Photos by DALI, 李樂為, 胡小傑 , Yan Cong, 秀才, 楊煖, Miya Shen, 楊槍槍 , HYC, Louis, Voque Ting Co. Ltd. and Archie Hamilton.
No, I won't ask where you run
Under the sun
- DIIV
第三年，在十年不斷努力後，我們終於讓音樂節來到了第三年。這感覺妙不可言。
We made it to three.
After a decade of trying, we made it to three. And it felt great.
相較於去年，2017混凝草算得上「順風順水」；明媚的陽光、鑲著金邊的雲彩、溫潤的微風和帶著青草味的潔淨空氣…...所有這些條件都為兩天超過60組的藝人閃耀五個舞臺鋪平了道路。
In contrast to last year, everything in 2017 conspired the right way. Two days of balmy sunshine, little fluffy clouds and green AQI markers paved the way for 66 artists to sparkle across 5 stages.
炙熱——不是溫度，而是場內的氛圍——是我們對這個周末最直觀的感受！我們在2016已經能感受到場地內四處湧動的能量，而2017的兩天則把這一切都推上了新高度。無論是壓軸的RADWIMPS，DIIV抑或是在兵馬司十周年之際，以原始陣容首次表演整張處女專輯的Carsick Cars都吸引了巨大的人群。這不禁讓我們更加確信自己的初衷與堅持；我們珍視的音樂值得我們不懈的支持。儘管在市場上受到同質化電音音樂節的夾擊，2017的混凝草仍證明了，一個以人為本、以音樂為核心的音樂節始終會擁有市場以及不斷增長的熱情觀眾群體。
The vibe across the two days was next level. We felt the energy crackle in 2016, but 2017 took things up a notch. Huge crowds for RADWIMPS, DIIV, and the virtual homecoming for Carsick Cars, playing their first album in full and for the first time in six years with the original lineup, felt like a validation for sticking to our guns, and supporting music that we think is important. Despite being sandwiched between Ultra on one side and Storm on the other, Concrete & Grass 2017 showed that there is a growing (and hugely passionate) audience for a festival that just cares about the music and puts the people first.
嘻哈、夢幻流行樂、日本搖滾、後朋、斯卡、吉普賽朋克、硬核、金屬核、黑金屬、自賞以及Ho99o9和Kero Kero Bonito這樣無法用單獨標籤定義的前衛/可愛之聲；2017混凝草陣容在深度與廣度上再次得以拓展。而其中最為美妙之處則在於，藝人們各自的精彩表演在用心安排下得到了相互輝映的效果。當「大佬」Mumdance接過Container的接力棒，「無縫連接」引爆Yurt；當Gacharic Spin以色彩統一的制服、完美配合的舞步和瘋狂的琴藝震驚那些已經被Soil & 「Pimp」 Sessions徵服的早早入場的觀眾；音樂節區別於一般演出的樂趣在這些時刻便不言而喻。另外，說起打頭陣的Soil & 「Pimp」 Sessions，我們有一條專業的建議：來看混凝草一定要早早到，不然你百分之百會錯過精彩！
We had hip-hop, dream pop, j-rock, post-punk, ska-punk, gypsy freak punk, hardcore, metalcore, black metal, shoegaze and whatever label fits the glorious sounds that ho99o9 and Kero Kero Bonito were making.
And the beautiful thing was, every single artist brought the heat. Whether it was Mumdance bursting the seams of the Yurt after Container handed him a red-hot baton, or Gacharic Spin’s color co-ordinated freak out after Soil & 「Pimp」 blew the minds of the early risers. Pro tip: Get to this festival early people, or you will 100% guaranteed miss out.
2017的Jimboomba舞臺煥然新生。這個民謠草坪舞臺以及周邊的休閒區域在經過我們來自角市的好友們的精心裝飾後別有一番趣味，——純手制工藝品，抖空竹，踩高蹺雜耍，音樂與表演；再加上不遠處已經連續三年收穫大朋友小朋友讚譽的「熊孩子樂園」——草地上處處都洋溢著歡樂的氣氛。今年的「熊孩子樂園」被MusicLab的辛勤員工們打理得井井有條：音樂工坊，運動嘉年華和各色表演無不讓小朋友樂翻了天。當然，喜歡戶外活動的朋友們也過足了癮！我們的老朋友寧波翼鯤體育連續第三年將極限飛盤帶到了現場，讓無論是新手抑或是專業玩家都在混凝草找到了屬於自己的運動樂趣。此外，陽光之家的再度光臨與他們惹眼的腰鼓表演，以及我們的秘密壓軸藝人——來自靜安的山鷹西洋口琴樂團和他們暖暖沁人心的四重奏；這個小小的角落今年見證了太多太多的精彩與驚喜，儼然成為音樂節中的一處桃花源。因此，我們計劃在2018年將它做得更大、更新奇。
Our Jimboomba corner took on new life in 2017. Our friends from JamMart set up around our little folk stage and beauty was all around – artisanal handicrafts, diabolo, stilt walkers, music and performances – plus the 3rd round of our We Are Cubs kids area. Managed by the indefatigable crew from Musiclab, there were music workshops, sports carnivals and performances for all your little ones. And of course the third year of our Ultimate Frisbee action, lovingly curated by Ningbo’s Yikun Sports again. We had the return of the Sunshine Home, for their annual drum circle, plus the harmonious mouth organs of the Jing-An Harmonica quartet (the festival’s secret headliners). Watch this space – Jimboomba has taken its place as a serious player this year, and we plan to build it bigger and weirder in 2018.
左舞臺在周六晚上迎來了一些混凝草迄今為止最重型的音樂；本土英雄Chaos Mind帶來的兇狠演出充分為上海硬核正名，而國內金屬翹楚Zuriaake則以萬眾期待的回歸彌補了2016暴雨帶來的遺憾；如果2017的陣容表露出了任何徵兆，那就是：在第二年請回上一年的藝人似乎將成為某種不幸的規律……
Stage Left and Thunderdome played host to some of the heaviest music the 『Grass has ever seen on the Saturday, with local heroes Chaos Mind throwing it down for Shanghai hardcore, and Zuriaake back for a second year after the rain in 2016 cut them short. If 2017 is any indication, it looks like bringing back artists in subsequent years will become an unfortunate habit.
周日左舞臺的演出可謂獨立搖滾粉絲的終極盛宴，——Motorama > David Boring > Ringo Deathstarr > cero > TOY > downy > DIIV—— 這樣的陣容與編排讓獨立擁躉們得以大飽眼福，紛紛選擇直接在左舞臺「安營紮寨」。在將心愛樂隊一網打盡的間隙，粉絲們也並沒閒著；一些酷愛新鮮事物的弄潮兒（繼去年又一次）體驗了Stary電動滑板的瘋狂；而那些熱愛「寧靜與平和」的傢伙們則選擇癱倒在野格王座上，暢飲幾杯冰鎮野格利口酒以「舒緩」左舞臺的狂躁。
Sunday brought the ultimate lineup for fans of what we call 「Fanmucore」. Motorama > David Boring > Ringo Deathstarr > cero > Toy >downy > DIIV. What can we say – there were a LOT of people for that little run, and they were richly rewarded. The other attractions in Thunderdome this year came from our friends at Stary, who brought the electric skateboard madness for a second time, and Jagermeister who helped lubricate the Left crazies.
目光轉向投射我們夢想的「夢幻之地」，這裡的躁動從周六中午到周日晚間也都不曾停息。無解空間見證了Tkay Maidza的大殺四方，Howie Lee的乖張鬼馬，Kero Kero Bonito的無邪笑容以及Ho99o9的出離憤怒；與此同時，Yurt舞臺則是自Dalong開始至Steven Julien結束，都散發出一派令人沉迷的「Feel Good Inc」式的氣息。在此由衷感謝出色的NTS團隊，是他們為我們策劃了一個絕妙的周日並將它用Podcast直播給了全世界觀眾。
Our beloved Field of Dreams was bumping from Saturday early to Sunday late. The Wooozy Dimension saw Tkay slay, Howie warp, Kero smile, and ho99o9 explode while the Yurt was Feel Good Inc from the moment Dalong started to the moment Steven Julien finished. A big thanks to the awesome NTS for both curating such a fantastic Sunday, and for broadcasting it to the world.
我們很慶幸一切呈現結果都如此美好，但一場音樂節沒有一點點波折似乎也算不上完整。受制於諸多現實境況，參演陣容50%以上為國際藝人的混凝草有時就像一個不可能完成的任務。為了不辜負大家的厚愛，我們用盡了渾身解數；我們的藝人統籌團隊起早貪黑，甚至時不時要在辦公室過夜，只為確保每一個參演人員都能以正確、合規的方式踏上混凝草這一方地。我們在過往從未停止過嘗試，而未來也將不輟推動邊界，為你們帶來我們能做到的最好的音樂節。在此，我們要再次向未能出演樂隊的樂迷們真誠地說一聲抱歉；我們正在努力想辦法讓這些藝人在2018年回歸，希望屆時你們也能再次加入我們。
Of course, it wouldn’t be a festival without the odd wrinkle. Our team worked all hours of the day and night (even sleeping in the office on occasion) to make sure that every single artist was in China the right way. But the reality is that a festival with over 50% international artists is almost an impossibility in this day and age. But we have tried and we will continue to try to push boundaries and bring you the best festival that we possibly can. We are incredibly sorry to all the fans of the artists that were unable to play. We are working to find ways for them to join us in 2018. We hope you will too.
此時此刻，我們有太多的謝意想要對無與倫比的合作夥伴們表達。致Clarence，你是真正的Rock』n』Roll Hero；致何軍，謝謝你促成了這幢美事；致吳歡和你的團隊，感謝你們10年來所有的辛勤付出；致拳擊貓還有Lee，感謝你們的言出必行（與美酒佳釀）；致楊大慶及團隊，今年的酒吧運營還是一如既往得出色；致李湛和最Real的Real Live團隊，是你們讓今年的舞臺聲光效果比以往都更加出色；致Star，謝謝你們今年貢獻的全新「Orbit」回聲舞臺；致我們美妙的場地團隊，謝謝你們不盡的耐心和出色的草坪；致我們所有的舞臺經理、後臺經理、樂隊接待工作人員以及無與倫比的Hands on Shanghai志願者們，謝謝你們的無私付出；致Kick the Gong Around，Eddie和Carlos/Sasha二人組，是你們讓一切都看上去那樣別致、美麗；致張弦和視頻錄製團隊、樂視音樂團隊，謝謝你們今年繼續來轉播音樂節；致曹磊，你提供的網絡是所有人工作的基礎；致所有攝影師、攝像師們，2017混凝草的記憶因你們而得以永久封存；致我們最棒的食品攤主們，你們給了音樂節個性與特點；致Shalanaya，感謝你們的穹頂裝置和一個周末的辛勤工作；致Akenz，是你們讓我們收穫更多青年街頭文化的認同；致Katy和高嘉豐以及Shaving in the Dark團體，你們讓混凝草保持了應有的獵奇態度；致大麥，感謝你們這三年來的一切；致我們Split Works開功團隊，你們對音樂節項目和音樂的巨大熱忱每年都讓我們深深驚嘆。
It just leaves us to say a massive thanks to all of our wonderful partners. To our friend Clarence (a real 『Rock』n』roll Hero』) for all the help. To He Jun the dealmaker. To Boxing Cat and Lee, who put their money (and delicious beer) where their mouths were (and to Kaiba and Goose Island for upping the ante), to Eddy Yang and team for keeping the bars all running smoothly, to Brad and all the Realest of Live crews who made this year sound and look better than ever before, to Star for their new and massive Orbit Echo Stage, to our wonderful venue for their unending patience and wonderful grass, to our stage managers, to Leon Wu and crew for all the heavy lifting 10 years running, and to our band handlers and our amazing volunteers from Hands on Shanghai. To the local army and police and security dudes who helped it all happen smoothly (and with a smile), to Kick the Gong Around, Eddie and the Carlos / Sasha axis who made it all so pretty, to Sophia and our IMAG team and to Le Music for sticking around to broadcast it all again, to Cao Lei for the internet, to the photographers and videographers that make sure that 2017 will live forever, to all of our wonderful food vendors –you guys make our festival what it is – to Shalanaya who built that awesome dome and worked it all weekend, to Akenz for upping our street cred, to Katy and Gao Jiafeng and the Shaving in the Dark posse for keeping the 『Grass weird. To Damai for the last 3 years. To our Split Works team – you guys amaze us every year with your passion for this project and for the music.
最後的最後，致我們的樂迷們，我們的Concrete Kids，你們就是這場音樂節的全部，這場音樂節等同於你們。
And finally, to our fans. Our Concrete Kids. You are this festival, this festival is you.
所有到場的人們，引用Thurston Moore, DIIV和Warrior King的話送給你們:
To everyone who came, in the words of Thurston Moore, DIIV and Warrior King:
「Peace and love.」
xoxo,
Concrete & Grass