I'm posting this in the spirit of the music festivals that usually occur around this time of year in China. This picture was actually taken at Midi two years ago. Unfortunately, Midi this year was moved outside of Shanghai and the Modern Sky Strawberry Music Festival took its place. I have some pictures from that, but haven't had time to edit them yet. Besides, all the metal heads seemed to be down south at the Midi festival, so Beijing had a much mellower crowd this time around. Volumes have been written about the history of rock in China. I will just say that rock music used to be a somewhat subversive genre in terms of lyrics and the people who followed it (think Cui Jian performing under the Goddess of Democracy in Tiananmen Square, 1989), but now it is much more commercialized and the lyrics are rarely politically charged. Still, this guy is not exactly a poster child for the CCP.
