Original Gypsy Kings Ignite Shanghai's Moribund Music Scene

Presenting international pop music as a form of artistic expression is a tricky proposition in China. The government’s strict censorship regime extends not just to the content of books, magazines, films and the Internet, but also to music. Hence, one of the most thankless jobs in the country is that of a concert promoter. [more here >>> ]
 
While aged balladeers like Whitney Houston, Michael Bolton, Celine Dion and Mariah Carey have had relatively little trouble gaining a license to perform concerts in China, more risqué musical offerings are frequently ‘cancelled’ some time between the concert announcement and the set date. In recent years Robbie Williams, Britney Spears, Oasis and, now, Justin Timberlake have all announced and then been unable to deliver concerts in China.
 
Of those that did perform, Elton John produced one of his most insipid shows in recent memory, Linkin Park gave an outdoor stadium gig in mid-Winter, and both Norah Jones and Diana Krall threatened to walk off stage due to repeated interruptions by mobile telephones in the crowd. Infamously, the 2006 concert in Shanghai by the Rolling Stones made headlines mostly for the set list editing imposed by government officials, which deemds four of the band’s most famous songs –Brown Sugar, Honky Tonk Woman, Beast of Burden and Let's Spend the Night Together – as too risqué to perform.
 
The licensing regime for foreign performers was noticeably tightened after a controversial March 2008 performance by Icelandic singer Bjork, during which she made reference to Tibet. Even today, online articles about the concert are blocked by the Great Firewall of China.
 
Given this backdrop, congratulations are due to the Park Hyatt Shanghai, which celebrated its first anniversary this week with a private party headlined by a rousing concert from Chico and the Gypsies, led by the founder of the Gypsy Kings, Chico Bouchikhi. Featuring all the Gypsy Kings hits from the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band presented their addictive brand of Spanish Gypsy music that fuses both Flamenco and upbeat Rumba Catalan. The response of the audience to the concert was duende – a euphoric, almost trancelike state “that spontaneously arises in the listener when he experiences a performance on a level far beyond what his ears and eyes bring to him.” Bamboleo, indeed. By Gary Bowerman