Dao la!
 
We have arrived.
We hit the road on Friday afternoon, not 24 hours after hitting Swedish shores. As we pulled into traffic, Rick Astley’s hit ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ blasted from the speakers of our new best friend, our saviour, our ride-but-so-much more, the just-christened Xiao Bai (Little Whitey), or, when we feel more formal: 白大丽. Needless to say, we bounced through the Stockholm streets en route to the ferry (only a few missed attempts at getting to the exit) that would take us, overnight, to Finland. We just awoke from sleep #3 in Europe, and we’ve already chalked up 400 km and hit two countries. Xiao Bai seems to be only reluctantly along for the ride, wheezing her way through the forests of eastern Finland. I am getting to know her intimately, though she is not, I hasten to add, giving herself to me easily: The secrets of her clutch and gear shift are closely-guarded, and don’t get me started about getting into reverse. We have discovered a quirk that is now, on day three, cute, but I suspect will not be for long: When all windows are sealed, a scream breaks forth from the lower right corner of the windshield; opening the sunroof or lowering the driver or passenger window halfway relieves the noise (any tips, forward to info AT ygtwo.com. Seriously). But we have faith in Xiao Bai. She will make it: She is of strong German pedigree, and, well, there is no alternative.
 
We are now in Joensuu, Finland, the site of IlosaariRock, the biggest festival in Finland. Tonight is Subs’ Euro 2006 debut, and upwards of a dozen fans-to-be have already bombarded the band with “hello!”’s, “you’re the Chinese punks!” and more (drunken, they may be, but excited nonetheless). IlosaariRock fans are ready for the Chinese invasion. Last night we wandered the festival, and saw good, old friends Cleaning Women perform their zany mix of prog-rock, latin rhythms and electro on homemade instruments slapped together with garbage, clothes-drying racks and bits-and-bobs. The Darkness was in full effect as we left the throngs back to our hostel; as the sun began to set at 11.30 pm.
 
(From the Media Tent backstage at Ilosaari on an alternatingly gorgeous and sun-shower day)
An addendum to the Tribute to Xiao Bai... This was to be a space for the scoop on the Subs tour, but alas, Xiao Bai is taking the spotlight for now. This, we hope, will change.
Problems. The sliding door. One of only three working doors (out of four). It slid open and kept on a-slidin’. Furious working on it proved fruitless. Thus, she is grounded for now. Sunday is not a work day here, and thus, we await the morn to fix her. Luckily the good folks at IlosaariRock came to our aid and will help sort out solutions. They are good people.
 
 
On the Road With Subs
Sunday, July 16, 2006, Joensuu Youth Hostel