Cui Jian, the "godfather of Chinese rock and roll," performs at his solo concert in Beijing Workers' Stadium on Saturday, January 5, 2008.

Chinese veteran rock and roll singer Cui Jian brought his solo concert, "Night of an Era," to Beijing Workers' Stadium Saturday night. It was the first solo concert in Beijing this year.

Web site sina.com.cn reported that it was in Workers' Stadium in 1986 that Cui Jian sang his classic "Nothing to My Name" in public for the first time. The song drove his initial success, indicating the emergence of Chinese rock music.

Known as the "godfather of Chinese rock and roll," Cui Jian described Western rock music as a flood; Chinese rock music, as a knife. He believed that the enthusiasm of fans would eventually turn Chinese rock and roll into a flood.

With dozens of classic songs popular among fans, Cui Jian's performance turned the Workers' Stadium into a huge Karaoke hall. Thousands of audiences sang with him for almost every song, especially the powerful "Like a Knife" and the following "Fake Monk".

This concert brought new elements from the musician. Besides "It Is Not that I Don't See," combining rock music with dancing choreographed by Cui Jian himself, the audience was treated to "Blue Bones," a song that Cui Jian had never before performed in public.

Cui Jian explained that the color blue stands for wisdom and freedom, like the blue sky. He expressed hope that everyone will have more wisdom and more freedom in the 2008.

Cui Jian's friend Jiang Wen, director of "The Sun Also Rises," attended the concert to celebrate his birthday. Jiang received a special present from Cui Jian, a song for him and his daughter.

(CRI January 7, 2008)