Heading into last Sunday's JZ Music Festival finale, there was much hype around the blogosphere concerning the appearance of Chinese legend Cui Jian; not only was Cui considered a "pending" artist up until show time, but his first Shanghai appearance was years in the making, building serious anticipation and expectation in the audience.

Regardless, China's "Godfather of Rock" promptly took the stage at 7pm and blasted through an impressive hour-long set of his eclectic rock, expanding the genre's barriers with heavy use of folk, jazz, fusion and electronic elements.

The folks at JZ were certainly counting on Cui Jian to come through in the clutch, expecting that a performance by China's most famous rocker would warrant the expanded festival format, which saw JZ for the first time offering up their stage to rock bands.

While there were no contemporary hip-kid bands to be found on the bill, Cui Jian certainly demonstrated why he is the country's leading rock and roll figure. But calling Cui Jian rock would be like calling Alice Cooper shock, when in fact he is much more than that.

Incorporating the heavy thunder of the Chinese traditional da gu, as well as ample blast from his saxophone player, solid licks from his side axe-man and a video montage of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Mao and other noteworthy communists, Cui Jian's arrangements were tight and impressive, and the execution of the set was no doubt worthy of the big-stage pomp and hoopla.

Assisted by his more-than capable band, Cui Jian sang and rapped his way through the set, marked by his signature, scratchy vocals and sparse, crunchy chord riffs. The tunes, though not the most melodic, carried enough weight and breadth to force thousands to their feet, many jumping and screaming like it was 1989 all over again.

Nearing the end, the set reached a critical peak, when members of JZ's big band joined Cui on stage, offering skilled interplay in the form of a series of horn solos, which added a serious layer of orchestration and depth to an already-excellent performance.

While the JZ Music Festival on the whole was organized with excellent tact and discretion, this set by China's leading rock figure certainly demonstrates the ability to marry genres in the future. Hopefully the folks at JZ will aim to at least repeat this year's event, perhaps even going bigger and badder next year.

Either way, you hear it first: this festival is one of the few worthwhile reasons to go to Pudong and next year's installment is not to be missed.

photo courtesy of Rock in China