Party for National Holiday: Modern Sky Music Festival

Well, of course the big one is on Oct 1, and we’ll be celebrating the Big Six-O by either staying at home (and waiting for all TV channels magically turn into one!) or getting out of Beijing (if you’ve been lucky enough to get a flight/train/bus/boat/kite/fire balloon/submarine ticket, sadly it’s too late now if you’re reading this)...

So here’s something else to do for those who fails to escape. Apart from enjoying the parade, rock and roll is in town again (surprisingly)! Local indie label Modern Sky Records is putting on its third annual festival at Chaoyang Park from Oct 4-7, with an impressive mix of half local bands and half International line-ups, including The Buzzcocks, P.K.14, British Sea Power, Glamorous Pharmacy, Radio 4, The Futureheads and Second Hand Rose. Apart from the main stage acts, people are also in a chance to see a few new faces on “MySpace Stage”, which is free and features the city’s emerging indie musicians.

When: October 4-7; 1-9pm (Main Stage), 11.30am-4pm (My Space Stage)

Where: Chaoyang Park

Ticket (RMB 5 entrance fee for Chaoyang Park not included)
My Space Stage: Free
Main Stage: RMB 120 (per day, at door), RMB 100 (per day, limited 4000, advance only), RMB 320 (four days, advance only)

Advance tickets at www.mlive.me or 400 680 6840, bring ID (national ID card, passport, driving license) upon your arrival for identification.

Fop more information, visit festival.modernsky.com

Line Up (click to listen):

Oct 4

Main Stage
Bigger Bang (大棒)
Housse De Racket (France)
Life Journey (旅行团)
Second Hand Rose (二手玫瑰)
The International Noise Conspiracy (Sweden)
P.K.14 (青春公共王国)
Shonen Knife (Japan)

Oct 5

Main Stage
Boojii (波激小丝)
Sissy Wish (Norway)
Zhaoze (沼泽)
Arms and Legs (US)
Regurgitator (Australia)
Queen Sea Big Shark (后海大鲨鱼)
Radio 4 (US)

MySpace Stage
The Fire Balloon (火气球)
The Unsafe (不安)
Larry's Pizza
The Mailman (邮差)
Caoqin & Starry (曹秦 & Starry)
MIA & Her O.M.G. (米艾 & 她的O.M.G.)
Lucky Monkey (跳猴)
Golden Driver (金司机)
Steely Heart (钢铁之心)

Oct 6

Main Stage
Snake & Jet's Amazing Bullit Band (Denmark)
Casino Demon (赌鬼)
The Terror Pigoen Dance Revolt (US)
Hedgehog (刺猬)
Hearts Revolution (US)
New Pants (新裤子)
Buzzcocks (UK)

MySpace Stage
The Tumbleweed (风滚草)
Planet Map (星球地图)
Misswoman
Metoo (迷途)
Flying At Midnight (午夜飞行)
Yang Qianchi (杨千墀)
Valley+Cloud
Zhu Sha (朱莎)
DISH

Oct 7

Main Stage
DH & Chinese Hellcats (地狱猫)
Glamorous Pharmacy (美好药店)
Free Energy (US)
Miserable Faith (痛苦的信仰)
British Sea Power (UK)
Re-TROS (重塑雕像的权利)
The Futureheads (UK)

MySpace Stage
Daisy Fay (黛西飞机)
The Ghost Spardac
Alt Senior (奥特森尼尔)
The Reason (理由乐队)
Candy Monster (糖果怪兽)
Resist Control (管制)
Pally Garden
9 in Summer (夏日九月)
Ding Ke (丁可)

Background Reading - Painting the Modern Sky: Evolution of a Festival

Back when Beijinger Shen Lihui founded Britpop band Sober in 1988, he was already showing a distinction in character. Shifting away from the grunginess that marked the early rock scene, which mainly focused on punk and metal, he sought instead to emulate the neat elegance of alternative rock. With a similar philosophy, he founded Modern Sky Records in 1997, dedicated to promoting up-and-coming indie musicians. The label has since grown into the biggest indie label in China, with signed musicians ranging from pretty pop idols to post-punk heroes.

It was only a matter of time before Modern Sky followed in the vein of Midi and started organizing a music festival. Lo and behold, in October of 2007, the first Modern Sky Music Festival emerged in Haidian Park, with a line-up featuring international acts like American emo indies Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Hong Kong tweet-pop darlings My Little Airport. More significantly, it was a platform for local bands like Carsick Cars, Queen Sea Big Shark, Hedgehog and Casino Demon to grow into what they are today.

In fact, it was at the 2007 festival that Hedgehog (or Ciwei in Chinese) made their outdoor debut. “We were really nervous,” recalls lead singer and guitarist Zo. “It was our first time playing in front of such a huge crowd … but it turned out much better than we thought. Once we got on stage, we were so focused on doing our own thing that we forgot about the audience, which is good because if you are dedicated to what you’re doing, the audience will naturally connect with your music.”

As one of the most popular rock girls in town, Fu Han and her electro-garage band Queen Sea Big Shark (or Houhai Dashayu in Chinese) is also a regular of the festival. “Festival is always fun, ” she says. “I still remember going to this music festival in Xiangshan (Beijing’s northwest suburb) many years ago, and we were stuck there in the evening and can’t even get a taxi back. Sure the sound effects can never be as good as livehouses, but that doesn’t really matter because music is only part of the festival, there are plenty of other things to do. Besides, I’m looking forward to rolling on the grass!”

If 2007 was about newness and excitement, 2008 was marked by the power of local veterans. A lack in big international names in the line-up meant the noticeable comeback of China’s punk forefather He Yong and folk poet Zhang Chu, who brought classics like “Sister” (姐姐), “Drum and Bell Tower” (钟鼓楼) and “Pretty Girl” (姑娘漂亮) to the Haidian Park skyline. The festival also showcased talent from beyond Beijing. Wuhan punksters AV Okubo and Xi’an’s electro-rock trio 24 Hours both performed in front of the Beijing crowd for the first time; both have now been taken under the wing of Maybe Mars and are planning to release debut albums soon.

As for 2009, it seems the festival is continuing to evolve, with the biggest change being the location moving from Haidian to Chaoyang Park. Part of the reasoning was to include the music festival under the larger Chaoyang International Tourism & Culture Festival, and consequently half of this year’s line-up will be international. In addition to the legendary Buzzcocks, Beijingers are also in for performances from Brighton indie quartet British Sea Power, Sunderland post punk heads The Futureheads, dance punk New Yorkers Radio 4 and Swedish garage rockers International Noise Conspiracy.

If the bands had a choice, Fu Han would get Japanese garage band Guitar Wolf and the French electro-duo Justice in the line-up. Zo, on the other hand, wants New Order, Blonde Redhead, Pulp and Gang of Four. “I’d also love to see Joy Division and Nirvana,” he says. “Unfortunately, that can’t happen.”

Well, we can’t always get what we want. Not even rock stars.

This article was published in the October Issuer of the beijinger magazine.