Never (sort of) mind the bollocks!

By H.C. | HANOI

IN DECEMBER the Okamotos, an up-and-coming Japanese band, played in Hanoi along with two other Japanese bands and a couple of local acts. The week before an American-Khmer band called Dengue Fever performed in Hanoi to a mostly expat crowd. These are not stadium rockers, but they are a sign of a growing live-music scene in Vietnam.

The country has been hosting the odd big-name act for years, such as Bob Dylan and the Backstreet Boys (no points for guessing which one local kids cared more about). But most of the foreign acts coming to the country remain a grab-bag of smaller, interesting acts, coaxed over by passionate expats. The Club for Arts and Music Appreciation (C.A.M.A) has been responsible for luring many of these acts to Hanoi, including performances by GirlTalk, Ratatat and an Australian band called Regurgitator. K-pop, or Korean pop music, also enjoys a robust following in Vietnam, where boy bands like the makeup-wearing SuperJunior are ludicrously popular, as are Korean soaps and fashions. SuperJunior and a band called 2AM both performed in Hanoi in 2011 to legions of screaming fans. But turning the city into a stop on international-music tours has been a slow process.

Organisers of these events complain of the red tape, poor equipment, few venues and the potential for Communist government suppression. All acts coming to Vietnam are required to submit song lyrics to be vetted by government censors. When Mr Dylan failed to play "Blowin' in the Wind" in Vietnam and China, some human-rights organisations attacked him for allegedly bowing to government pressure (though he often forgoes the song at concerts). Yet according to the company that organised the concert, called 365 Days, more than 100 of Mr Dylan's songs were submitted for vetting and none was refused. He even opened his April 2011 show with a few of his Christian songs, while simultaneously in Saigon Luis Palao, an Argentine-American evangelist, filled a stadium with thousands of faithful (though Mr Palao was later prevented from taking his Easter festival to Hanoi). As it happens, the band Regurgitator never had to submit lyrics before their concert in Hanoi, meaning local youth could be heard chiming in to choruses such as "I sucked a lotta cock to get where I am".

With MTV now broadcasting in Vietnamese and a young population now connected to the internet, there is growing demand to see the bands they already listen to. The occasional music festival travels the length of the country, playing to enthusiastic audiences in smaller provincial cities such as Hai Phong or Nha Trang. New, sleeker venues have opened in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in the past year, such as Rock Fan Club in Saigon and Hanoi Rock City in the capital. Bands and rock clubs in Saigon receive support from liquor companies. Coors Light is often given away for free at concerts, and Jagermeister has sponsored the heavy-metal band Black Infinity. (Heavy metal has long been a strangely popular stalwart across South-East Asia, and Vietnam is no exception.)

These are early days, but many music fans are grateful that Vietnam is no longer stuck in a time when the band Air Supply was the only foreign act to visit.