Discord, No Words, and 烧酒军团 @ D22, 3 September 2010

By Josh, 2010年 9月 7日

What a great show. Three of Beijing’s top-tier punk bands opened for SS20 from Germany, who must be picking up on some positive energy floating around D22 as this was their second Beijing show in four months.

Discord @ D22, 3 September 2010

Unsafe was originally supposed to play. Though I have never seen them, I’m happy they canceled because that allowed Discord to jump on the show. I’d only seen Discord once before at Mao and while their set seemed pretty similar, D22 provided a much better context. Discord specializes in anthemic punk sing-alongs, and so were the perfect band to set the energy for the rest of the night.

No Words @ D22, 3 September 2010

Next was No Words. This is the first time I’ve seen them and only the third or fourth show they’ve ever played. They are really, really good, especially for such a new band. The singer has an attitude and stage presence unlike any I’ve seen in China. Also, he’s a dead ringer for Darby Crash.

They opened with two hardcore songs that instantly set them apart from the dragging street punk jams that characterized the show, then slowed it down for a few more anthem-y songs toward the end. I hope they stick with hardcore as there are so few bands who do that in Beijing, and even fewer who do it well.

烧酒军团 @ D22, 3 September 2010

Last was Shaojiu Juntuan (烧酒军团), the de facto headliners. Everyone was amped, it was a true party. 烧酒军团 was, for me, the standout band of the punk festival last month and, again, it was great seeing them in the more intimate space of D22, surrounded by friends and not isolated behind barriers on an awkwardly high stage like Mao’s.

I’ve been to a fair number of Beijing punk shows now but this is the first time I’ve felt a real sense of community and camaraderie, a real scene. All of the bands sang, moshed and stage-dove for the other bands and even pulled together for a group picture after the show. There were two high points for me. The first was when 烧酒军团 unveiled a new banner and hung it on the wall behind the stage, partially obscuring the D22 logo. The second was an impromptu jam band that formed after SS20 finished featuring a rotating line-up of band and audience members, anyone drunk/punk enough to feel inclined to jump on stage and sing Sex and Violence.

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