HANOI - The Vietnam War-era had a true rock 'n roll soundtrack, but while
images of olive Huey helicopters descending to Jimi Hendrix's riff on All Along
the Watchtower symbolized American angst for a generation, today's Hanoi sees
Vietnam's young generation making the genre very much their own.
A recent rock concert in the capital attracted 1,600 fans and, unusually, half
were Vietnamese. Although headlined by Australian band Regurgitator - one of
the very first international acts for Hanoi - the star appeal of some of the
country's up-and-coming rock groups was symbolic of the social change rocking
the communist capital.
Ticket prices were set at a very low 30,000 dong (US$1.80), thanks to
sponsorship from Tiger Beer and the Australian
Chamber of Commerce. "We wanted it to be accessible," Andrew Lamont of Tiger
Beer told Inter Press Service. The October 12 gig was put together by the Club
for Art and Music Appreciation (CAMA), an expatriate group that organizes music
events in Hanoi.
The presence of respected homegrown bands such as Ngu Cung and Holy Red Cross
was as much, if not more, of a drawcard as the Australian band. Ngu Cung won
Tiger Beer's countrywide "Rock Your Passion" band competition at the beginning
of this year, earning the honor of supporting US rockers My Chemical Romance
during their one-off concert in Ho Chi Minh City, which traditionally has
hosted larger events than its northern sibling. Holy Red Cross were runners up.
This, coupled with a number of other large-scale events this year, such as
Artport held in early August, is seen by some as progress for Hanoi's live rock
scene, which has long remained an underground phenomenon in a country where pop
music, techno and karaoke have ruled.
"Regurgitator were a new band and a new style for them," Giles Cooper said
after the concert. "[Though] I think many of them only came to see Ngu Cung."
Many among the crowd were seen sporting black Ngu Cung t-shirts.
"There are a lot of activities in town now. Big companies have money for
sponsorship," said Bui Thanh Ha, the commercially-minded manager of Ngu Cung.
"It's developed a lot, the quality of bands has improved; they are sponsored by
brands. Though a love of rock doesn't depend on economic factors," he was quick
to add.
This is true. Vietnam's rapid economic growth has led to rapid social change in
some quarters. Youth activities and interests, from flamboyantly decorated
bicycles, to hip hop and even kissing in public, are often ascribed to the
"Westernization" that comes with more money and big brands. But the rock scene
in Hanoi has history.
Initially banned in 1975 after reunification, rock music gained a toehold post-doi
moi (renovation) in 1986, when the government opened the
centrally-planned economy to market forces. Though the economy shifted quickly,
day-to-day life remained largely traditional.
"After 1975 rock 'n roll was considered a type of music that encouraged
negativity. They thought it made you crazy, insane, a freak, that it would
destroy the order of society," the former drummer of Vo Anh Tuan said via
phone.
Now a salary man, Tuan once played for the legendary rock outfit The Wall,
leaving in 1999 after becoming disillusioned with the more commercial direction
the band was taking. His drumming idol is Ian Paice of Deep Purple.
The burgeoning scene quickly ran into difficulties. Around 1993 there was a
clampdown after an event marking the anniversary of ex-Beatle John Lennon's
death held at central Hoan Kiem Lake went awry, when the audience clashed with
police.
"Newspapers wrote bad things about those events. The headline was, 'Let's Say
No to Rock!'. Everything to do with rock in Hanoi was given a hard time," said
Pham Ngoc Quan, 30, lead singer in a local death metal band. "But nobody forced
any of the rock cafes to close."
Hanoi's rock scene has largely remained within those cafes, which are often
little more than bare rooms with some scattered wooden stools and tattered
posters of still-popular idols like Ozzie Osbourne and Jimi Hendrix - music
from the Vietnam War-era remains steadfastly popular among musicians in Hanoi.
"There's always been this latent sense that the students are gonna
revolutionize everything, but it never happened," said Cooper, a corporate
lawyer who's lived in Hanoi nine years. "Live music hasn't really developed in
a decade. Now maybe it has a bit, because Tiger is pushing things."
Though the scene may have stayed small and often informal, greater freedom has
been granted. According to Tuan, "Ten years before you needed a lot of
permission for a performance. Now the authorities are more open."
Hanoi's musical censorship has extended beyond rock. Trinh Cong Son
(1939-2001), a singer and songwriter often referred to as Vietnam's Bob Dylan,
spent four years in a re-education camp post-1975. Since death he has been
honored by the authorities and his music lives on in Hanoi's quieter music
cafes.
Though permission from authorities is still important, Regurgitator were,
inexplicably, not required to submit their lyrics for prior approval. "I'm
really surprised there was no censorship," said guitarist and vocalist Quan
Yeomans, whose mother is originally from Hanoi, "we've heard stories about
government shutdowns."
"All song lyrics have been approved. A big program needs approval," said Ngu
Cung's manager Ha. When asked whether the strong corporate backing that keeps
the band so busy might create its own form of censorship, he paused and said,
"They invite us [to play] because they love our music. They put their logos up
and we do what we want."
Ngu Cung does not play in Hanoi's grimy rock clubs; they're strictly a
large-event band.
This was evident during their polished performance. The smoky, do-it-yourself
atmosphere of clubs such as Heresy, which are furnished with simple wooden
stools are a world away from Ngu Cung's dramatic rock star act, with wailing,
multi-octave vocals, smoke machines and the occasional very long drum solo.
The young crowd, all in black pants and shirts with band logos or Che Guevara
screen prints, went wild, thrashing and cheering at the foot of the stage.
Reguritator received a similarly rapturous response from the crowd, though many
had never heard of them.
"I think it was really good," said Trang, 20, after the concert, as she and her
friend passed a beer back and forth. "I never heard of Regurgitator before but
I enjoyed it. I like Ngu Cung a lot."
"It was really great, amazing, really fun," said Regurgitator's bassist and
vocalist Ben Ely after coming off stage and being greeted by a new legion of
fans eager for photos and autographs.
"I think it's a very good beginning if they keep inviting great bands like
Regurgitator from overseas. If that happens we'll see a big change for
Vietnamese bands. Meanwhile there's a little bit of Vietnamese music," said a
smiling Quan as the young crowd quickly cleared out to beat the police-enforced
curfew time.
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