Friday night me and a few friends attended a local concert at a venue called Yugong Yishan. The venue was awesome, and on par if not exceeding the quality and hipness of venues in Chicago. Slightly larger than the Metro, this venue was set in one of the few remaining 'old' areas of Beijing and the site was a former imperial government. The space was packed (a rarity for any event in Beijing) and an interesting mix of ex-pats and Chinese. The band was Pet Conspiracy, an electronic band from Beijing, with one member from italy. They literally blew my mind. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen. Imagine CSS mixed with the Yeahs Yeahs Yeahs mixed with Justice. Their stage presence was unbelievable--they used flashlights as props, sang on members shoulders, made out with each-other on stage, and gave the crowd megaphones to sing with. I felt like I was witnessing a revolution on the stage. Yes, China is 'open' and modern now, but I never thought I'd see something like this. Everyone in the was singing, dancing, and smoking. Check out the band on myspace, but note they sound 1000 times better live:http://www.myspace.com/thepetconspiracy
The next night, I went to a gallery exhibition closing as research for my Ricci Scholarship. The exhibition focused on artist Ai Wei Wei and his photographs from his time living in NYC during the 1980s. The closing event was the showing of two documentaries about the artist. The gallery was in the Caochangdi distict, an alternative artist enclave that is formed in the backlash of 798. After a long and confusing taxi ride, I got out in what looked like the middle of the woods. This district is the most remote part of Beijing I have ever been to, I actually felt like I was in nature, not a cement block jail. The gallery, three shadows photography center, is aesthetically stunning. When I enter its gates, at least 200 people were gathered in the courtyard watching the documentary, drinking beer and tea, and enjoying the cool Beijing spring. It seemed a world away from the Beijing I was used to. Like the concert, the gallery was a nice balance of ex-pats and Chinese, even more of the latter. While looking through the exhibition, I was struck by how interested the Chinese seemed in the photographs. They did not all look like pretentious arty types either, they seemed rather ordinary, taking pictures of their own, quietly contemplating the works, and writing down notes.
It took me months, but I have found the Beijing I was searching for.
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