It's been 13 years since there was a Beijing music party in Hong Kong. How much has changed in the interim. Back in 1994, when the Coliseum hosted a group of rock acts (including Tang Dynasty, China's first and most popular heavy metal band), it was a new beginning for Beijing. The rock scene was just starting to flourish and the bands came to Hong Kong as eager upstarts in the shadow of the local scene.
Fast forward to today and Tang Dynasty play together only occasionally. Wong Chi-chung - the Coliseum show's producer and a popular radio DJ at the time - is now a music critic and bar-owner. And, most strikingly, Beijing has surpassed Hong Kong to become the nation's epicentre of rock.
It's about time we had another mass invasion. This weekend, as part of a double-act dubbed the Beijing Explosion, four rock bands and two top DJs will be in town to perform. On Saturday and Sunday, laptop artists Dead J and Sulumi will play at Wong's SoHo bar PopBites, bringing with them the best of China's electronica and dub/techno - with a dash of Gameboy.
Sunday night will also be dancing time at the Fringe as bands affiliated with Beijing's Modern Sky label rock it up large: indie stalwarts New Pants and Re-TROS, fresh from a US tour that included a spot at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, will be joined by punk-rockers P.K.14 and sunny-pop artists Hedgehog.
The music scene in Beijing has never been better, says Wong. It's far more diverse than Hong Kong's and has evolved rapidly during the past decade. Wong remembers Modern Sky as a modest start-up whose founder he invited onto one of his TV shows not long after the label was set up 10 years ago. Today, the label is a commercial and musical success, with a publishing arm, its own festival and a host of sub-labels. Beijing is also coming under the international spotlight for its Midi Music Festival, an outdoor event held during four days that features more than 100 acts.
So why don't we hear more from our neighbours? 'Who would finance them?' asks Wong. 'Who would sell the records? Which media would take the lead to do that?'