Forget Christmas carols, romantic melodies and anything cheery. For rockers, there's only one destination tomorrow night - the rock bar Yuyintang for the long-awaited comeback concert by Tongue. One Shanghai critic has called the band "powerful, shocking and impressive." 　　

Tongue, a veteran rock band from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has distinctive characteristics of northern Chinese rock bands — concrete and majestic.

The veteran rock band from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region disappeared from the scene two years ago shortly after its last performance in Beijing. Tomorrow night's performance in the small, 300-seat venue marks the reappearance of the revered band with new guitarist Zhou Shenjun who joined two years ago. 　　

The band last played in Shanghai four years ago. Shanghai has no rock scene to speak of, Yuyintang is one of the city's only rock venues and it is quite small, so fans are puzzled by the choice of Shanghai for the comeback.

The band members live in Beijing, the center of China's rock scene that has its roots in the north. The southern music scene, like southern art, is considered milder, more gentle and fluid by comparison. 　　

"I have waited for two years, there is no way I will miss the live show tomorrow night," said Cao Jun, a fan from Beijing who has lived in Shanghai for a year. 　　

For many, Tongue is king of the underground, and it always rocks the house. 　　

Tongue sees itself as people's musicians and would prefer to sing on the streets. It sings of China today; some songs are angry and funny, jeering at the middle class and pursuit of wealth. No love songs by Tongue - they sing of sex not love. 　

Tongue was founded in 1995 in Xinjiang by young Han Chinese. They moved to Beijing in 1997. In 2004, the guitarist left and the band went through a major two-year readjustment - only now are they ready for their comeback. 　

Now the band has Wu Tun as vocal, Wu Junde on bass, Zhu Xiaolong and Zhou Shengjun on guitar, Guo Dagang on keyboard and Wu Wei on sound control. 　

Since all members are from Xinjiang and the band has been based in Beijing for 10 years, Tongue has distinctive characteristics of northern Chinese rock bands - concrete and majestic, like the vast tough terrain and rough people - very different from the delicate style and sound most bands in Shanghai go for. 　

The Chinese rock scene is commonly divided into north and south, with bands, fans and atmosphere considered quite different.

"I think the biggest difference is in audiences. In Beijing, I feel that the performers on the stage and the audiences there are all rockers. They all wear slack T-shirts with metal decorations everywhere. Audiences are very involved, they get crazy with the bands," said John Fei, a local music critic. 　

He thinks the Shanghai audiences are pretty tame. "In Shanghai, well, there are definitely crazy ones, but most audiences seem like they just got off from work." 　

In fact, Cao takes a dim view. 　　

"There is no rock scene in Shanghai," declares fan Cao who hails from Beijing but now lives in Shanghai. "The north, especially Beijing, is always the center of rock. There are so few live performances in Shanghai and they cannot be compared to the ones in Beijing at all. Most times, audiences don't move at all. I mean, they are not there to listen to opera or something. It is rock."

That's probably why many Shanghai bands simply quit and many live houses, such as Music Warehouse, disappeared. 　

"Due to the lack of a rock environment, only a few Shanghai venues are willing to hold rock shows, and then only a few performances. It's almost impossible to maintain a venue relying solely on rock shows," says Joecy Wu, marketing director for Yuyintang. 　　

In turn, it's difficult for rock bands to survive on so few performances, so they quit. And rock culture is difficult to sustain without good bands. "So the whole scene becomes a vicious circle," said Wu. 　　

Tongue vocalist Wu, a veteran rocker from the north, takes a more positive view of the Shanghai music scene. 　

"There's a clear difference between the two sides but I don't think we can say which one is better," he told Shanghai Daily in an interview. "Rock music in Beijing is often more solid, like a large piece of dough while the music in Shanghai is more liquid, flowing freely." 　

Some city rock fans, such as Wang Shubin, share his view. 　　

"Though Beijing has more rock bands, most of them are all the same while the few bands in Shanghai have very distinctive styles." 　　

Moreover, Wu also sees a promising future for the Shanghai rock scene. 　　

"I hold a positive view. In a few years, let's say five, the whole scenario will be very different. After all, Shanghai is the fastest developing city now and a strong economic foundation would definitely help the music scene." 　

However, critic Fei is skeptical. 　　

"Rapid economic development certainly would bring something to the music industry in general, but would it really do something for underground-style music? I doubt it." 　

Still, Fei welcomes Tongue to Shanghai, calling them "powerful, shocking, and impressive, especially in live performances." He attended a couple of live shows four years ago and finds their work intriguing. 　

"When Wu Tun sings, he doesn't hop like most rockers. Other band members do, they can go crazy and keep moving and jumping on the stage. But Wu Tun does not, he stands with one side to audiences and sings without moving. The sharp contrast between the vocalist and the musicians is very interesting." 　

Tongue is well known for blending performance art into their shows. The musicians once wore white robes and painted each other while singing "Painter." They are not the only ones using performance art, but they produce one of the best mixes of sight and sounds. 　

Tomorrow night at Yuyintang, there will be no luxurious designer's decorations, just a wall of pictures from Tongue's live performances. 　　

No sparkling lights and fancy stage, but a space to be rocked. 　

Tomorrow night, stick out your tongue and yell with Tongue.

(Shanghai Daily December 25, 2006)