-
May
9thMIDI 2013: Anywhere, Anytime, Thanks for the Rock n Roll
Ah.. so, despite the temptations of XTX at Strawberry, yours truly couldn’t resist the call of rock n roll! I just had to get me my MIDI May Day fix, no matter how far I had to go. And to be honest with you, 60km is actually not that far. The biggest problem with it was dealing with shitty ass traffic as all license plate restrictions are lifter during official holidays. but.. let’s not get ahead of ourselves.. and start from the beginning! The location: China Music Valley was impressive! As much as I enjoyed the Shunyi Olympic Park, this place was 10 times better! The festival was set in a valley surrounded by mountains with beautiful blue skies prevailing for the days I was there. I’m glad I went because I’m now thinking of heading back there sooner or later for a little break and even maybe some ski action. Getting there was relatively smooth using MIDI shuttles but it did take a looooooooonnnnng freaking time. On Monday, for day 1, it took slightly over 3,5 hours to make the trek with traffic backed up beyond belief. Tuesday was a bit better at 2,5 hours but still a long journey. Getting back was a heck of a lot faster as we were back in town within the hour. The Facilities: True to form, MIDI was a good old party: plenty of grass, lots of vendors peddling their wares, cheapish drinks and water, short lines and good times. The official [...]
-
Mar
20thDragon in the Rear View: Memorable Performances of 2012
Note: Better late than never: I started writing this in January 2013… finally getting it out. I’ve finally got a bit of time to sit down and try to look back at 2012.. gigs, festivals, craps and mishaps. It’s been a long year really and probably the one with the lowest output on ‘daze as I changed jobs, opened a bar and saw my free time reduced to zero. Still, rock n roll was there and there in numbers. I made the gigs, listened to the songs and spent my evenings/nights with my underground brothers. How did it all pan out? It was a strange year really with a lot of bands reuniting and or coming out with long overdue records. Here’s looking at you Zhang Wei Wei and Brain Failure just to name a few. Still, more so than many years before, this one belonged to the young guns. But we’ll get to the records at some other points. Let’s first look at the most memorable performances of the Dragon year: NOTE: This is in NO particular order!!! – Miserable Faith @ MIDI I never got around to writing a review about this particular one but i’ll probably never ever ever forget it. Picture yourself in an outdoor festival, 10000 people standing in front of the main stage for the final performance of a 3 day musical onslaught and they’re singing in unison all of the band’s songs before the band even came onstage. for 30 good minutes, the [...]
-
Sep
14thQuickslants: Grunge Nights, No Fillers, Sand and CoversChange: All Events at 2 Kolegas cancelled til 9/18 due to tense situation with nearby Japanese Embassy IT’s already been a week? Time flies when when you’re waiting for music and there is a shitload of it in town over the next few days. Ruby’s has already been out and about catching Zhaozhe, her “potential” gig of 2012, but the real action starts tonight with a shitload of goodies. We’re even treated so some pretty sweet sunday choices. Let’s dig in: Friday September 14 Music Day @ Tango: Reflector headlines this night eclectic music at yonghegong which has Escape Plan (former Perdel), Residence A, Namo and Dude. Arguably some of the most popular and fun bands in the city right now, they’re sure to draw one hell of an audience at Tango… I hope so because the place feels like a cave when empty. Lao Liu & Sand @ Jianghu An old favorite stops by Jianghu as it gets closer to closing its doors. Lao Liu still one of the better bluesmen of the capital and has a loyal following. Cool little chill gig to warm your heart as temperature take a dip. Cover Night @ Yugong Yishan Here is a gig that has some great potential if done right and the bands get out of their comfort zone: Not There, Army of Jade Kirin, Velvet Highway, The Gray and Longjin are set to cover some of their idols. I can definitely see AJK doing Marylin Manson but the tricky [...]
-
Aug
31stQuickslants: Darwin Backfires, Maybe Mars Grows, Yang Meng Returns and moreExciting little weekend ahead folks with some genuinely interesting gigs planned over the course of the next 3 days. As much as last weekend was a little blah, this one is pretty darn solid with some hard decisions to make, especially looking at Friday and saturday. My gig of the week goes to the Bad Mamasan EP release without a doubt but i would have loved to checkout some of the bands at YGYS the same night. oh well, can’t have it all. Friday August 31 Li Dong @ Blue Stream The Ningxia folksters and good daze friends venture into the western side of the city to Blue Stream bar promoting their album and new line of T-shirts. It’s always fun to have the guys singing in a smaller intimate venue like this and maybe a nice opportunity to enjoy their rooftop while you can’t see the pollution outside. Yang Meng @ jianghu Yang laoshi returns from a long long trip home and mini tour of southern China in support of his solo album: The Sun City Diaries. If you’ve heard ChunQiu play their acoustic sets, then you know what to expect! He has a beautiful voice and is a joy to listen to! It’s also an opportunity to get back to Jianghu and enjoy it with old friends as the venue’s days are numbered. Definitely a good option on this Friday. Young Young Young @ Mao Live A good solid lineup of young bands making their mark in the [...]
-
Aug
28thThe Beijinger Showcase Delivers on Good Times, Beer and some MusicSo last year at some point, the Beijinger managing editor promised a New Music Showcase and the team set out to deliver. The result was called “The Beijinger New Music Showcase” that took place last week over at 2 Kolegas… The promise was for the audience to discover new music, drink a lot of beer ( free flow from 4:00 to 11:00pm included Slow Boat, Vedett, Tiger and Budweiser) and have one hell of a party. I got there a little late on the day so I missed the first few bands that went on, namely Not There and Pacololo but I did manage to catch Residence A, Stiletto, Elephant Fresh,Ronnie’s Will, Bad Mamasan, the new SUBS and the Amazing Insurance Salesmen.. That is a decent lineup worth the admission price , especially at RMB100 ( btw, full disclosure, I didn’t pay to get into this gig). I was excited to actually catch some band I hadn’t seen before along with some sure values. Granted, the only really new band in the fold was Stiletto but we’ll deal with that later. Residence A was on as i got there putting on a performance like only they can do. The played most of their usual songs but also had some new material that sounds a bit different, mellower than their early efforts. They had the crowd jumping throughout most of their set and the excitement boiled up with some moron pouring his beer over Zhao Zhao whom managed to not miss [...]
-
Aug
10thPunks, 16min, Dialects, Releases and other tidbitsIt’s nice to have time to ramble on again… been way too busy around here for the last few weeks. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that tomorrow, Saturday August 11th, is the mother of Punk Reunion/Charity shows at 2 kolegas. Everyone has been pitching in and helping out, online and offilne, to make this particular gig a success. Check out this interview of Dave O’Dell over at Shanghai 24/7, this little feature on The World of Chinese by Liz Tung on some of the original Punks of Beijing and let’s not forget Pangbianr sitting down with Jerry Chan. I’m hoping the event rocks and rain doesn’t fuck things up. Our favorite boot boys are heading overseas!! Misandao is booked to play Germany plenty of European dates folks so if you’re a Germany based blog reader, please try and catch them. This is really the year of China in Germany as their dates pretty much comes on the heels of Chinese bands at Wacken. check full schedule here: http://misandao.blogspot.com Sticking with Punks, there’s a lot of chatter about some interesting lineup changes coming up for one of our favorite bands here over at ‘daze. Keep your eyes peeled on this space or make it to the Beijinger’s music showcase next week for a taste of SUBS v.2012 Things might get interesting. I’d love to say more but I’d rather tease, it’s just more fun that way. I managed to catch 16 min yesterday at Temple and came [...]
-
Jun
28thQuickslants: Reggae Parties, Old School Rock, Throat Madam and morerecovered yet folks? I think yesterday’s little gig at 2 kolegas was my Hair of the Dog… Full of energy, ready to get back in the ring and dish out/take another swing. So, what’s up over the next few days? A heck of a lot! Of course, Football is still reigning supreme and determining what happens with Beijing Nightlife but Music is holding its ground and there’s some really intriguing stuff taking place. Let’s kick it! Thursday June 28th Make up Night @ Mao Live One of the most interesting events I’ve seen listed at Mao Livehouse in a long time. Gloomy Hymn of Darkness, Tenger Cavalry and other heavy bands come together to celebrate the inner freaks in each of us. I can’t figure out what Mao is doing with it in terms of charges but it looks like there’s some discounts for couples and folks are definitely encouraged to dress up. I’d be very excited to check out Tenger Cavalry that I referred to a few months ago. It’s looking like this previously-one-man-show is now a full fledged band specializing in melodic pagan metal. me likey!! Friday June 29th Ningxia Night @ 2 Kolegas do i really need to write more? Ningxia bands, Ningxia Friends, Ningxia Noodles and a heck of a lot of good times await those that make it to the drive-in. This particular edition features Buyi, Wu & The Side Effects, Whai and Lidong who might be pulling double duty friday night. Old School Rock [...]
-
Apr
24thCui Jian added to MIDI, New Records from Hedgehog, Nova Heart, Mamer, LiDong, Bad Mamasan and moreSome random news coming around today.. The reclusive Zhang Chu,originally scheduled to headline MIDI day 1 on April 29, has some emergency. None other than Cui Jian, the godfather of Chinese rock, is replacing him on the bill! That’s a pretty good deal in my book! Granted, it might increase the security concerns in Shunyi. On the new release front, there is a shitload coming up: Hedgehog has a new one out already but the official Beijing release will be in June. Sun Fun Gun is hailed so far as a return to the source for the trio… I’m still taking it for a spin so expect a review sometime soon on the site. Nova Heart, fresh from touring around the world, is putting out their first EP this Friday at Yugong Yishan. I’m gonna see if i can actually get my hands on it beforehand because i’m really curious! I’ve heard them plenty of times and it’s always been different! How will the recording fare without the captivating presence of Helen? I’ve covered Mamer in a post not too long ago and I hear from Ruby that at least one of his new records is already available at C Rock. We’ve covered Lidong for years on the blog and been hoping that they’d get those demos packaged for a final release… it’s done baby! Li Xia and the gang have put the final touches on it and we’re looking at May 19th as the date this baby will be [...]
-
Mar
29thQuickslants: Hellcats, Mantas, Metal Battles, Sound of the Xity and moreThis end of March/beginning of April period is kicking ass, taking names… And there’s no escaping it baby! These quickslants basically carry over into next week thanks to the ballsy folks from Sex in the Xity who have pretty much taken over Beijing from April 1-3 with shows all over the freaking city spawning all genres! C There’s a lot to get to so let’s get started without any further delays: Thursday March 29 Dong Chorus @ Jianghu I went out of my way to catch these guys last Thursday. They didn’t disappoint! beautiful harmonies, really interesting outfits and just all around special. I’d see them again. Be warned though that even though they might announce Wu Hongfei on the bill, she doesn’t play. I actually got quite ticked off about that at 2K but what the post. Still, worth checking. Friday March 30 Hellcats/Mantas/Beatles @ 2Kolegas Put on you dancing shoes an come on over baby… The hellcats will be swinging it, The Flying Mantas with surf things up and might show you a couple of surprises. The Beijing Beatles can take care of the fab side… This is an early candidate for gig of the freaking year and I expect to see 2 Kolegas hopping til the wee hours of the morning. Christmas, purveyors of idiotic rock, also on the bill. gonna be an interesting one. Saturday March 31 Mademoiselle @ Modernista Yes, spring is back and so are the lovely tunes of one Marie Claude Lebel. The [...]
-
Mar
14thGig Review Roundup: AIS, Bad Mamasan, Jacky Danny, Abominati, Me Too and moreToo many shows over the past week and not enough time to review them individually. Nevertheless, there is much to be said about each: Longjing @ Temple (March 7) I stopped by Temple thinking it would be an off night but turns out reggae outfit, Longjin, was playing. These guys have been touring China a lot lately, probably capitalizing on the reggae wave which i’m sure is just starting. Musically, they didn’t do too bad. I was less than impressed by the performance of frontwoman, Feifei! She looked bored up there and the audience responded in kindness. Considering these guys have been around since 2007, I expected a lot better. Randy Able Stable @ Temple (March 8th ) My first of two encounters with the stable that week. What can I say that I haven’t written about them yet? They’re good, they’re tight and they’re fun to watch. I love their covers but I’m also digging the originals that Randy and Co have been working on. Expect a single and a video to be out soon for the song ” Second bar to the right”. Coincidentally, if you haven’t, check out their soundcloud. Plenty of good recordings up there from their gigs around Beijing. AIS, Me Too & Abominati @ 2 Kolegas (March 9th) Me Too is improving folks.. these kids might still have a bright future on the scene if they keep at it. I’m digging what they’re doing and how they’re getting tighter on stage. Check them out [...]
- ‹ Older Posts
The Mini Skinny
What once started as my personal ramblings has morphed into the number one collective resource about underground live music in Beijing and China. All bands, all music, all Rock n Roll, all the time with a little side of eclectic topics.. best of all, it's still as BIASED as ever
Ganbei!!!!
'dazeFEAST 2012 - June 23rd at 2 Kolegas.
17 Bands, Roast Lamb & All FREEWhat’s on Offer?
- 10 Questions (31)
- Album Reviews (22)
- Beijing 人 (44)
- Belly Ties (52)
- blabbers (326)
- Book Review (1)
- Chinese Through Lyrics (3)
- Freeloading (34)
- Geek matter (17)
- Gig Reviews (58)
- Need'em liquids (9)
- On The Road (3)
- Outsourced Blabbers (21)
- Provincial Restaurants (15)
- Quickslants (65)
- Roaming Around (11)
- Tunes under the moon (524)
looking for something?
Ingredients
2 kolegas Amazing insurance salesmen Bad Mamasan Beijing 人 black cat bone Brain Failure buyi Chunqiu DH & the hellcats Dude Ember Swift Flying Mantas free the birds GAWTMY Hanggai Hedgehog iz Jacky Danny Kaiser Kuo Kick Ass Lidong live music mademoiselle Maggie Who Mamer Mao Livehouse MIDI Miserable Faith Nanwu Nucleus Omnipotent youth society provincial restaurant randy abel stable Residence A rustic skarving Steely Heart SUBS Suffocated The Redbucks voodoo kungfu whai wu & side effects xiao he yugong yishanFresh Pills
- Quickslants: 2 Kolegas turns 8, Dong Zi and more weekend music
- Rock School: Miserable Faith Yi Zhi Wang Nanfang Kai Dissected.
- Quickslants: Tambours du Bronx, New Shanren, Painkiller Fest and more
- Mamer & Song Yuzhe: opposites attract at Jianghu
- Dreamer Festival 2013 – Azure Ray, Shan Ren, Omnipotent Youth Society and More
Can of Worms?
- karen millen dresses How Can you Use Myspace Layouts on Quickslants: Jurat, PiL, XTX, Yangjima for a Loaded End of Week
- HEATWOLVES热狼 on Full MIDI 2013 Information: Camping, Travelling, Hotels and More
- Joann on Quickslants: Jurat, PiL, XTX, Yangjima for a Loaded End of Week
- On The Scene: 2013 Strawberry Festival Day 1 | Live Beijing Music on MIDI 2013: Anywhere, Anytime, Thanks for the Rock n Roll
- ex virility pill on Quickslants: Jurat, PiL, XTX, Yangjima for a Loaded End of Week