Despite False Starts, Jing-A's Bie Nao Series Kicks Off Tomorrow at Yue Space
If there’s one thing the pandemic has taught us, or at least somewhat prepared us for, it’s how to live with starts and stops. Despite the fact that China has done an unparalleled job of containing the virus and we’ve been lucky enough to enjoy a relatively normal lifestyle throughout, the country’s zero-tolerance approach to even the smallest outbreak has meant that certain things here are always liable to change with little – if any – warning.
Understandably, this is no more true than for large gatherings, and under that umbrella, live gigs have been dealt one blow after another, with Jing-A’s Bie Nao series emerging particularly bruised.
To coin a phrase, however, Jing-A gets knocked down, but they always get back up again. In other words, Bie Nao is back and better than ever, with what is ostensibly the first of the new series taking place tomorrow, Nov 24, at Yue Space, and featuring dusty '70s era crate diggers Habibi Shop, enigmatic electro art-rock rookies KyoYoko, and krautrockian cold wave noise punks theairpaper.
What makes this iteration particularly special is that it’s one of the first to come from Jing-A’s collaboration with show promoters StreetVoice, in which the duo hosted an open call for band submissions, effectively turning Bie Nao into a “platform that can elevate emerging sounds in the local scene.”
Bie Nao officially launched in the summer of 2020, when Jing-A’s founders Alex Acker and Kris Li had the idea of “mashing together our favorite Chinese underground bands with new beers inspired by their music and ethos.” Unfortunately, however, despite the simplicity of the vision, the execution has been anything but. In fact, every couple of months, Acker and Li have attempted to put together various celebrations of craft beer and indie music, only to be stymied at each turn.
When the kibosh was prematurely put on their first summer series, they arranged for a set of stripped-down winter gigs at Jing-A's then newly-opened CBD taproom. However, when that fell to pieces for reasons beyond their control, the team turned their attention to a more ambitious project, taking the show on the road and hosting Bie Nao gigs across the country.
Against all odds, the multi-city Bie Nao tour went off without a hitch and, buoyed by the success, Acker and Li then teamed up with StreetVoice for the open call project. "The Open Call was something we'd wanted for Bie Nao right from the beginning,” said Li at the time of its announcement earlier this year. “We're programming around ten 'Sessions' shows this year through the open call, and the exciting thing is that we don't know what to expect. Just like in brewing, curation and combination can often produce something really special, and unexpected.”
While the response has been overwhelming – Jing-A and StreetVoice booked some 19 bands across the ten gigs – COVID-19 had different plans, such that all those shows had to be rescheduled, and then rescheduled again. Now, however, with the most recent spate of infections behind us, and hopefully no more on the horizon, Bie Nao is once again ready to bring strong beer and raucous bands to Beijing’s indie fans, and with any luck, this time it’ll stick.
Bie Nao Vol. 5 kicks off tomorrow, Nov 24 at Yue Space with Habibi Shop, KyoYoko, and theairpaper. Tickets are RMB 100 at the door. Show starts at 8.30pm. For more info, click here.
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Images courtesy of Jing-A
