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Are you ready for NOFX?
American punk rock veterans NOFX have descended upon the mainland and tonight they will give the foundations of Beijing venue Star Live a tremendous shake. To select two acts to open for NOFX, the organizer hosted a special tribute show to the band on March 31, in which eight local groups covered some of NOFX's classic works.
The winners were Recycle and Sko, and they will be joined by Hong Kong band King Ly Chee on April 13. Formed in 1983, NOFX has a reputation for intensely passionate live performances, as well as a concern for social warfare. The band has influenced many Chinese punk bands, such as Brain Failure and Reflector. In addition, Fat Wreck Chords, the independent label run by the band's vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, is a landmark punk rock label that features almost 50 bands including such names as Rise Against, Sick of it All, Propagandhi, and Less than Jake. NOFX has been touring for almost a year to promote their 2006 album Wolves in Wolves' Clothing. After Japan and Korea, China is the third stop in their ongoing Asia tour which began in March.
Dress-ups for grown-ups
Beijing's cosplayers can now log on the website www.bjcomic.net and register to attend the Third China International Cosplay Festival.
The festival will be held in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province from April 28 to May 4
Cosplay, a contraction of the words "costume" and "play", is a Japanese subculture centered on dressing up as characters from manga, anime, and video games. In some circles, "cosplay" has been expanded to mean simply wearing a costume.
For Beijing cosplayers, Lolita is the one of the most favourite characters. You can dress-up as either "sweet Lolita," "classic Lolita" or "Gothic Lolita". Over the next two weeks, the Beijing Comic Company's website will show their own elaborate handmade creations and participate in parties in their best Lolita costume.
Stars sprinkle some joy on dry regions
Serving as ambassadors of the Lotus Light Charity Society Hong Kong, actresses Christy Chung, Anita Yuen and singer/actor Kenny Bee paid a trip to Northwest China's Qinghai and Gansu provinces to experience how the locals live in the arid area. The trio also handed over donations raised by the organization.
Since last April, the Hong Kong-based group has raised money to help people in the dry regions of Gansu, Qinghai and Inner Mongolia build cellars to store rainwater.
Founded in 1998, the Lotus Light Charity Society has raised funds through various events to help more than 220,000 people in Henan, Anhui, Hunan provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
China Daily
(China Daily 04/13/2007 page18)
