A collection of updates from Subs' Aug 2005 Nordic Tour:
Oslo, Aug 14
Ni hao from Oslo, where Subs have already played three shows and blown literally thousands of minds… Jon here, along for the Subs ride and just updating anyone who’s out there wondering…
The Oya Festival wrapped up last night, and we all got a chance to see some great music: Franz Ferdinand, Hot Hot Heat, The Thing, Sons and Daughters, Death From Above 1979, Wolf Parade, Turbonegro… The list goes on…
Subs’ first show in Oslo was at the legendary Last Train during the Oya Festival’s Club Night, which saw a hundred bands play all across the city. Despite some tummy troubles, the band blew the roof off the place, and were met with amazing response, in no small part due to the fierce loyalty of Oslo band Bonk, who have helped the band so much over the last few days.
Already the band has caught the attention of the international press: Germans, Americans, Australians and Scandinavians have already clamoured for interviews. The band was interviewed live on RadiOrakel (www.radiorakel.no/), a punk/underground radio station (at the extremely un-punk time of 9am!) headquartered in a really cool squat-house, covered in graffiti. It’s Oslo’s activists’ headquarters and the radio station is the country’s first --- and the world’s oldest --- women’s radio station: Most of the membership are women, 50 pc of the music has to be performed by women, etc. So it was fitting that Subs came on the air.
Friday night, the band played at MS Innvik, which is a boat that’s been converted into a hostel and cafe/bar. Another cool story: The boat, which has a small theatre onboard, used to drive up to the more isolated parts of the country to bring theatre to places without their own permanent spaces. Now it’s docked in Oslo. So the band played in the theatre Friday night. Despite the fact that the gig was at the same time as Sonic Youth was playing at the Oya Festival, there was a great crowd. And Kang Mao’s stroke of brilliance saw the whole room shouting ‘Niu bi!!’ (‘So fucking cool’ is how she taught them it translated)
The last day of the festival was the best, weather-wise, of all three days, and Subs was to be the last band of the night. They put on an absolutely amazing show, and, with the stage being right next to the exit, they had thousands of people watching, though even if it weren’t on the way out, it’s likely that everyone would’ve come by since they were the one that everyone seemed to be wondering about. Amazing, really. I’ve always hated the idea of encores, but last night was one time where a crowd was genuinely wanting more. Unfortunately, the festival’s curfew was 11, and Subs couldn’t go back on. But people left with smiles on their faces and a new understanding of what exactly China might be. And a new vocabulary word: Niu Bi. There was no end to the amount of people stopping the guys on the streets and in the couple of bars we went to after the concert with thumbs-up and big fat smiles. CDs were autographed, and simple English exchanged. It was magical, the effect that these guys have on people, from punks to hippies to everyone in between.
After the festival, we raced over to the after-concert concert, where we caught Jon Spencer’s (of Blues Explosion and more) new project, Heavy Trash, a rockabilly-esque trio that was fantastic. The band wanted to check out the after-party at this fancy-ish club atop a downtown building, and it was so crowded that we could hardly move. Plus people are constantly yanking at the musicians wanting to say ‘yeah!’ or ‘Niu bi!’
We’ll be stationary for a while now: The band has an interview on Radio Nova (www.radionova.no) on Monday morning; it’s the student radio station here in Oslo, and the band will play 3 songs plus do an interview starting at 10am. Monday’s the first day that the radio station opens after the summer break.
On Wednesday, Subs may have a new gig at an under-18 club in Bergen; I’m told it’s close to confirmed, but it’s not official yet. So Wednesday begins the tour, which will see at least 7, if not 8 shows in Norway and Finland.
Bye for now, or as we Chinese-speakers here interpret the Norwegian goodbye: Haode!
Os, Aug 20
The morning after gig number two on Subs' post-Oya tour, and all is well is Os. I write this from the comfort of the amazing home of an amazing man, Kjell, he formerly of Punishment Park, currently of Jef (http://jef.iuma.com). Kjell is the reason that Subs are here in western norway, as he moved heaven and earth to get their gigs arranged (and has done the same for Wuhan punks SMZB, who will be playing Bergen on Aug 30). And now all kinds of people from Bergen to Askoy and Os are thanking him profusely, including Subs.
We've gotten lots of great emails from all over (Latvia! Bergen! Brasil!) and keep them coming! The band loves hearing from all of you all...
Last night's gig, while attendance could have been better, was fantastic, beginning with the soundcheck in which an underage fan who wasn't able to catch the show (despite being ordered by a Scottish friend who'd seen Subs play in China to go) got a personal concert in the form of the song 'Red Hair', which the band dedicated to her and her pink-hair. Jef warmed the stage --- not to mention set up the stage --- and the night, which got off to a late start (we were repeatedly told of Os folk's inability to come on time to anything), was fantastic.
Subs have become quite adept not only at fending off drunken jackasses, but also at working their way through the media: Two interviews yesterday, one for Os's local paper (which had run a small article in early July and another show reminder on Wed), and another for Bergens Tidende, Bergen's foremost paper, which resulted in this:
http://www.bt.no/kultur/article394678
Hope it's good. Somebody will let us know eventually, I'm sure. (In fact, literally as I typed that cry for help, our saviour and driver extraordinaire, Frank, of Ribozyme: www.ribozyme.no, phoned me to ensure I'd seen what he assures me is a good piece). The night before last was at a club in Askoy, which says on its sign that it is Wild Thing, though really, we're told it's called Loftet. Except that on Thursday nights it's called Thursday Club. At any rate, the band played for a party thanking the volunteers of Bergen's Lost Weekend Festival, and despite a mic-twirling incident that left one of Wu Hao's tuning pegs hurled across the room leaving him without the use of his second string, the show was hailed as a success, as several dudes in the crowd attempted to scream along with Kang Mao. A morning trip to a Bergen music shop fixed the problem, and now, everyone is extra cautious of Kang Mao’s mad mic skillz.
Tonight, Saturday, we are off to Bergen, a short hop, skip and a jump from here, where the band will play at the university's student centre (known generally as Kvarteret, and there's a word like 'Academic' in there as well, but I always pronounce it wrong.) It's the uni's first weekend before classes start, and it sounds like it's gonna be a big party: three floors of live music, with Subs on top. And with the Kvarteret gig so ends Subs' Norway romp. But mark my words: Norway hasn't seen the last of this band, not by a long shot.
Finland here we come!
Helsinki, Aug 24
The crew is now in Finland; as I type this, on a train from Helsinki to Tampere. But to backtrack first: Bergen was a blast, a crazy time, a small --- no, tiny --- room unequipped to handle the hundreds that were eager to catch the band, but then, an overflowing room makes for better PR. It was the first weekend back at school for Bergen’s university crowd, and they were out in all their unadulterated glory. Kang Mao was in fine form, screaming directly into the faces of the student masses crowded at the front of the stage screaming right back at her. After wowing the crowd, we watched what those of us who’ve been out of university for a while tend to forget is exactly like the tv shows and movies make it out to be: Drunken madness through three floors of Bergen student centre, but a good time was obviously being had by all. From moshing to breakdancing, they had all of the performing arts down pat and represented. We bade farewell to our Norwegian hosts, who were more amazing than we’d ever thought anyone could be, and headed on a train back to Oslo, after managing a few hours pre-travel hotel sleep. We struggled to keep our eyes on the amazing scenery around us, but lost the battle against our eyelids and the fjords, mountains and plains passed almost unnoticed by our sleep-deprived eyes.
A night in Oslo back on the MS Innvik, the bestest boat in the whole world; and then back on the road: To Stockholm, to be exact, where it wasn’t long before we were back on the water, on board the Silja Symphony sailing to Finland. The boat ride was full of singing and drunken Russians, who entertained a few of the band members with songs of unknown origin and meaning. Morning came and we were in Helsinki, met by our man at Myymaala2 (‘moo-ma lah’; www.myymaala2.com), Jani, and whisked to the gallery where Subs would perform later in the day. Wandering the streets with the help of a pair of local guides, half of whom had spent time in Beijing (she wore, as proof, a t-shirt from long-gone venue Loup Chante with the ‘chai’ character emblazoned on the front). A few record shops, a flea market and many miles walked later, we were back at Myymaala2 for soundcheck. A neighbour didn’t like the sounds emanating from the gallery and we worried that perhaps the evening’s show would be stopped before it could be begun. An Indian dinner brought the band a bit closer to the food that they’ve now all admitted to missing quite dearly, and then back to the tiny gallery, where the band played to an extremely warm audience that, were we at a bigger venue, we might have thought not very big, but here, the fans were out the door and up the stairs to the street. The gig was a sort of kick-off for the announcement that four Finnish bands would hit four cities in China (Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen) in September, the tour known as Sounds Like Suomi (www.soundslikesuomi.com). Subs will play a gig in Helsinki with Cleaning Women, one of the four bands, at Helsinki’s premier rock club (who’s name not only escapes my memory but my tongue as well), on Thursday (Aug 25).
After the gig at Myymaala2, we were treated to a cruise on Jani’s old wooden fishing boat: A tiny putt-putting machine that took us out to sea and onto an abandoned island just off the coast from downtown. A beautiful night for a cruise, and a great end to the day.
Tonight, it’s Tampere, where we are assured one of the country’s better punk joints hosts the band. Vastavirta means ‘upstream’, and it is where we’re headed now… Just three more shows and Subs’ Nordic Tour comes to a close…
Helsinki, Aug 25
Two at a time because the server’s been down and it’s been a bitch to find a connection for my laptop…
Tampere last night rocked. Plain and simple. The best club date thus far on the tour: The room at Vastavirta --- ‘upstream’ --- was full: Almost 200 people ranging from up-and-coming and current punks to older ones who had their day back when the punk thing was just getting started.
We were met at the train station by Perttu, Vastavirta’s lao ban, and his shaggin’ wagon and rode in style to the club that has only been open since New Years eve not eight months ago but has been garnering quite the reputation. And a well-deserved one, we should add.
Local act Kara Kuniklo screamed their way through the opening set and their tag-team vocalists certainly gave Kang Mao’s vox a run. All in all though, a fantastic response that kept us in the bar until well past last call. CDs sold like mad. The night was spent in a cozy squat, all crowded into the living room.
Back to Helsinki this morning and much of the day at Tavastia, THE club in Finland, where tonight’s show with Cleaning Women will be mind-blowing. Cleaning Women is a trio that has built their own instruments and wired up trash, junk and electronics to create an amazing sound that will accompany the film Battleship Potemkin before Subs take to the stage. We were picking our jaws up off the floor as they soundchecked. It will be fantastic.
More to come as we’re two shows away from the end of Subs first European conquest…
Turku, Aug 26
Moi! From Turku, the morning (afternoon, really) after a smokin set at S-OSIS, the local rock joint...
As expected, Thursday night's gig was a rockin good time, with CLeaning Women providing the opening set, playing their must-be-seen-to-be-believed home-made instruments as the soundtrack to Battleship Potemkin. With the end of their set, the film buffs in the crowd headed for home, but many hundreds of people stayed around. The club is certainly worthy of its reputation as The Club in town, and the response from the crowd was, again, more unrestrained than most Finnish people would have us believe Fins were capable of. But if we were surprised by the energy of the "shy" Fins in Helsinki, Turku was another planet.
Once again, Kara Kuniko warmed the stage --- for their last show, we hear, as members are moving away --- as did first-timers Derrida, with a heavy set of hardcore music. But the room went mental a few songs into Subs' set, with pogo-ing and moshing that culminated in a couple of dudes, one of which was an overweight and over-mohawked dude, get a little too up-close and personal with Kang Mao and the onstage gear. She was actually carried away from the stage briefly at one point, and it was difficult to know whether she was having the time of her life or in mortal fear for it. But after all was said and done, all parts are in working order and Turku proved to be a great way to end the tour. Our host, Janne, and his band Bufo, finished off the night, and we took to the streets in search of the Kebab Kapital of Finland's Holy Grail, finding it at City Kebab. With the band's newfound love of street meat, it was certainly a fitting way to cap off the night, tour and our time in Finland.
Look for Subs a bunch in September back in Beijing:
Sept 10 at the Green Beijing Festival, at the drive-in theatre
Sept 30 at Get Lucky with Muma and Something to Burn, an LA-based rock band...
moi moi!