Still, it's a struggle. Despite the profusion of outrageous bands and ardent followers, the mainland sound is mostly confined to the fringes, as musicians struggle against piracy, pitiful contracts and royalties, not to mention the ongoing grumpiness from Beijing, which keeps turning down the volume. Raw, loud, reverberating with feedback. Almost primal, like early The Who. The crowd feels it, too.
Limbs begin twitching as the band tickles that spinal tap.
To an experienced ear, the music sounds tuneless, truly amateurish. That doesn't register with euphoric fans. After all, this is their generation. Four decades after conquering the rest of the world, rock is finally rolling across China. You hear it around college campuses and in a growing number of smoke-filled venues, like Friend's Live Club in Beijing, where tonight's bill is as eclectic as the local rock scene.