the famed Beijing Silk Market.
Take care,
Paul