INTRO 2011: Ideas Need To Reach Out

For their third consecutive edition of the INTRO Beijing Electronic Music Festival, the Acupuncture team couldn’t have chosen a better day in terms of weather, that one variable which is always out of anyone’s control. The weather gods imparted their grace on all of Beijing’s party-goers, as INTRO kicked off in the afternoon on 21 May for two very sunny, windless days of ecstatic raving. Spirits were high and scantily clad people were numerous. Upon arriving, I gazed smilingly at some euphorically head-banging silhouettes drenched from head to toe: these people had put the fountain near the Electro stage to good use. This year – as always – the organizers had boasted that 20000 people were to gather in a 46,000 square meters area, with a total of more than 80 artists from China and abroad playing on three stages. Having changed the venue very last-minute from Tongzhou Canal Park to it’s trusted location in 751 D-Park (798 art district) to avoid the same ticketing and drinks problems reported at this year’s edition of Strawberry Festival, Acupuncture had made all preparations for a memorable 2011 edition of INTRO.

Acupuncture had notified on their website that tickets should best be purchased in advance. Ironically, or maybe logically, problems with ticketing still arose: those who were on the guest list had to validate their tickets before three in the afternoon, which meant dreadfully long queues and undoubtedly a fair amount of latecomers who couldn’t make it into the venue in time.

In spite of INTRO’s wonderfully sounding ethos of ‘ideas reaching out’, we were clearly not meant to reach out beyond the fences of 751 D-Park for booze. Leaving the premises meant having to purchase a new ticket to get back in. However, bag-checking at the main entrance was rather random, so those with a confident enough stride and nothing – except maybe a bottle of baijiu – to lose, probably had no troubles getting their drink on.

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