Changjiang International Music festival Day 2

Day 2 has ended, and so has the festival. Here are some of the people who attended the festival and had some fun. As I mentioned yesterday, today featured a more rock and metal lineup, and the rock crowd came out to play at the Changjiang International Music Festival.

 

 

The day started off with the metal band Onslaught from the UK. They were scheduled to play later in the day, and I have no idea why they changed the schedule, but it was a good way to get the day started.

 

 

 

 

 

Onslaught really worked up the crowd with their energy on stage and started the day off right. Many times, festivals start off with a smaller band, and no one really pays them attention, but this time it was done right, and the crowd loved it.

 

 

 

 

Great crowd response for so early in the day. Onslaught really got things going for the rest of the bands that followed. Next up on the second stage was HUSH from Taiwan.

 

 

 

 

HUSH has a huge fan base here in China, so I was expecting a huge pop from the crowd at the festival, but it was not to be. Maybe a more rock-friendly crowd came to the show today. Things changed at the first stage when Negacy took the stage.

 

 

 

 

The crowd really seemed to love the heavy rock sounds coming from the stage and went crazy

 

 

 

 

 

陈粒 was next up on the second stage. Another Chinese pop-folk band that the girls loved so much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

陈粒 has a strong fan following and I can see why. Her performance was really good and entertaining. As the day got closer to the end, the bigger stars came out to play though, so next up was Scream Maker from Poland. A heavy metal band with a charismatic lead singer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following Scream Maker was a big Chinese Rock band called 万能青年旅店乐队.

 

 

 

 

 

Now it was time for the big boys in the show and first up was Nine Treasures or 九宝乐队. 九宝乐队 is one of the fastest-rising metal/rock bands in China right now and their fan base has become huge. They rock out stadiums and stages regularly and the crowd always goes crazy. Tonight was no different.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the craziness of 九宝乐队, it was time for another Chinese pop princess. I have shot my fair share of these 3-song pop princesses at shows, where they play three songs and then go running with their money all the way home. 林忆莲 did exactly that, played three wooden songs with a fake smile on her face, and then went running to hills with her cash in hand. I truly have no idea why anyone would be a fan of any artist when that artist treats there fans so poorly.

 

 

 

The way most rock stars treat their fans is completely different from the pop princes and princesses in China. Next up was the father of rock in China, 崔健 himself. His performance is completely different from the pop princess 林忆莲. He was full of fire and passion on stage, getting the crowd worked up and having a good time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The crowd absolutely loves 崔健, and at the end of the set, he left the fans screaming for more. Unlike the Asian pop princesses, he came back and answered their calls, playing for another 20 minutes. 崔健 treats his fans with respect and does his best to give them a great show, which is something that many people in the pop industry in China need to look closely at and mimic in the future. Your fans love you; you should love them back. Anyway, 崔健 came back on stage and closed the festival out in style. No one was unhappy or felt cheated at the end of his set.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The show closed on a high note, and I really enjoyed the festival, which was a surprise to me. I thought that the festival was too pop-heavy this time for me to enjoy, but the crowd was great, so I had a good time. I still hope that next year will see a more balanced show, with some good foreign bands returning to the festival.

But still, a fun festival for the start of 2016.

Shaun.