So, the powers-that-be have decreed that there will be a lockdown on licensing between 15/9 and 15/10 in this year, 2009, the 60th anniversary of the Communist Party. Certainly in Beijing, probably all over China, especially in light of the issues in the Western regions in recent months. We have this from 2 well placed individuals independently, so while not gospel, it seems like there will be some kind of restrictions in place over those 4 weeks.
It seems strange then, that so much activity is being planned for that period. Apart from the (recently announced) Modern Sky festival in Chaoyang Park, we know of at least 4 or 5 other significant tours that will be taking place across that time frame, including a band who genre-spans Hardcore Punk, Metalcore, Thrash Metal. It will be interesting to see how that goes down!