only slightly underground in beijing

if you ever go see carsick cars in concert, be sure to buy a pack or two of zhongnanhais beforehand. apparently it's tradition to throw cigarettes at the band when they perform their most popular song, named for the cigarette brand. while i can't deny the catchiness of their music, especially "zhong nan hai," i was otherwise a bit underwhelmed by the band, mostly because their stage presence was nonexistent. the bassist played the whole set with his back to the audience, and i think the drummer grew his hair long in order to hide his face from the crowd. surprising for one of the most popular rock bands in beijing.

i saw them, along with two other other bands, at a concert last night at yugong yishan. the punk band the subs played the second, and i think best, set of the night, mostly on the strength of their singer, who danced around around in boyshorts and fishnets, which really got the crowd going. the last band was joyside, and i think their music was probably the best, though at that point in the night i don't think i was in a state to appreciate it fully. all in all these were three very respectable rock bands.

yugong yishan is quite a good venue, with a solid bar and sound system, though whoever is running the lights needs a bit of work. some of the moving spotlights were aimed at the wall for a good part of the show, and otherwise flashing red and blue seemed the order of the day. and of course it was nice to do something that was happening independent of the olympics.

i think unfortunately i'm about out of bands to see, at least the popular ones. the scene here is quite small, and seems to mostly involve the same bands playing in various combinations in the few venues in the city. but at least it's still a fun and fairly cheap way to spend a weekend night, even if you've seen the band before.

keep on rocking in the free world.