Kool Kajaani

And, post-show, the requisite autographs, and the mixed messages inherent in Finglish-Chinglish conversations. Lots of folks said that they really appreciated the fact that a band as good as Subs and who had come from so far away would actually show up in their town and put on a show as good as this was.

The overall message, though, was that a good time was had by all, and we are, as lao Willie said, once again, on the road. We’ve now taken Xiao Bai over the 190,000-km hump. For those keeping score, 700 of those were in the company of her Chinese overlords. Today we were to celebrate surpassing our first 1000 kms, but Xiao Bai must have something against celebrations, cuz her odometer stopped counting somewhere outside of Kajaani. Not only do we not know when we crossed the 1000-km mark, but we don’t know how fast we were going when we did, since her speedometer went out at the same time (we were going the speed limit or just thereunder, since, I assure you all, that’s just how we roll. And that’s how Two Beats Off roll too, they being the lead car in our two-car Northern Finnish Rally).

By the way: Any messages you all out there in Internet Land may have for us here, on the road, far from home... Feel free to pass them along to INFO at YGTWO dot COM.

On the Road With Subs

Thursday, July 20, 2006

The past two days were spent waiting for Wednesday at Joensuu’s charming, clean, convenient and cheap -- but, let’s face it, unexciting -- hostel. Making the best of it, Zhu Lei practiced in the room (below) and Wu Hao filled the halls with strumming and, er, song. Tuesday’s rain ruled out the only activity we could think of besides roaming the halls of the hostel: Roaming the streets of Joensuu. But when the band did head downtown they were stopped by local fans with thumbs-up and autograph requests.

The Kajaani krowd shows its love; foreground is Sami, guitarist of Two Beats Off, the opening act in Kajaani as well as for the next two shows (JCampbell)

Though it came slowly, Wednesday did come, and we were off, in a newly-repaired Xiao Bai, to Kajaani, a small city 200-plus km north. Little of note on the highway, except for a quick glimpse (Xiao Bai can, in fact, hit highway speeds) of a strange collection of enormous sculptures at a gas station somewhere around the halfway point. The only one that stuck with me was the one featuring upwards of a half-dozen people in various states of climbing into a bath.

We were met in town by Kimmo, a Kajaani native and show organizer -- not to mention a kick-ass chef -- and Two Beats Off, the hardcore punk band who would open for Subs tonight (the second show of their careers) and at the shows in Oulu and Raahe to follow, and headed to Kimmo’s place for some kickin’ vegan chow and an apple pie that even blew the socks off of the band, not known for their sweet teeth.

Kalpea Kukka (“The Pale Rooster”) was the venue for the evening; one of four bars on a small bar strip deep downtown. There were lots of military folks about, mostly eating Kebabs (aka: Donair, schwarma) -- which, actually, is something of a national pastime.

Groupies? Kind of. The pink-shirted lass, you’ll note upon close examination, had seen the band before: She wore the t-shirt she bought at Ilosaarirock and brought the CD she bought at Ilosaarirock for autographs before the show. We also met the first three Chinese people we’d seen since getting off the plane a week before (geez, it’s only been a week!) -- a trio of liuxuesheng from Nanjing, Liaoning and Hubei. They were nearly driven back to the Middle Kingdom by the sonic assault of Two Beats Off, and barely made it to Subs’ last song.

(From last year’s experience, it’s clear that the average Chinese student studying abroad is not remotely interested in anything beyond saying hello to Subs; their musical tastes, at the risk of generalization, do not tend to include rock, but their desire to hang, if for only minutes, with other Chinese folk, trumps their inability to bear to hear loud music).

Subs were back on the kind of stage they are more used to: Small and smoky, with not-quite-top-of-the-line equipment and a strangely-placed mixing desk (onstage along the stage-left wall: Not exactly the kind of setup that allows for either a) a soundman with direct access to the sounds he is mixing and b) a stage free of confusion that’s already full with four bouncing Chinese punks to say nothing of the soundman coming back and forth). It’s nice to know, sometimes, that things in Beijing aren’t necessarily the worst there is. And despite the shortcomings of the system (perhaps because of them?), Subs delivered and the Kajaanians went berserk. A brief interlude ensued when Wu Hao broke a string; he tested the replacement string’s strength which such force that, twang, the replacement, too, needed replacement. Suffice it to say that Wu Hao did not set the record for string change in a rock show.

Photo: JCampbell

Forget the fat lady singing: A show ain’t over until Kang Mao’s pants get undone. (I might add here that this photo was taken just after she had retried the mic from the depths of her open jeans).

Photo: JCampbell

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