Last week Dos Kolegas would have turned 15 years old. The Beijing venue was a mecca of sorts – a refuge away from the hustle and bustle of Beijing. Located in a lush green lot of empty co-working spaces, esoteric restaurants, and I shit you not, a drive-in movie theater, it felt a million miles around from reality (despite being adjacent to Chaoyang Park). It had atmosphere in spades – a dive bar with a lawn next to it; derelict bathrooms, and brick-covered walls. But really when push comes to shove, it was inclusive of all walks of life, regardless of where you were from, who was playing, or how terrible of a day you’ve had. It’s also a place that I find hard to dissociate from the bands that made it their second home. 

上周，两个好朋友酒吧满15岁了。北京的庆祝现场犹如在麦加朝圣——那曾是一个远离城市喧嚣熙攘的避难所。它坐落在一片郁郁葱葱的空旷林中，与一些办公场地、神秘餐厅，不唬你，甚至还有一家汽车电影院一起共享这片世外桃源，远离尘世(尽管朝阳公园近在毗邻）。初来探访时这里的气氛环境非常有趣——有硕大草坪的潜水酒吧；还有废弃的淋浴房和土砖围起的墙。遇到困难时这里的包容如同港湾，不管你来自哪里，玩什么音乐，或者度过了多么糟糕的一天。遭遇分别时这里的气息让我意识到乐队已然将它变成了第二个家。

While I’ll always remember hearing Re-TROS’s ‘Viva Murder’ from the first time in 2011, running from the bar to the front stage to film, it was the Ningxia wave that I always associate with 2K. Li Dong (and it’s rowdier cousin Nucleus), Buyi (who have become an unstoppable musical juggernaut), and even lesser-known yet wildly talented folk artists like Wang Juan. 

我始终记得2011年第一次听到重塑雕像的权利那首《Viva Murder》，眼前一亮，从酒吧挤到台前去拍摄的刹那。也是在这里宁夏制造系列演出，掀起了一股浪潮并深深烙上了两个好朋友的印记。这里还走出过立東乐队（以及更燥的兄弟核乐队)、布衣乐队(已经成为势不可挡的明星乐队)，以及像王娟这样鲜为人知但极具天赋的民谣音乐人。

It was a place where Hanggai would pop over to jam out, and a place where Rolling Bowling would play for shits and giggles on a quiet Tuesday night. Dos Kolegas made it nine years before the good times came to a screeching halt, and while nothing in Beijing has come close to replicating its aura, people still hold on to those memories and channel the spirit of Dos Kolegas. Happy 15th birthday!

这里曾是杭盖乐队的大本营，也曾是旋转保龄乐队在一个安静的周二夜晚吐槽和欢笑的地方。两个好朋友，9年之前美好嘎然而止，它的一切无法被复制，如今北京城里也再难寻得一处能再现其风雅的地方，人们还在将这份情谊保留于记忆的深处，延续着它的友谊精神。两个好朋友，15岁生日快乐!

If you’re in Beijing and looking to relive those Dos Kolas vibes I recommend stopping by Fenggu Bar 风骨酒方 (run by longtime party thrower DizzyDi) who just threw the venue a 15th Anniversary Party and host a weekly Wednesday tribute night.

如果你在北京，想重温那段属于两个好朋友的昔日美景，我建议你到风骨酒吧稍刻停留（风骨酒吧由资深的派对策划DizzyDi经营），他刚刚为两个好朋友举办了15周年纪念派对，还组织每周三的致敬夜专场.

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Saying farewell to DDC has been difficult, to say the least, as it’s been tied up with my own feelings of leaving Beijing (which did happen finally a week ago). So when 69 and DDC gave me a two-day sendoff back in January before the whole pandemic hit, it felt in many ways like goodbye. But it’s really only begun to hit me that DDC in its original incarnation won’t be there for me (and countless others) when I visit Beijing again. It’s devastating. Jincan Zhang (aka 69) and DDC allowed LiveBeijingMusic offered me a space to indulge in my musical quirks, discover new bands, and promote music to wider audiences. 

可以说，要与DDC道别是一件很难的事，尤其是离别这事儿与我自己最终离开北京这一改变所产生的感情相联系的时候（一周前刚刚落听）。回顾一月，新冠病毒大爆发前夕，69在DDC特别为我举办了为期两天的欢送会，如今想来，怎么看它都像是冥冥中的一次永别。但真正开始让我感到离别之郁的是，我意识到今后再回北京时，这个最初的DDC将无处可寻。难以想象，如同灾难。是张锦灿（爱称69）和DDC得以让LiveBeijingMusic成为我的一片可以沉溺于音乐癖好、发现新乐队和向更多人推广音乐的小天地。

Simply put, they gave me a voice. It started with Fake Fuzz Fest (co-hosted with the one and only Dann Gaymer) – a two-day unholy matrimony of music where everyone – from a young surly Dirty Fingers to fan favorites Luv Plastic – stirred up trouble. It also set the bar for how much I could (and shouldn’t for sanity’s sake) handle. 

简单地说，他们就是我内心深处的那个声音。一切始于Fake Fuzz Fest（和独一无二的伙伴Dann Gaymer共同主办），这是一场为期两天的非正式的婚礼庆典小型音乐会，现场的每个人从年轻肆意的脏手指到备受拥趸的洛夫塑料（Luv Plastik）都全情投入也麻烦不断，躁动而疯狂。这次经历也让我看到了自己的能量所在。

Soon afterward, I held my wedding there. Yeah, my wedding night for crying out loud. The whole reception including my blind-sided family, to partake in some insanity. And from then onwards we basically came to the agreement that each season I would put together a show. 

不久之后，我的正式的婚礼仪式也在这里举行了。是的，你也许已经知道了后来的故事，我在这新婚之夜嚎啕大哭了一场。一晚的盛筵，包括我没有防备的亲人们，大家都无一幸免地展现出了疯狂尽兴的一面。意犹未尽之余我们决定今后每一季都要举办一次这样的音乐会。

Some were outrageously successful, some were modestly attended – but no matter what 69 supported and encouraged me to keep following my own arrow (with the added incentive of whiskey shots afterward). I know 69 and co. will move forward and find success – it’s in his blood – and I know we’ll work together again – but damn Beijing won’t ever be the same again. So a toast to DDC 1.0 for giving me a home for over five years! 

这些大大小小的演出，有些赢得了惊人的口碑，有些则被含蓄地关注——但不论影响如何，69都一直支持和鼓励我持续追寻自己的梦想（当然免不了也凝聚了威士忌的激励）。我深深地知道69和他的事业将会义无反顾地继续前行，直至成功——这就是流淌在他身体里血液中的信念——我也笃信我们还将共事合作——但，该死的！自此北京将不似从前物是人非。为DDC 1.0干上一杯吧，因为在过去的五年中，它曾给了我家的温暖！

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Five years ago this week the punk community lost one of its leading figures – Lei Jun of Oi! outfit Misandao.

五年前的这礼拜，北京朋克军团损失了一员大将—蜜三刀乐队的雷骏。

Founded in 1999, the band was one of the first to jump headfirst into the skinhead subculture, and quickly made Beijing their stomping ground, organizing punk festivals, appearing in documentaries, and even opening a noddle shop in Gulou (still going strong). 

蜜三刀成立于1999年，是国内skinhead的先驱，是北京朋克音乐的主心骨，不仅活跃在音乐节和纪录片中，还开着一家名叫鼓楼吃面的朋克面馆，生意一直不错。

A pillar of the punk community, he passed away due to a heart attack. He was 40 years old. Unexpected, crushing and just confounding, I had seen Lei Jun countless times at shows, and while I never personally met him, he was a man who brought with him good company and good times. While this wasn’t my first time catching Misandao, it definitely was the moment that stuck with me. 

雷骏40岁之际因心脏病去世。我去过无数次蜜三刀的现场，也沉浸在无数次“雷总”发起的狂欢里，却没来得及跟他单独聊两句，有点错愕。老什么酒吧的那场不是我第一回看蜜三刀了，但我还一直记着。

There’s never quite like having a policeman curiously peer out his window as he slowly passes by the Old What? Bar, the skanky hole in the wall that resided once upon a time next to where countless emperors reigned, and seeing a bunch of Oi! kids hoofing and puffing just meters away. I just loved how contempt, spit, anger, and buckets of sweat are unleashed upon the crowd – a riotous, righteous bubbling of punk rock at its purest. Rest in peace Lei Jun. 

老什么酒吧就在故宫边上，见证了时代的变迁，也包容skinhead的纯粹，时常还有警察出没一探究竟。我爱的这帮躁动又真实的朋克依然生猛。雷骏可以安息了。

For more info on the legacy Lei Jun left behind

http://www.timeoutbeijing.com/features/Blogs-Music_Blogs/142656/Misandao-frontman-Lei-Jun-dies-aged-40.html

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It’s crazy to think of how much festivals have changed over the past decade in China, particularly in Beijing, where they have gradually disappeared. There was once a time where you could pop over to Haidian or Chaoyang Park and be in a mosh-pit without moments of making your way through the entrance. There was an intimacy; an appreciation for adventure; and a serendipitous sense of chaos that led to some wonderful and memorable situations. And it’s where, for a time, bands reigned supreme.

难以想象过去十年间，多少国内的音乐节都发生了变故，尤其在北京，期间无数音乐节甚至已经逐渐消失。曾几何时，你可以直接跑到海淀或朝阳公园，无需等待入场即可扎进舞池里冲撞出激情。一种久违的亲密感，一种冒险的欣喜感，一种偶然的混乱感，交织出美妙而难忘的独特体验，此时此刻，乐队至上。

For instance take Black Rabbit Festival, the Chaoyang Sports Complex and its ‘too good to be true’ lineup – featuring the likes of Grandmaster Flash, Ludicrous and Jared Leto (before he became a cult leader). Yet it was always the local bands that drew my attention. Watching a band like Carsick Cars rip into their closer was simply to good to pass up. Even better, kidnapping or caretaking (as was my wife’s detail for the evening) Gold Panda afterward to Salud on Nanluoguxiang.

值得一提的是黑兔音乐节，朝阳体育中心及其令人难以置信的乐队阵容——包括Grandmaster Flash（闪耀大师）、Ludicrous和Jared Leto（在他成为邪魅神人之前）。然而真正能吸引我注意的一直都是本土乐队。欣赏一个乐队像Carsick Cars如此近的距离就是单纯而美好的过往。更妙的是，演出结束掳走（或者说安顿-我妻子那晚的分工任务）Gold Panda 去了南锣鼓巷的老伍酒馆。

Or take Modern Sky Festival in Haidian Park (before Strawberry Festival got too comfortable at Tongzhou Park) where Hedgehog blew my mind for the first time, charging through a set that ended with a smashed guitar being flung into the audience recklessly. Even better, turning a deflated Jagermeister beach ball into a cape and stalking the bassist from Mr. Turtle.

再来回忆一下海淀公园举办的摩登天空音乐节（悠然自得的通州公园草莓音乐的前身），正是在这里刺猬乐队第一次碰撞了我的听觉，让我心花怒放，也震撼了我的视觉，吉他手突如其来地砸碎了他的琴并且肆无忌惮地抛向观众，以此结束了当晚的演出。更神的是，找到一个瘪了气的野格沙滩球当作斗篷，悄悄跟踪海龟先生的主唱。

For a few years after I went to music festivals in Beijing religiously, relishing every act, detailing every band I wanted to check out, and getting a bit looser than usual. But nothing will beat those virgin festival experiences in the end. Age and fatigue will do that to you. So will over-commercialization and the industry not taking as many risks. As the saying goes – they don’t make them like they used to.  

自我虔诚地去参加北京各式音乐节开始，这几年之中，我享受每一个场感染我的演出，挖掘每一支感兴趣的乐队，前所未有的放松着。我相信这些最初的音乐节经历是无与伦比的，最终无出其右者。但时间和疲惫或将不可避免地影响着这个行业，最终可能会被过度商业化或者大家不愿再承担过多的风险去守望它。正如他们自己感叹的，物是，人非。

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