We’ve been blogging a bit about the Converse Love Noise tour, which wrapped a few weeks ago with a free grand finale show at Mao Live House in Beijing that incorporated all the supporting acts from the previous 10 days on the road. Converse brought a reporter and photographer from London’s Dazed Digital (the online offshoot of Dazed & Confused magazine) over to cover the tour, and the fruits of their labours are now available here.
The blog posts read like a travel diary, and don’t get into much detail when it comes to the actual, well, music. They do, however, give a solid impression of the atmosphere on the road, where reporter Sarah Fakray and photographer Ellis Scott had ample time to kick it with P.K.14 and other bands.
One of the more telling moments in the 10-day recap comes on the date of the next-to-last gig, in Xi’an. Scheduled for the day following the Olympic Opening Ceremony, the organizers take matters into their own hands to ensure the show flies under the radar:
Everyone was concerned this morning that the venue in Xi’an was going to be shut down by the police. The only way to avoid this was to turn the night into a non-ticketed event with free entry for the first 200 people to arrive (the venue could hold a lot more), and the police threatened to confiscate all equipment if the speakers were turned up too loud. The local kids told us that this kind of thing seems to be happening a lot more because of the Olympics. To prevent unwanted attention, the posters lining the entrance steps outside the venue were taken down in the afternoon, and the support band Echo Rush advised all of their friends to arrive early if they wanted to get in without an argument.
Happily, the show went off without a hitch.
The last little tidbit we’d like to share with you is some choice phraseology from Queen Sea Big Shark, who are about as rock’n’roll as it gets. Here’s blogger Fakray on QSBS’s performance in Hangzhou:
I’m not sure that this term has been used much since the ’70s, but the pogo was the dance of the day, especially to the rhythmic chants of “Buttfucker!” from QSBS’s Fu Han. Lots of talk of fucking from this band, in fact. The drummer told Ellis he was deeply saddened when he realised no friends driven down to watch, meaning he had nobody in the busy room to play to. He balanced this sensitive statement with a complaint about how women talk too much. He “just wants to fuck”, which he claims is difficult in a country where girls normally giggle in refusal if you invite them home for coffee.
Well played, QSBS.