China, Mogwai, School

Back from China and back to school.

My ten day trip to China came to an end over the weekend. I had a great time with everyone, ate like an emperor, had some laughs, and made a very big decision that I am thrilled about. More on that at a later date.

I arrived back in Hong Kong on Friday and immediately began marking the final exams I didn't get to before I left. I spent all of Friday and Saturday finishing those up, so that I could have one free day off before the new semester resumed. Plus, during the evening I would be going to my first "real" concert since arriving in Asia.

Now I say "real" concert because I had a ticket to go see Mogwai at an auditorium in Kowloon Bay. I was very excited to see them because I have never seen them live before, and from what I heard or read, they are extremely loud and powerful in the live setting.

I did go to a "concert" last year in Yantai, which was part of the Changyu Wine Festival. It was quite possibly one of the biggest abominations to my ears ever. Basically, a huge group of Chinese pop stars came to Yantai to perform at this festival. They would sing a song or two, then exit the stage so that another star would make their grand arrival, and then they would sing. Repeat process for 3 hours. In Mandarin. With about 20,000 Chinese in attendance, clapping inflatable sticks on the wrong beat and shining fluorescent lights, all in zombie-like unison.

As for the Mogwai show, I arrived early and waited in line for general seating. When the doors opened, I managed to get right up front, directly in front of one of the speakers. Big mistake. I have seen many bands in my lifetime, been to many concerts of all varieties. In those experiences I have seen many loud bands, and have stood very close to them to boot. But nothing braced me for the loudness that is Mogwai. They aurally assaulted my ears, but did it in such a beautiful way that I didn't mind being temporarily hearing impaired out of my right ear for the next half a day. Definitely, one of the best concerts I have been to in the last 5 years, and one of those shows that made me pine for the old days of playing music in the Red Room.

Finally, it was back to school today. Start of the second semester. My students were their normal boring selves when it came to discussing their holidays. It seems only 1 person traveled, only 3 had fun, and the rest just slept and ate. Also my 9:00 class told me that I got skinnier over the break, while my 11:00 class told me I got fatter. Very astute group they are.

That's all for now. Stay tuned...