Apr 20 Back in China After 3 years… A Love Story Going On…

We left home at 3:30am on Tuesday morning, headed to Montreal airport to catch our flight to Toronto, from where we would fly to Shanghai! Arrived at the airport, we were told that our flight had been cancelled and that we were on a pending list for a flight at 7:00am, 30 minutes earlier than expected. Or maybe 8:00am if the flight at 7:00am was full. Or 9:00am. Or later. In short, they had no idea when we would arrive in Toronto, and no idea if we could catch our flight to Shanghai either. Which proved to be very troublesome, as a flight on a later date would mean we’d miss the first gig of the tour. Thank you Canadian weather for sending a snowstorm our way on April 15th. That was really nice of you! After a bit of discussion with the staff at the gate, we managed to all make it on the 8:00am flight to Toronto!

Arrived there, the tradition took place! Pad Thai for everyone, and an extra burger for Jeff. It’s 9:30 in the morning, but it doesn’t seem to bother anyone. We didn’t sleep all night, so I guess we can say it wasn’t really morning! Jeff made sure to give YB a taste of what was to come during our China trip, making his plate a super spicy one!

We then boarded our flight to Shanghai. Before even getting on the plane, we were reminded one thing about Chinese people. They know no personal space. As soon as boarding was announced, everybody gathered at the gate in a rush and with no order. But that is how it is in China. People don’t queue. And everybody talks to everybody. At first we thought they were shouting and yelling at one another. But no, they are simply becoming friends, talking about everything and nothing like they had known one another forever. And it is in such fashion that we met wonderful people on our flight. As we were gathered at the back of the airplane for a toast, people wondered what was going on and decided to join us.

And then we landed in Shanghai, managed to get all our gear back in the same flight (never quite an easy thing when your first flight is so uncertain!), and met with Yu Hui, who would be our translator for the tour! She introduced herself, and then we went outside to catch the taxis that would drive us to Nantong, 45 minutes away. But the taxis were late. And there were only 2, with not enough seats for us all, let alone the music equipment and the suitcases. Our expected 45 minutes ride turned out being longer than 2.5 hours, but we finally made it to Nantong! We checked in, gathered in the lobby, met the owner of the venue where we would play, and then went for dinner at a traditional Chinese restaurant!

And then came the day of the first show! Our first gig in China in 3 years… And words lack to express how excited we were! We had never played in Nantong before, and had never even heard of the city. In fact, when I told my Chinese friend I was now in Nantong, she had no clue where the city was! We woke up late (or tried to, blame it on jet lag!), spent some time all together until we got kicked out of the restaurant in the hotel – it was 3 hours past their closing time, but we had to watch the Giants game until the end! And then… Soundcheck! And what a soundcheck! The guys took the opportunity to do quite a few songs, which the staff greatly appreciated!

Little break (read nap), and then it was show time! And what a show it has been! The room was packed, people were on fire, and so were we! The band got on stage, and madness took over The Void! People were screaming, head banging, sweating, resting over the security ramp desperately trying to catch their breath in between songs, doing mosh pits and crowd surfing… The crowd was covered in sweat, beer (it seems like people in China enjoy using their beers to refresh themselves instead of water!), and cigarette smoke. But nobody cared. It’s a gig, it’s intense, it’s rock and roll. That’s just how it is supposed to be! We had a very memorable night, and great discussions with people from all over the world who came over to the gig. It was our first time in the city, and we can definitely say that Nantong left a permanent impression on us all!

We left Nantong early in the morning, drove to Shanghai, and from there took a train to Hangzhou. If the previous day we lacked room in the cars for all of us and the equipment, our translator Yu Hui made sure that this would not happen again. Indeed, we had a coach bus to ourselves. It felt somewhat weird to be so far from one another! We took the opportunity to catch some more sleep, some more than others. Because yes, some of us didn’t wake up when the bus arrived at the hotel – Sef in the occurrence!

It was already soundcheck right after we did check-in. And as excited as we were at the idea of playing tonight, tiredness had caught up with us all! We all walked back to the hotel, with the idea of catching some sleep before the show. But 45 minutes clearly wasn’t enough. We entered the venue, the 9 Club, which is also a restaurant. And it seemed that it was exactly what was going on; people came to eat! But as soon as the band was announced on stage, people amassed in front of the stage with a hurry like I have rarely seen before. They all wanted a spot in the first row! And with reason… That show has been complete madness! There may be a huge barrier language, as we don’t speak a word of Chinese, and because English is scarcely spoken here, but that night, nothing of this mattered. Music did all the speaking, and emotions needed no words to be conveyed!

We arrived in Wuhan after a long ride from Hangzhou. And it was great to be back there. We could remember everything, from the train station, to the hotel where we were staying (maybe not for the best!), to the street leading to the Vox Livehouse. The owner of the Vox is the one who welcomed us 3 years ago as well, and he was more than excited to see us again. He said he had never seen a band like us before, never seen a band so intense, and never seen a crowd so on fire for a band either – Chinese people are known for listening to a gig very quietly. The reactions he received when we were announced to play the Vox again were quite incredible, too. They remembered us from 3 years ago, and the word had spread about the band since that time, too! Even if it was the Strawberry Festival on that night, the club was full, many taking days off and riding trains for several hours to see us… Even cancelling their attendance at the Strawberry Festival… “We don’t know when you guys will come back, but there will be another Strawberry next year”!

And once again, the crowd went crazy! Applauses fused as soon as the first note of the song “A View From Within” started, and the rest of the concert grew up in intensity. The more intense the band was, the more intense the crowd was, which made the band go even crazier. I lost count of people who stage dived, Alex and fans alike, head banging was all over the place, we were once more covered in beer, Alex must have spent half the show in the crowd, as the crowd spent some time on stage as well… It was one special moment after the other. And for those of you who heard the story, this is the same venue where Alex jumped from the second floor balcony… And it happened again tonight, twice this time! This show marked the end of the first stretch of the tour for us… And we can say it has been a very memorable time! Wuhan was engraved in our hearts, and we can say that the love story we had with this city went to a whole new level of passion!

– Stephanie

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