Beijing Music Festival Breakdown Part Four: How Did the Great Electronic Music Festival Get On?

We sent four intrepid revelers out to the four corners of the city to check out the opening exchanges and report back on their findings. (Yes, there were five events last weekend, but try as we might, we couldn’t manage to wrangle tickets for MAXX Festival.) We attempted to score the various festivals school report style, on everything from ticket prices and sound quality to beer availability and toilet standards. The festivals were evaluated in nine different categories and were awarded a final grade after consideration.

Here's part four, as we grade the Great Electronic Music Festival.

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Great Electronic Music Festival

798 Art District
April 29

Lineup - C

A relatively late addition to the festival program this year, the Great Electronic Music Festival still managed to bring together a who’s who of the cream of Beijing electro. There was precious little in the way of non-Beijing acts, though.

Ticket price - D

RMB 100

Perhaps a little steep, and it could go some way to explaining why crowds were so sparse during the daylight hours. Of course, that could also just be the nocturnal nature of your average dance music connoisseur.

Crowd atmosphere - D

Creativity Square in 798 is a cool space, and it has potential to be a great setting, but there were a lot of bored looking young guns hanging around through the day and the party never really got going until nightfall. A lot of people were happy to lounge on the backs of the hounds exhibit in the square.

Sound quality - C

Loud. Really loud! So loud that we wished we had brought earplugs. We guess that’s how the dance crowd like it, and it would be odd if it were too quiet. But through the day, we witnessed a lot of people covering their ears and looking quite exasperated at having to screech at one another from six inches.

Alcohol availability - C

A collection of alcoholic drinks were available. However having to shell out RMB 100 for a strip of drinks coupons annoyed some. Those saving energy and opting for water through the day were forced to part with RMB 100, just as the booze hounds were. Beers were RMB 20 and mixed drinks went up to RMB 40. A little on the steep side perhaps.

Queuing time - A

No trouble with queuing. People dripped in throughout the day meaning you rarely had to wait for anything. In fact, now that I think about it, nobody even checked our tickets on the way in.

Refreshments - E

Non-existent. At least we didn’t find any on the event site. Fixed shops within the Creativity Square area brusquely informed us that they had been barred from selling anything by event organizers. Even water.

Bathrooms - B

Bathrooms were fine. Well maintained and stocked. No lines. They were squats, though. But when in Rome…

Site security – C

There were some bao an around, but not many. And it was hard to see what their purpose was. It certainly wasn’t to check admission tickets.

Final grade – D+

Going head-to-head with four more-established music festivals over the holiday weekend was bold. The location certainly played to GEMF’s benefit. Not only is 798 an interesting spot to hang out in, it’s also well situated. Not having to trek beyond the city borders was a massive plus. As is to be expected, the action heated up as nighttime approached. A decent enough freshman effort but there’s a lot to be worked on in order to make this a long-running success.