Collective Reggae
Tuesday, June 21st, 2005
Everything began as it all was anticipated, except for a few changes the night before the show… I received a call from Oubou, the singer of Sound and Toys . He said that there was no way that they could actually show because they didn’t really have a bass player at this time, and they have also been spending a lot of time recording so, they weren’t in a position to do the show. I was a little disappointed. I was sure most of the people that had planned to come to the show came to see Sound and Toys… But we were very well ornamented for the show as it was…
The stage was decorated with Tibetan flags, lights, statues with masks,heavenly heaviness… Chen Du Xi brought some paintings of his own as well as his classmates’ from Shuang Liu, which added a touch of "WE are this society" to the already foaming aura.
It started at around 9:30 with sounds and misdirection… we first played Satellite, which steadily drew in ourselves as well as the crowd. The show moved on and moved on and the energy increased… By the middle of the show, Prophession, the room was transformed into a land of islolation, self and dignity… the crowd bounced and nodded their heads to the beat and beauty, chanting "zhe ge shi jie… zhe ge shi jie… zhe ge shi jie, shi women de!" (This world, This world, This world, is ours!) It was certainly one of the most interactive shows we have done yet, as far as the people really understanding what we were trying to express…
Because Sound and Toys didn’t play we had to change our set list, to make it a little longer. What ended up happening was that we played for over two hours… The clock struck 11:30 and many of the students that feared their dorm chancellors rushed back to get in before punishments were handed out… Those that stayed allowed their actions to speak their minds regarding the curfew.
A lot more than just a rock show was achieved that night. People were together, sharing and experiencing the reality of the value of their own lives. People met people they didn’t know before and opened doors to far wider visions of this community and what we must do in order to develop it… Everyone was closer to their spirits, closer to their homes… We must continue these efforts and bring greater unity between artists so that this community can rise to its potential and bring the mirrors back into the vision of our great futures… for without the mirrors, the capacity to see one’s self, we are unable to reach beyond ourselves to help others…
Joshua
Please visit www.ngochina.net
Our next mission is to build a school in the countryside and hopefully encourage people by the hundreds, possibly thousands to participate and show that working for our community is not about sending some money off to where it is needed, but taking time out of our lives to make sure that minds are being fed, and materializing the futures that we have been granted and give them to those who deserve them…
keep the rock rolling!
-Keeping it real since the dawn of time-
变色蝴蝶
