It’s the buzz, cocks!

I know I bitch about YGYS a lot, but when they have a big show, I still go, even if the price tag is a little on the high side of things. So when I saw the Buzzcocks were coming to town I bit the bullet, paid my Y150 and went along to see if they could still rock the house like they used to before I was born!

The Dancers opened the proceedings, I’ve seen these guys maybe 4 or 5 times now and they’re getting better each time. Well, with the except of last time at the Modern Sky festival out in Haidian. But that was hardly their fault, first up early in the day with one of the shittiest sound systems I’ve heard in beijing. But tonite they were on form. the crowd was hyped and they were totally into the music already.

I’d missed the Sham 69 when they came to town earlier this year, but heard from friends they were great for a bunch of old timers, so I was keen to see in the Buzzccks could do the same. Now they’e not all the original members of course, just Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle remain from the late 1970’s line up. They both shared the vocals, but had completely different styles. Shelley almost looked bored, like he was just going through the motions, Diggle on the other hand, was totally playing it up for the crowd and the photographers. I bet some of them got some awesome shots!

As for the music, I have to admit I hadn’t heard much of their stuff before the show, so I didn’t recognise a lot of the songs. A couple of the friends I went with complained that all the songs sounded the same. I’m not sure how much of the crowd knew the music well or if they were just going off the vibe, but there was a fun mosh pit going the whole way through the set. A friend commented that punk mosh pits are so much friendlier than metal ones, especially the last one we were in at Mao for Exodus.

My biggest complaint, about YGYS is usually that when they have a international act, every expat comes out just to ‘be seen”. You can’t move, there’s no room to dance, and it’s impossible to get a drink. Well, maybe this time the high price scared them away? The crowd size was just right for the venue, in my opinion. And expectedly it was a slightly older crowd than the usual for YGYS. Will I go see Buzzcocks again, probably not, but did I get my money’s worth, yeah, sure it was a fun night!

ruby

a kiwi, a music lover, a traveller & an IT geek hanging around in the 'jing planning her next adventure.

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