Cui Jian and his band play the Avalon in Hollywood, CA. Courtesy of APA.
Live Voices: Cui Jian at the Avalon
The father of the Chinese rock scene, Cui Jian, hits the west coast for a mini tour.
Photos by Larry Kao
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Hollywood, CA - At around 8:30 PM, Chinese rock star, Cui Jian took the stage with his band. The venue, the Avalon in Hollywood, was about 2/3 full in its capacity and the demographics were mainly Chinese and Chinese Americans of all ages, with a few non-Asians looking to see what the buzz is all about. Tonight, Cui Jian plays the second to last show of his United States tour, finishing up in Chicago, Illinois on April 29.
Cui Jian is known as the father of the Chinese rock music movement in the mid-1980s. He is compared to many similarly influential rock musicians in the world, from John Lennon and Bob Dylan, to more recently, Kurt Cobain. Cui Jian started out as a trumpeter in the Beijing Philharmonic Orchestra, but dropped classical for rock music after being exposed by western rock sounds that infiltrated the Chinese underground music scene. He gained popularity in the local scene through the exchange of tapes and concerts, but really gained prominence through his association with the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Many involved with the movement identified with Cui Jian’s lyrics about displacement during the reforms. This culminated in his performance during the student protests, which implicitly made him the pop cultural icon of the movement.
Cui Jian’s style is reminiscent of the '80s style that influenced him, with some songs having a funk beat and bass line, while others are more rock-ballad based. He adds his own uniquely Chinese feel to the songs through the Chinese lyrics, and more importantly, traditional Chinese instrumentation. His saxophone player switches between several different traditional Chinese horns and flutes that help his music retain a sense of Chinese identity.
The show at the Avalon was a mix of his older and current work such as “Slackers.” After the band took the stage at 8:45PM, they performed about 15 songs with a two-song encore consisting of his1980s hit, “Nothing to my Name,” closing the show at about 10:45 PM. The in between song banter also kept the audience entertained. Among other things, he brought up his Live Voice movement, discussing how CCTV will have musical guests on its New Year’s Eve broadcast lip synching to their performance.
The show in L.A. was their only show that stuck to its original date after visa problems pushed the band’s arrival back. Initially set to play venues all across the United States, they could only manage to tour the West Coast and Chicago. With a new album up for release in spring 2004, Cui Jian hopes to be back in the United States playing the shows originally planned for this trip.
www.cuijian.com
Date Posted: 5/7/2004
