INTRO 2011: Triumphant Ending, Booze Blues and Dancing Grannies

Thousands turned out at 751 D-Park in 798 for two sunny days of techno, house, electro, drum & bass and more at INTRO 2011. The ups: The good weather, some great music and a strong turnout on the Saturday. The downs: police restrictions on alcohol sales, and, at the smaller stages, thinner crowds on Sunday and sound issues (including engineers randomly turning the sound down). In spite of the drawbacks, INTRO ended on a high, with a series of strong sets on the main stage bringing the crowd together and sending us off into the night thinking that, even if it was hard getting hold of a beer, we're better off having festivals like this than no festivals at all.

The odd bottle of Yanjing and can of Tsingtao was sneaked through, and by Sunday evening the police had relaxed the restrictions, but INTRO offered more evidence that the authorities are genuinely anxious at the moment about alcohol sales at large-scale outdoor events. One vendor at a venue on the 751 D-Park site explained to us on Sunday how she had signed a contract stating her understanding that she would be arrested if she was caught selling alcohol.

In the end, the majority of people got over the (only somewhat successfully) enforced sobriety and enjoyed some great music over the two days. Though the big moment was Josh Wink's set on the Saturday night, my highlights were mostly on the Sunday, with amazing sets from Weng Weng, Okain and Eddie Lv on the main stage. Everything came together right at the last minute, with Weng Weng's set bringing everything to a near-perfect close. Joy is the last thing I tend to associate with Pink Floyd, but the last 30 minutes, featuring an Another-Brick-in-the-Wall-pt.-2-sampling finale, was about as good a time as I've had in Beijing this year. For a look at the last few minutes, check out this video. Although Sunday's smaller attendance meant that The Syndicate Stage was far from packed out, and there were issues with the sound, Slide and Blackie in particular pulled through with excellent sets.

On a side note, what was with all the dancing pensioners? The evidence below suggests that electronic music is capturing the imagination of the elderly in Beijing just as much as the young. Just take a look at the video below ...

And she wasn't the only one. We also spied the lady below having a jolly old time during DJ Blackie's set on The Syndicate Stage. She wasn't keen on being interviewed, but did tell us she goes to INTRO every year, as well as pretty much any electronic music event that takes place at 798. "There's another party in June!" she told me enthusiastically. You're only as young as you feel, I suppose.

And that was that for another year. For my part, as I've said before, I think we've got to understand the complex issues behind putting on a festival in Beijing, and that with all the festivals we have still in their infancy, we've got to get behind them and support them if they're going to grow and flourish. But what do you think? Were you at INTRO? Did the lack of booze bother you? Did the music make up for it? Leave your comments below.