China Crisis in special SMX performance

The big number of foreign acts who come here for gigs really makes me wonder. As in, do they now make it a point to include the Philippines in their tours given how responsive we are to just about anybody? We must also be a moneyed lot knowing how much a seat costs in these shows. It sometimes feels so unfair to the local artists and I do hope that something could be done about the situation.

On the other hand, how can you blame those who can afford to go for wanting to watch their favorites perform live? They did dream a lot of that moment. And I do admit that we do get some good ones once in a while. I do not know if most of you remember the group. But the China Crisis is one that I expect to put on a good show when it comes to town for a one night only gig on Friday evening, Sept. 9, at the SMX Convention Center.

China Crisis was here only last January for shows at McKinley Hill in The Fort and at Eastwood City. Public response was so good that Steve O’Neal Productions decided to bring the group back together with the X Simple Minds. I am not surprised at the Pinoy’s enthusiastic reaction towards this band from Liverpool. China Crisis was quite popular out here during the ’80s and fans do want to see them live.

China Crisis came about at a most opportune time. It was a period when having a new sound made a big difference among pop music fans. Punk was ending its reign having evolved into New Wave. The New Romanticism was just beginning. Although the charts had a lot of big pop guns like Michael Jackson, The Police and Billy Joel, the UK was in an experimental mood and it was into this atmosphere that the likes of Human League, Eurythmics, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode and China Crisis were born.

Forming members were Eddie Lundon on guitar and lead vocals and Gary Daly on keyboards. I remember how interesting the first album was. It had this really long title, Difficult Shapes And Passive Rhythms Some People Think It’s Fun To Entertain, which I thought were just words and not really saying anything. While I do like the unique use of language that a lot of Brit bands seem to have an affinity for, that China Crisis title still has me stumped. Maybe Lundon and Daly can tell us what it means when they get here.

That title was not the only thing they had though. They also used a lot of synthesizers, which at that time was the big thing among artists. Synths were until then mostly seen as substitutes for live musicians but Lundon and Daly made clever use of the machines. The result was New Wave with a jazzy feel that sounded so trendy and imaginative. Listen to their songs and find to their credit, that the music still holds up well proof of how talented Lundon and Daly really are.

Expect to hear the big hits Black Man Ray, Christian, Wishful Thinking, Tragedy And Mystery, African And White, Everyday The Same, Hanna Hanna, King In A Catholic Style and Red Letter Day.

No more CD player

The times are really a-changing: According to a news item from The Telegraph I found in Dean Kay’s hugely informative ASCAP Daily Brief Powered by The Dean’s List, Ford, one of the biggest automakers in the world, has made the decision to do away with CD multichangers in its products. This means that those who will buy the new Ford Focus will not get a CD player anymore. In its place will be a USB socket where you can plug iPods and other digital players.

Very convenient but makes you feel sad just the same. Our generation has now gone from the car radio, the tape deck, the CD player and now you can use your iPod to have music in the car. I wonder if Ford will still have a radio. And I also wonder when we will have wifi in cars and access to everything from the net. Why you might even be able to listen to those sounds you have stored in your cloud soon.