Combat 77 – China Tour

09.-23. February 2009

Monday, 09 February 2009

Oh man, what a fucked up night at work. I am completely overtired. My patients in the psychiatric home in which I work have kept me quite busy all night.
Now I have to rush home, in five hours I will be off to the airport and not even a suitcase is packed yet.
After last year´s trip with Riot Company to Indonesia into the unknown distances of Asia, another trip is planned. This time it´s off with my other band Combat 77 into the country of the smile, to China.

This trip was made possible by our co-operation with Kids Union Record & Booking, namely Gao and Ray, since Kids Union acquired the rights of our first album to be licensed in China. What better chance is there than going on a promotion trip!
In a short period of time, 10 shows were booked for us for 11 days, leading us straight through the whole gigantic country, starting in Beijing in the North and heading into the South, into the subtropical zone of Hong Kong.
Again this is a trip into the unknown, a big adventure. I am really excited and my fatigue is suddenly blown away.

At 12:30 Hannes arrives and my mom is kind enough to bring us to the Hanover Airport. – we fly with Air France and our route leads us over via Paris Charles de Gaulle to Beijing.
After my mom heads off, we decide to have a rest inside the airport, drink a last local beer and to wait for the others.
The glasses are emptied when Kirsten, Björn, Noppi and Ulli arrive.
Ulli accompanies us on the entire tour. As an Asia fan, he already knows what´s going on in this country, and it´s great that he´s coming with us.
Hannes (who was also in Indonesia with Riot Company) and Björn (who went to Japan with Recharge) have already gathered experiences with journeys to Eastern Asia. Our new guitarist Noppi on the other hand is as white as a sheet of paper and not really himself today, but this will change in a short period of time.

As we have another half hour left, we go to buy some beer at the nearby airport shop. In order to save time, I decide to pay all cans together, but the cashier looks at me suspiciously and asks for my ID card. I am completely speechless. Did she really ask me for my ID? Me? Laughter breaks out. But as I´m normally very kind, I give her my ID card and show my date of birth, saying: „Boy, young lady, this year I´m turning 30! “Oh that was nice, I am usually judged a bit younger, would you believe it? I lapped like that Now who doesn´t like to get compliments like that?

The flight to Paris starts on time. It is a Fokker and thus smaller than a tour bus. The flight runs eventless, we only notice that it is quite windy at the landing site, but we didn´t give it much attention – not up until this time… .
The way from the landing field up to the gate lasts over half an hour. Nevertheless 55 minutes should be sufficient to reach our connecting flight to reach, after all (so one should think) that gate 2F has to be directly beside 2G. No such luck. The gates are miles away from each other and we still have to take another shuttle bus. Slowly we are running out of time and have to go through the check-in quickly. A little later we are standing with five people on the other side of the security check, but one person is missing.
Then I realise a bunch of security personnel are standing around Björn, busy with the parts of his drum pedal.
In advance every other luggage had to be announced by telephone and confirmed, but now we hear: „There´s NO way you can enter the plane with this!“ Everything has to be checked in separately, and we are running out of time.
With Ulli I run to the gate in order to gain some more time. But is too late, the gate closes before our eyes. Fuck!
But now well, in four hours there´s the next flight, that´s what we think… .
But shocking news again. The complete airport is closed down. A big storm. The next flight to Beijing leaves in 24 hours!!! Great. What now?! We ask our way through, and finally we receive bus tickets and hotel vouchers. Air France has to accommodate ten thousand of passengers into the city. As we discover later, it is the first time in 30 years that the complete airport is closed down. What a nightmare!
But we are not accommodated in any normal cheap place but are put into a 4 star hotel in Euro Disneyland, overlooking the fairy tale castle. We pig out at the buffet, which is absolutely fantastic. The “normal“ guests aren´t very pleased that suddenly a bunch of all-inclusive tourists raid their noble hotel and eat as if that would be their last meal.
The meal and the noble rooms which normally cost 400 euros per night (and we got three of them) comforts us a bit dealing with the missed flight. Our planned drinking session has to be postponed because we have to pay for the beer. A small beer for eight euros. No thanks, good night.

Then we are again at the airport. Björn heads to the airport desk again to make enquiries about his confiscated drum pedal bar, but without success. He is told that the item is to be forwarded.
Meanwhile we are waiting in front of the check-in desk and drink cold beer waiting for the imminent takeoff.
This time the check-in runs smoothly, only Hannes asks why we are suddenly flying to Beijing and not to Peking! Hehe.

The flight is ok; last year our Emirates flights were better, but one can bear it.
Soon after the take-off, Noppi threatens a few Englishmen behind us. He probably got some drinks spilt on him. Whether it were them or the air conditioning system remains however unsettled.
The flight actually runs smoothly. We keep the flight attendants on the go by ordering one beer after the other in order to past the time between the entertainment system and a bit of sleep.

Wednesday, 11 February 2009

Around 11:40 a.m. local time we land in Beijing. At the conveyor belt it becomes clear quickly that Björn´s suitcase, in which among other things the cymbals were placed in, and also the extra given up part of the drum pedal, is missing.
Again there is a long waiting period and asking the staff and then to find out that the suitcase is still in Paris! Great!
There´s nothing we can do about it so we enter the arrival area. There we see Ray waving. He works for Kids Union, is our tour manager and accompanies us the whole two weeks. In addition he is the singer of the band NoName (they have a release in Germany on Contra Records) a small star in China who also can be found on title pages of various music magazines.

Outside it is cloudy, only 10 degrees. Nevertheless, it is warmer than at home, where at the moment a snowstorm is raging. With three taxis, which costs practically nothing, we set off to our hotel. Against all fears it is quite clean and cosy, so we make ourselves comfortable for the next 2 days.
After we freshened ourselves up, Ray invites us to a traditional Chinese greeting meal in a small restaurant, which we accept gladly. There are only two tables in there, and everything doesn´t look particularly hygenic. At the other table already sit the remaining people of NoName who welcome us cordially, then beer is ordered. 0.6 litres for 35 cent (as nearly everywhere). Halleluja!
The meals on the menu look likewise quite delicious and Ray orders a lot. Also the meal shown on the menu card makes a good impression and we go for it. But what´s that? Pure gristle and bones on the plates!!! Pure wobbly belly fat!!! Everything well peppered and fried and thus deliciously looking, but absolutely brackish!!! Now we have Ray, who is eating with pleasure, whom we just got to know, and we don´t want to tell him directly that this is not our kind of food, since it is considered as most impolite to refuse offered things. It is a torment for us to eat this, but we try to swallow the food, except Noppi, who capitulates immediately. However, it´s not possible to eat everything, and we still feel a bit hungry.
After the little shock we get our instruments and head towards the club where we are playing today. The Mao Live House fortunately is just around the corner.
A well-equipped modern club, as one would often wish to have in Germany. Indeed, all clubs we played on this tour are very good. Beautiful, partly designed in a somewhat rustic style, but still modern clubs with cosy bars. There one feels immediately at home.
Today NoName share the stage with us, and also Mi San Dao which have become quite popular in Germany.
Ulli meanwhile worries about our beverages and requires 10 beers per person. Ray´s eyes nearly popped out since he assumed that this would be enough for the whole band. The Asians and alcohol. They can´t drink properly!

The venue is full with over 300 people and we play a great gig. Though there are not many skinheads there. We ask Leijun of Mi San Dao, where they all are, and he tells us that the hype is meanwhile over, and, except the band, there is only a handful in this entire 10 million metropolitan. It´s disappointing to hear, but it´s more remarkable that the guys do their own thing despite being such a small group.
Also the punk scene still is in its infancy, however constantly growing. Outwardly likewise only a few people show themselves as punks. Still the country fears of dissidents and so only a few dare to take this step.
At the gig there are also some German people who live there and are pleased to meet people from the homeland. Much time for talking does not remain however, because we are constantly interrupted for photos and autographs by the audience. Finally we want to go to bed, because we are really tired from this hard day.
Back at the hotel lobby, it´s time for a good night beer, and looking out of the window, we discover a big and shining „M “at the end of the road. This is our rescue, because we are still a bit hungry. So we´re off to get a few burgers. Unbelievably that one day I would be so glad to eat this grub.

Thursday, 12 February 2009

Today we actually wanted to meet at 10 o'clock in the morning in order to do a bit of sightseeing before our second show in Beijing, but Ray doesn´t turn up. Finally at noon he is standing in front of us looking completely shattered. What was that with Asians and alcohol?
In the meantime however, thank God, Björn´s suitcase arrives, so everyone is in a good mood. But Ray would like us to go to the same restaurant we went to yesterday. Havoc spreads. Politely we try to tell him that we would nevertheless gladly like to eat something „normal “. Unwillingly, he accompanies us to McDonalds and eats also something, but is however a bit pissed off that we don´t want to eat the traditional food. No matter what he has to go through with it. Still days later we have the taste of the gristle and the fat in our throats, it doesn´t want to go away. This particular smell was inhaled involuntary by us every few meters when passing the innumerable small restaurants.

After the meal we wanted to see something of the city. By foot we pass the Drum Tower and walk on the last conserved roads of the old part of town; then we catch a taxi to the Place of the Heavenly Peace. There we make few pictures in front of the enormous Mao portrait and Hannes is admired by all pedestrians. It seems like no one has ever seen a psychobilly before. All people point at him and admire his green hair.
An older gentleman comes with a folder to him and points to a panda, who wears a green hat. I burst out with laughter.
Later we find out that green is considered to be the colour of the unfaithful, and unfaithful people in former times had to wear a green hat as a sign of punishment.

Despite the continuous rain we decide to visit the Forbidden City (no, not Brunswick). Everything that was built here is absolutely gigantic. We pass numerous palaces with throne halls as well as the impressive imperial hall before we return to the hotel, passing again the Olympic Stadium. We still have time to sleep for another one hour before we have to go and do the sound check.
Ray however manages to drag us to another strange restaurant. We want rice and noodles, what one can to some extent eat, but there are nevertheless again doubtful side dishes. Thus there are additionally still beef tripes, sulfur stinking eggs, some disgusting wobbly tofu and a liquor that immediately releases nausea. Oh my God!

The club is in the cellar of a large hotel. Not as many people are there as the day before, but the present ones all celebrate our gig all the more. Today Gum Bleed plays with us, the only Mohawk punk band of the whole country beside NoName.
The toilet is a floor below in the underground parking. By my three weeks in the Indonesian jungle I thought I was already accustomed to such dirty places, but I am not. Around the hole in the ground are ankle-high heaps of used toilet paper, which have nevertheless the side effect to corrode the respiratory system. For us chaps it is already bad enough, but one really has to feel sorry for poor Kirsten , because in addition there are also no doors.
But it is interesting to see that that there are people, who are so pain-free to hang up their washed laundry five meters away from this dirt hole.

Again the gig is a lot of fun. In my opinion I have never played the guitar so good in my life as I did tonight, but perhaps I was simply still dizzy from the toilet stench.
After the gig Björn wants to trade a CD with the boys of Gum Bleed, however he is back-whistled by Ray, saying we don´t have to trade with them. Bollocks to status thinking, we swapped nevertheless.
We go early to bed again, because at 5 o'clock in the morning we must be at the train station. On the way to the hotel we hear a sentence from Ray for the first time, which we will hear throughout the entire tour. „We lost some money “. But as it´s only a single-digit euro amount, we don´t care much.

Friday, 13 February 2009

Ray knocks on the door. It is in the middle in the night. „Quick, quick!“. We have to get up fast and it´s off to the station, where we have to wait another hour at the crack of dawn. Slowly we begin to curse this little Chinese pestering spirit. But as soon as he grins at you again with his enormous head, one cannot be mad at him any longer. Yes, we have already become friends.
Train stations in China have more similarity with an airport. Enormous waiting halls, where the gates are only opened when the train enters the station.
After a decent breakfast consisting of rice and egg we enter the completely overcrowded train. Thank God we seat reservations, otherwise this journey would be hard to bear. We travel 7 hours through meager and lifeless landscapes. The current water shortage lets the country appear still more hopeless than it already is.
Finally we reach Zhengzhou (7,000,000 inhabitants). Ray urges us to participate in the general pushing and to leave the train as fast as possible. We all follow his order, however somewhat more loosely and are astonished at the next moment when suddenly we are yelled at to get off the train by military and police. What a big muddle. While at the one door people are pulled out, they are already pressed in and squeezed together at the next door with full force. The soldiers roar instructions at us directly into our ears with their damn megaphones. Women and children are yelling, and we are in the middle of it. We feel like cattle. Outside, in front of the station, there is the next shock. Several 10,000 people are standing at an enormous square as far as the eye can see, like ants, and it´s us as the only “white breads” between them. The situation is terrible for us, and we are starting to get a little worried about the days ahead.
People in north and central China are very inconsiderate anyway. One spits everywhere, also in the trains. In addition people jostle each other wherever they go. One even tries to teach the citizens more consideration by advertising spots, but without much success. On the contrary, Ray demands us to jostle more, no matter if you strike an 80 year old granny into the ribs, but that is simply too much for us.

At one giant square we spend the next 30 minutes trying to get two taxis. It is totally loud. Also our driver doesn´t seem to be able to speak normal but shouts loud all the way to the venue. The fact that we do not understand a word, does not seem to interest him at all. At the club there is a computer with a reasonably good modem, so that one can send a few messages of life back home.
The show was changed to a larger club, but it is damn cold. Although there are only a few degrees outside, the air conditioner is running full blast inside.
The audience today is very merry. One feels somehow transferred to an Avril Lavigne video. Heaps of small kids are acting wildly in front of the stage, hopping on and off, continuously producing mobile phone videos.
We are celebrated like rock stars, which has as a consequence that again numerous photos are taken and autographs have to be signed.

Meanwhile the first wear and tear becomes apparent. Björn and Kirsten have gotten a bad cold and also the rest of us are shattered. But Kirsten gets the right medicine out of her travel pharmacy charms, so everyone is provided.

Again at 5 o'clock in the early morning, we have to get up. So it´s off to bed. This time in a private accommodated dwelling. Everything is very simple and not particularly clean, but I am so tired that I sleep like a rock. Also I find the mattress (wooden board + blanket) very comforting for my back after the uncomfortable train trip.

Saturday, 14 February 2009

At 5 o'clock we are waked right on the dot. I actually slept very well. Noppi however is a bit grumpy because of the hard „mattress “. We have a somewhat queasy feeling when we think about the forthcoming train trip and above all the boarding and deboarding at the station. But Ray says it won´t be so crowded around this time. Wrong! The station already bursts at all seams. We fight ourselves through until we reach the correct waiting hall and line up. When the gates are finally opened to the platform, everyone suddenly starts to run like crazy around us, so that one is obligatorily dragged along by the stream.
The train trip lasts full eight hours. Our goal is Xi'an (7,2 million inhabitants), renown by the world-famous Terracotta Army.
The landscape on the way is again hopeless and deserted. Only the innumerable inhabited caves, which were struck all around into the rock, are worth seeing.

Thank God Xi'an is the last stop and we can get out relaxed. To our general joy we still have two hours time to have a rest at the hotel. In the train we didn´t get the possibility to find some peace and quiet let alone sleep. In addition it is simply too crowded, and the train is swaying back and forth

Today's club is situated in a beautiful road, which reminds me somehow of the Reeperbahn in Hamburg due to its multicoloured lighting. In the entire town with millions of inhabitants this is the only club where rock music is played. Accordingly, the venue is packed.
The owner is Chinese but is dressed like an Indian. A totally crazy guy.
In addition we get acquainted with the boss from Kids Union, Gao. It is a bit difficult talking English to him, so I leave Björn alone with him talking about “business matters“, so to speak.
Also there are Rays sisters. However I tell him that I don´t buy it, having a look at his giant head. Noppi can´t stop laughing while Ray looks at me disturbed. But slowly he understands our kind of humour and also has a laugh later.

The concert is great although suddenly there is a bit of bloody fighting in front of the stage. The “Indian” guy supplies us with Oldenburger Pils, which the Chinese brew in honour of an old German master brewer. The brew tastes very sweet, we prefer the Tsingtao which has become popular in Germany as well.
After the concert the Indian is in his element with Karaoke. Boisterously he jumps roaring through his bar and celebrates non-stop. Finally he introduces Björn and Kirsten to his wife and suggests exchanging partners. What a funny boy.

But Ulli and I want to go back to the hotel quickly, eventually it´s Saturday afternoon in Germany and the Chinese television broadcast the well known federal soccer league live. After the 3:2 for Hanover 96 with a 0:2 deficit there is no holding back for us any longer, we go wild with the excitement, rave through the room, although we are brought back down to earth by tie.

Sunday, 15 February 2009

Today at 9:45 it´s off with the airplane to Wuhan (9 million inhabitants). For a change everything runs smoothly, yet half of us are feeling ill. Travelling for hours, wet-cold weather, hardly any time to sleep, terrible meals and a tour manager whose favourite expression is „Quick, quick!“. All this has taken its toll on us.
Our well-deserved KFC breakfast in the airport is terminated by Ray after the first bite, because we suddenly have„Quick, quick“ to reach a bus.
The trip from the town centre to our hotel takes another 1.5 hours. We live on the 16th floor in a mould palace. This was however an exception, since all other hotels on the tour were quite ok.
Wuhan is allegedly punk rock city and also homeland to the well known band SMZB.
The club is in the same house as the hotel, exactly as the Wuhan Prison store. It´s a fine small 2nd hand shop managed by punks. The boss, who could be the small brother of Lou Ferrigno, tells us that it is the only 2nd hand punk shop in all of China and also the only official rehearsing room to rent. So this is the home of over 20 bands to practice.

Before sound check we have diner with Ray and Lou. Ray meanwhile understands that he has to order more “humane” things for us. The gristle taste from the first days is still in our throats.
So there is rice, a looking terrible however really delicious fish and different meat side-dishes.

The club is again very good and we spend some time playing pool. Meanwhile we observe that the char women uses the water from the French-style toilet again and again in order to clean the entire floor. One cannot be too fussy about this when being on tour over there… .

Many punks aren´t there in this acclaimed punk stronghold. Upon Björn´s question, where everyone is, he only receives an uncomprehending stare and the answer, what does he expect if it is raining.
So that´s life then. The common Chinese does not go outside when it rains, if he does not necessarily have to.

Nevertheless, as the fun often fades during daytime because of the stress, as soon as we are standing on stage, the good mood instantly comes back with the first few chords of our songs. The audience is celebrating with us. There are also people from Germany, the US, Mexico, Russia and Poland, a lot of students. Ulli has a lot to do at the merchandise table, and I´m finally treated myself to a Cuba Libre with a lot of Libre.

Here you get German alcohol like Bitburger, Warsteiner and Jaegermeister. But in our opinion Tsingtao still tastes best and is besides dirt-cheap.
Thus we still buy another case of beer for 3.50 euros and meet for poker in our hotel room.
Ray also plays together with us. But the guy is simply too restless. As soon as one of us decides for more than 5 seconds, he gets all hectic. „Come on guy, quick, quick! “However we hardly have any energy left and after the first beer we almost fall asleep.

Monday, 16 February 200

This day hardly exists in my memory. We have one “day off “, the only one on the whole tour. We´re looking forward to it as if it were a weekend. At least we get more than 4 hours sleep and are regaining some energy.

While I´m taking a shower, Hannes is repeatedly puking. As I have locked the door, he has no other choice than to puke big time from the 16 th floor on to the busy street. What a nice surprise (for all those on the street)!

Hannes and I remain sleeping in bed all day long. The others however drag themselves to visit some historical buildings of the city. Ulli also gets his Hot Pot to eat, which for me exceeds the last borders to repulsiveness.

Tuesday, 17 February 2009

We have to get up at 6 o'clock. Only Ray is missing. The good man was drinking yesterday and overslept. This time we turn the tables on him, knocking at his door and shouting „Quick, quick!“.
Kirsten is glad to finally escape from this mouldy palace. At the enormous station problems arise again. The taxi driver drops us off in a different place, and it takes a good half hour until everyone is together again. So we catch our train in the nick of time.
The trip to Nanchang (4,5 million inhabitants) is relatively relaxed, even if one sits with four people on three seats and the trains is overcrowded.
Then a woman beside us, already sweating like crazy the whole time, begins to empty her stomach contents on the floor. People are walking through, or accidentally sit down in the puddle that is filled again and again in regular intervals. This is so disgusting and we hope we don´t catch anything which is infectious.
The landscape outside gets greener, but not warmer yet. The bad, wet-cold weather accompanies us. Everywhere we go we hear people saying that two days ago everyone was only wearing a t-shirt outside. But we don’t give up hope and trust that the next days in the south will be better.
Our hotel is again very tidy and the club is just around the corner. Exactly the same as a supermarket, which we don´t recognize however, instead walking miles through the city in search for something to eat.
The fourth bank, which we are heading for, is finally able to exchange money.
The concert is again super. The venue is crowded, and there is an enormous lake directly outside the door. I mean it´s great but only if the weather would be better.
Again we are complying to numerous autographs and photo desires, and also today a few Germans are at the gig.
Meanwhile we have lost complete notion of what is happening in the rest of the world. Foreign tv-transmitters and daily papers are still forbidden in large parts of the country, and we cannot understand anything that is published in the Chinese daily newspapers.
The internet connection usually run with a 56K modem, which likewise costs us some nerves, until we just give up.

Wednesday, 18 February 2009

Our next destination is Changsha (2,1 million inhabitants). This time we take the bus. In the hotel it´s the same old story again. We are urged to hurry up in order to wait afterwards again 1.5 hours at the bus station.
The location has more similarity with an airport than with a bus station like we know it. In the waiting hall there are some shops, so that we can have breakfast in peace and quiet and particularly according to our own desires.
The bus is occupied only to a quarter, yet we are assigned to certain seats, which we also cannot change. It´s a completely senseless regulation.
The motorways are nearly empty. Hardly any car passes us. The bus drives non stop to Changsha and stops only at a service area for lunch.
Here again it stinks terribly. Even Ray seems to be disgusted, only the other fellow passengers seem to enjoy their meal.
Then we´re off again. The whole the trip is quite pleasant. I even succeed in closing my eyes for a few minutes, which I couldn´t do on the train trips before. But also on the bus one can find some curiosities where you can only shake your head:
The bus driver, after considerable grunts, spits on the staircase in minute intervals, and after some time there´s a little pool of it. So you have to be careful not to get all the spit on your shoes when leaving the bus. Let alone the barefoot guy in front of me who presses his dirty feet against the window. Today there´s no hotel for us since we have to take the night train southwards directly after the show. We´re heading towards the sun.
After Ray tells us his plans that we have to sit the whole night in normal seats, we strike. No way, we want a sleeping compartment. Nothing else is acceptable. And after some telephone calls everything is arranged to our satisfaction.
After a visit at KFC we go directly into the club, where we are able to relax a bit while playing pool.
While looking at the posters, we see that we are not the first and only Europeans, who played here. Among others, there´s also a poster of our fellow mates Skarface.
After a good show we meet with a few Germans and a Belgian, who works for the German Bosch company, at the bar. So we talk a lot about Germany, China and soccer.
Ray again has drunk a few beers and is enjoying himself, and a little later we have to leave for the train station.
As expected the night train is completely overcrowded. In the compartments which Ray had originally booked for us, people are stacked one above the other on the seats and on the floor, simply everywhere! Besides it stinks extremely bad. Thank God we are spared from this. Whereby in the sleeping cars, it doesn´t look much better. Here people are also lying on the floor.
Our beds are scattered over several railway cars. My bed, which consists of a wooden board of a thin edition and a used cover, is right at the top on the third bunk. There is no ladder, so one has to climb over the beds of sleeping Chinese in order to achieve one´s goal. It is narrow, warm and loud, but nevertheless I am glad to have a place to lie down, even for a few hours´ sleep.

Thursday, 19 February 2009

After nine hours of travelling by train we reach Guangzhou. We get off the train and…. yahoo! The thermometer shows 26 degrees. Jackets and sweaters off! It´s summer! Nevertheless, we haven´t reached our destination yet since two shows have been switched and there is still another one hour to travel to Shenzhen (6,5 million inhabitants). Here it feels like being in a completely different world, everything is much more pleasant in the south.
We feel a bit like in paradise when arriving at the hotel. Palm trees as far as the eye can see. A park, green areas, friendly people. It is like on holidays. Sitting under the sun with palm trees around us, we forget about the past few stressful days and leave that behind us.
In an adjacent enormous park, Hannes, Noppi and I not quite unintentionally forget about the time and return to the hotel with a 45 minute delay and Ray is waiting. He promptly makes sure that we do not relax too much and shoves us into the taxi which takes us to the club.
Here we have so much time again, why should it be different?!; so we walk along the shopping street. In a shop, Hannes buys an enormous toy cat, which has already taken a likening to him in Beijing and which he now has to carry with him for the next three days. Björn finally finds the necessary drum pedal part in a music shop and can now use his double base pedal again properly.
The concert eventually is very strange. Generally speaking, fully occupied tables and chairs are placed in the whole club and also directly in front of the stage. They are occupied with young-people as well as some older gentlemen accompanied by young ladies. The supporting band plays original 80's porno music. We somehow feel that we are in the wrong place. But Napalm Death played here too in front of the same audience, so here we go.
And it actually is a lot of fun, despite of the strange surrounding. Finally even some people get up from their tables in order to dance.
When we leave the stage, we do not believe our ears. Tarkan, a popular Turkish singer, is played at full blast. The DJ pleasantly sways a CD of German chart hits. Ha ha, he maybe thought that Tarkan sings German and wanted to surprise us. Well, he at least tried.
Then it´s back to the hotel and to bed and we are somehow sad to have to leave this place tomorrow morning again since it was quite nice here.

Friday, 20 February 2009

Relatively well-rested and with summer temperatures we drive back to Guangzhou (9,5 million inhabitants). As we finally reach our hotel we are standing in front of a building without a front and in the midst of a building site.
A certain despair and helplessness is suddenly shown in Rays face. But it turns out that the hotel is nevertheless opened. We have to drag ourselves along the building debris and past construction workers to an elevator, which brings us to the third floor. Here they are working as well. The smell of turpentine lies in air, dispensed by enormous fans in the corridors. But the rooms are ok.
Today´s club can be comfortably attained by foot. On the way I stop by a well-known sandwich restaurant. What a taste explosion. The right kind of bread and fresh salad. It doesn´t remain the only visit of today.
The club is similar as to the day before. Again many tables are in front of the stage as well as on the beautiful gallery.
We become acquainted with a French skinhead, who tells us that many people don´t know about the exchanged gig dates of the shows in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, so we doubt that it will get particularly full.
Nevertheless the venue finally is packed and we have again a lot of fun playing. The hero of the evening was however definitely the bassist of the supporting band. He placed his bass on the amp, and played his instrument like a contrabass while turning his back to the audience through the entire show. Musically it was a top performance, nevertheless it looked ridiculous.
We are on the road now for two weeks. But not only once we manage to party it up. What a dishonor. The stress and the associated efforts were simply too big. Except trains, hotel rooms and clubs, we saw nearly nothing at all of the whole country, which is very unfortunate, but the route plan of the tour simply did not permit this. Today however we let it party a little. The weather finally provided for the good mood and Hong Kong, to which we are really looking forward to, lies only one hour away from us.
We finally make head back to the hotel in a tipsy mood. Hannes wants to still stay, but he knows the way back to the hotel.
Since I slept like a log due to various beverages, I didn´t hear him hammering at the door at night, which is finally opened for him by the friendly personnel, after he woke up everybody on that floor due to his yelling at the top of his lungs but not me.

Saturday, 21 February 2009

With an ICE similar train we`re off to Hong Kong. Here are still borders and customs inspections, which almost doomed Ray. People from the north of China are not particularly welcomed here, especially when having multicoloured hair and wearing leather jackets. So our always smiling friend is refused entry. It takes nearly one hour until he is allowed to finally cross the border.
At the station we are invited to a meal by a guy. Spaghetti, that was a close shave! We actually want to get into the city as fast as possible, but suddenly Ray takes his time. The guy turns out to be the owner of the largest internet music magazine of the country and Ray has a lot to talk with him.

Finally we´re off with the underground towards the city centre where we meet with Ross, a friend of Ulli´s.
He is an Englishman and, together with his wife Julia, he operates a tattoo studio in Hong Kong called “Star Crossed Tattoo”. He has organized everything here for us.
We are accommodated to the legendary Chungking Mansions hotel, which some might know from the movie Chungking Express. Everything is smaller than small, but we sure are going to survive this for just another night.
 
Meanwhile Ray has gotten more quiet and follows Ross well-behaved and without shooing us continually. Here everything is rather “easy going “instead of “quick, quick! “
Thus we eternally wait in Ross' tattoo studio until we visit the port promenade which is not far away, and admire the gigantic skyline.
The whole city is crazy. The streets are covered with bright shops and advertisements as well as a lot of pubs,. There are people everywhere from all over the world, living together quite peacefully. I could hang out here for a while.
We also finally manage to buy some postcards for the loved ones at home and to do some shopping.
The club for this evening is actually only a small bar, which already starts bursting at its seams at the beginning of the show. We play together with Defiant Scum, which even have a German Drummer, and Oi! Squad. All are multicultural bands consisting of Chinese, Americans, Australians, English, French and even Germans. They are very friendly and we get along with each other perfectly. The music is likewise great. It feels like being in England. Traditional English Oi! Music – an inheritance from the colonial age. Great.
The public could hardly be more mixed, whereby the Chinese are clear outnumbered here.
On the “stage “ there is hardly any space, dancing people are constantly bumping into us. It´s a mad tour finale.
Finally we want to get the aftershow-party, so with the Oi! Squad and Star Crossed Tattoo people we go to the “ Amazonia” bar which is just around the corner.
This establishment can be compared to the “Titty Twister” from the movie „From Dusk till Dawn”. Half of the guests are fat and drunk Australians, then there are whores from the Philippines, a few tourists and US!
The absolutely ingenious band welcomes us by name when we enter the place. And play some classical rock songs in absolute perfection, before our desired songs are played by Cock Sparrer and Cockney Rejects, from Ramones up to The Clash, likewise perfect. Finally I find myself dancing on the stage before I sink down at a table completely drunk. What an evening!

Sunday, 22 February 2009

It´s the last day. Tonight we´re back home. The last three days in the warm south were a lot of fun and my head is aching.
Today we stay at Ross' studio, where Kirsten, Björn and Noppi are getting some tattoos done. Hannes, Ray and I meanwhile watch music DVDs and play with Ross' small baby chihuahuas.
Then we have to say good-bye, which I always hate. But since we have to get on the airport shuttle bus quickly, thank God there is no time for agitating parting scenes, so this time I remain quite calm.

Although it was a stressful journey where we did not have the time to do a lot of sightseeing and partying, it was nevertheless an experience that none of us would like to miss.

By Dole (Combat 77)

We thank you: Ray & Gao (Kids union records & booking), NoName, Mi San Dao, Gum Bleed, Wuhan Prison shop crew, Ross & Star Crossed Tattoos, Defiant Scum, Oi! Squad and everyone we forgot!!!
Thanks!!!