On Friday, Oct. 9, Chinese Football made its 13th stop of the “Occupy the Absence” North America tour at Los Angeles’ El Rey Theatre. The show was a night of moshing and head-nodding to Midwest emo and math-rock.
Coming from Wuhan, China, Chinese Football is a four-piece rock band with Xu Bo (guitar, lead vocals), Wang Bo (guitar), Li Lixin (bass, vocals) and Zheng Zili (drums). It had been two years since the band last performed in North America.
The tour’s name carries meaning beyond returning to the stage. In its Instagram post announcing the tour, the band reflected on what it means to be overlooked and left out: “We may never be the first choice. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we still don’t make it to the places we dream of reaching … If we’re not chosen, we‘ll find our own way to occupy that empty space.”
Across 13 songs, including a surprise unreleased track, Chinese Football filled the venue with movement and energy, turning its long-awaited return into a celebration of the indie rock community.
The night kicked off at 9 p.m. with opening act SUPERWORLD, a screamo and math-rock band formed by members of the bands Spy, Leer and Stickup. During a set lasting more than half an hour, the band played songs such as “Surefire,” “Eraser” and “Stag Hunt.” Their performance sparked an early mosh pit and set the stage for an even more active crowd during Chinese Football.
As the red curtains reopened, the crowd burst into screams for the first song, “Continue.,” a mellow ambient track accompanied by melodica played by the band’s frontman Xu Bo.
During their best-known song, “Electronic Girl,” the crowd entered a call-and-response cheer, “Hey!” timed to the rhythm of the guitar riffs.
Audience member Kobe Pojol, wearing an American Football T-shirt, described how he discovered Chinese Football through the popular song.
“I actually found out about this band because my sister’s friend group played the song, ‘Electronic Girl,’ in 2021 for a school performance,” Pojol said. “I love American Football, so that made me get into them. I got into emo, and that led me to listening to math-rock more.”
Chinese Football’s name pays homage to American Football, the influential American band whose music dominated the Midwest emo scene. Xu Bo adopted the name as a nod to the band he admired, reflecting the musical connection between two groups.
For concertgoer Robby Colin, that connection also speaks to the genre’s distinct guitar work.
“I’ve always been a fan of Midwest emo, like guitar playing, and I really just liked American Football, obviously those types of bands,” Colin said. “As a guitar player, it’s really interesting for me to hear it and all these different styles of playing guitar that I wasn’t really used to growing up. As a person who plays a lot of folk music.”
Pojol says that part of the appeal of indie-emo and math-rock genres lies in their unconventional sound.
“I love how emotional and how technical it is. It’s not just any ordinary kind of music. It’s like being more experimental with it,” he said.
During “Vegetative Man,” some fans crowd-surfed their way to the front of the stage. A big mosh pit allowed fans to run and thrash themselves around, adding to the energy of the performance.
Before the last chorus of “The World Splitting in Two,” the band played an instrumental break for Xu Bo to ask the crowd to divide into two sides.
“Even though we come from different countries, and we speak different languages, and we live so far away from each other, the music still brings us together,” he said. “When I count 1, 2, 3, 4, everyone will come together at once.” Xu Bo said.
As the chorus hit, the crowd rushed toward the center, dancing along to the lyrics, “世界 世界 世界 一分为二 / The world, the world, the world — split in two.”
Colin says that understanding the Mandarin lyrics of the songs wasn’t necessary to connect with the music.
“I don’t know what any of the lyrics mean if I’m being completely honest. For me, listening to the songs — it’s almost like the singing along becomes an extra instrument to me,” he said.
When Xu Bo announced that the band would play an unreleased song, the crowd erupted in excitement.
“It’s really a dream come true, and we are actually working on a new album right now,” he said, giving fans an early glimpse of upcoming music, including lyrics in English.
Listed on the tour sheet as “Unknown (New Song),” the track became an interactive moment when Xu Bo invited two audience members near the front onstage to accompany the band on drums and tambourine. As the rest of the crowd clapped along, Xu Bo whistled a rhythmic pattern and called out, “I’m the captain now, just follow me.” The two fans followed his lead, adding their percussion to the performance as the audience joined in clapping to the song’s tempo.
One fan, Susan Li, said the audience’s participation was part of what made the concert memorable.
“The show was great. I loved the vibe because everyone was so nice and into it,” she said.
With “No. 10 Jersey ~Not For Anybody~” as the final song on the set list, Xu Bo heightened the show by briefly jumping into the crowd as the song’s final chords rang out. All four members ran offstage, prompting the audience to repeatedly chant, “Encore!”
The band returned for one final song, “A Bolt from the Blue,” as everyone continued to cheer and move along to the music.
“I was really close to the mosh pit, so were all my friends, and I loved the music, the lighting, and I loved everyone,” Li said. “I think it’s because everyone was so hyped up that it was a cool experience.”
After the final song, Xu Bo said one last time: “We are Chinese Football.” The band took their bows and posed for a photograph with the audience. As the curtains began to close, drummer Zheng Zili tossed her drumsticks into the crowd for fans to catch, bringing the night to an end.
Edited by Justin Ha