731 Collision Music Festival
The 731 Collision Music Festival took place last night in Liuzhou. 6 bands and a couple of DJ’s later, I walked out of The People’s Square Arts Center equal parts surprised (pleasantly), alarmed, and I guess I’ll say encouraged somehow. A couple of slight, aging security guards in makeshift uniforms manned the doors with a few more of the old guys were scattered around inside the venue. I have no idea what they were expecting but I’m fairly certain they’d never experienced anything like last night’s show. The crowd was small, maybe a couple of hundred people at most, and they were timid at first. With each successive act they loosened up and by the time headliners Shu Tu were halfway through their opening song, a full-on mosh pit had developed in front of the stage. It was sporadic and small, but I’ve never seen a more violent pit anywhere. There was a lot of pent up testosterone driven frustration on display. I’m not sure what that bodes for China. The music itself ran the gamut, from pop-rock to rap, to thrash metal. A beat poet even made an appearance. Some of it was good, some pedestrian. All of it was enthusiastic and emotional. There was a kazoo…
I was told the festival was named Collision (碰 撞) for the bashing that takes place in the pit. Most of the performances were raw and unpolished but there was definitely some talent on display. A couple of guitar virtuosos shined in particular. It was the first time I’ve seen a show in Liuzhou where the crowd really got into it. I’m off to Yunnan Province for a couple of weeks to shoot three more shows featuring more than thirty acts. I know I’m getting older because last night I was thinking it might be a good idea to invest in some ear protection.
I’m nervous about leaving right now. The interior work on our house is 8 days behind schedule and I’m worried about what I’ll find when I get back. The builder keeps saying not to worry. In China, when someone says don’t worry… it’s time to worry.
Technical notes… all the shots above were taken with a Canon 5D MarkII and either a EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM or the EF50mm f/1.2L USM lens. I had to shoot at a higher ISO than I usually like, everything here is at 1600 ISO. Still, I think the 5D MarkII handles that fairly easily. I also ran all of these shots through Nik Software’s Define 2.0 noise reduction program. I need to work with the software some more to get it dialed in but I was fairly pleased with the results, as most images cleaned up nicely with little noticeable loss in sharpness.
Not sure when I’ll have a chance to post anything here again but I’m pretty sure it won’t be until I return from Kunming. Until then…
Peace.
Great shots as usual. How does Define compare to Lightroom? I regularly get acceptable results with my 7D at 3200 using Lightroom’s noise reduction.
I haven’t compared shots side by side yet Brent but it appears the Nik shots were a bit sharper than what I was getting from LR. Admittedly that may be wishful thinking. It’s the first day of the 15 day free trial so I’ll let you know what I think and if I actually buy the software or not.
I think that’s me with camera in the first photograph.
Absolutely that is your giant head.
As always… killer shots brother!
Thanks Scotty… reminds me of our mis-spent youth!
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Really amazing images Michael!
Lorraine thanks so much, hope all is well for you in MA!
Great shots – I’m not surprised to be heavily impressed by your concert photos. Having that fast glass at those ranges must be nice for this – I’m usually limited to my 35mm f/1.8, but it usually works if I elbow my way to the front and don’t get wiped out by the moshpit.
Anyway, I think this is fascinating for China – definitely gives me a new perspective as I’m sitting here in Taiwan.
Yeah Josh the fast glass does make it easier… I’m fortunate to have them.
Did you get any band names? i have a friend touring small international bands through China now and i’m sure he’d be interested to find venues locally that he could approach too.
Shaun I only talked to the headliners… Shu Tu. All of these acts are local, small, recently put-together bands. There is no real music scene here yet (that is changing) and personnel changes seemingly weekly. Contact me here via email and I’ll share what I can about the music business here. I’m on my way to Kunming for three rather large shows.
Michael, I’m so happy to hear that you will come to Kunming.
HA! I’m already back Fiona. How’s school?
Nothing changes, how about you ?
Everything changes… and I like that.