Oasis in the PRC
Feb
12
Written by:
2/12/2009 8:05 PM
They'll be Beijing's biggest rock visitors in 2009, but the Britpoppers shouldn't expect too much box office in China
Oasis will play in Beijing on April 3 - at the Capital Gymnasium, not the Worker’s Gymnasium as preferred by Kylie and Kayne West. It’s not clear what the band’s reasons for coming are but they shouldn’t have high expectations, nor hopes of making money. Their arrival hopefully marks the end of a long period of paranoia in China’s Department of Culture which issues performance licenses: pro-Tibetan chants by Bjork at her Shanghai show last year annoyed the bureaucrats, already worried about blemishes to China’s Olympics year.
I can’t see how Oasis will make any money off this tour, considering the band has never had the cachet of Suede or Sonic Youth among China’s tiny rock community. Granted, those two groups solidified their local reputation by actually coming and playing here. Ticket prices range from RMB200 to RMB1600: 20 to 160 Euros.
I reckon there’ll be tickets for RMB50 – five Euros – on sale outside the venue on the night.
The band’s tour China:
- April 3rd, 2009 - Beijing Capital Gym
- April 5th, 2009 - Shangai Grand Stage
- April 7th, 2009 - Hong Kong AsiaWorld Arena