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Apr
24thQuickslants: Obituary, Funky, Devils, School Turn 3 and a Slew of Pre-Festival Fun
Are you ready for May festival madness? i’ll be honest with ya: I’m not but though luck and tough SOB bronchitis. That said, i’ll make it there one way or the other. Still, we got a few days to gear up for things and some of the shows are pretty darn kickass starting tonight. Let’s see what’s on the program pre-holidays. On another note, what kind of fucking messed up holiday is this? working sat/sun to get monday/tuesday off?? gimme a fucking break. Wednesday Apr 24th Obituary @ Yugong Yishan yes, that Obituary. the one one that gave your parents nightmares and helped you grow horns as a teenager. The kind folks from Painkiller Mag have brought them over and they are invading the Yugong Yishan pit tonight starting at 8:00 pm. There are still tickets to be had at the door so do not hesitate.. it will be massive. Ready to Die and Deathpact will be on opening duties. Note that the band will be playing a retro set and sticking to the classics, playing only hits from their 1989-1992 arsenal. Funky & Friends @ Blue Stream if you read my review on Funky’s improvised gig at 2 KOlegas a few weeks ago, you know i had tons of fun and would absolutely recommend heading over there to see the king of Drums rocking along his friends. The intimate nature of Blue Stream bar will make this a really cool party. So far, the only confirmation i got is [...]
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Dec
14thQuickslants: Apocalypse Saturday with Suyang, Cui Jian, DaBang and More….
Beijing, i love you! Beijing, I fucking hate your guts for weekends like this one: couldn’t you spread these gigs over the month instead of putting them all in one freaking day? I want to see them all damn it! If you don’t get my rant, read on and see why i’m ticked off that there is so much on offer over the next 3 days: Friday Dec 14 Friend or Foe @ 2Kolegas The Shanghai trio is back in town promoting a remixed version of last year’s album and they’re calling it appropriately: “what have you done with my claw”.. To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of the remix but i do love the band’s live stage and had tons of fun with them last time they played the drive-in. Joining them tonight you’ll find Devils at the Crossroad, Residence A along with Thruoutin. I predict fun fun fun fun. Tookoo & The Reason @ School what? school has live music? yep, since last week, the bar has been reborn as a live music venue and that’s long overdue. They’re set for their musical onslaught with a double album release night from two pretty good bands. It’s bound to get interesting over at wudaoying hutong. Saturday Dec 15 Cui Jian @ Wukesong The godfother is back and he’s ticked off according to his latest interview on timeout. He’s still cursing with the best of them and still pissed off enough at society. Can we get a new [...]
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Nov
9thQuickslants: Dark Funeral, Bonfire Folk, Low Wormwood and more..TGIF may babies of the rock n roll… and it is indeed a good friday with more music than you can shake a stick at, especially tonight. Quickslants are picking up this late habit but i’ll try and get back on this horse sooner than later. In the meantime, let’s see what’s cooking in this musical pressure cooker Friday Nov 9 Bonfire @ 2Kolegas Randy Abel Stable and friends get together in the drive in and supposedly huddle around a good ol fire outside while singing about women, whiskey and outlaws. I love these guys and it ain’t no secret.. i just hope i can make it there in time to catch them play. i expect a late one. Metal Madness @ Yugong Hyonblud will releases their album with support from Ritual Day, Crack, Ready To Die, Jin Na Luo as well as Heavy Duty… this one is gonna be brutally loud by the looks and sound of it, especially for Hyonblud who are exploding in the metal scene right now. Their performance closing for Cannibal Corpse didn’t go unnoticed and the noise is real. this ain’t no cracker jack rock. Low Wormwood @ Blue Stream the lanzhou crooners are back in Beijing again.. they might as well just move into the city. I caught them a few weeks back at Jianghu and they were as good as ever. I expect the intimate nature of Blue Stream to add some charm to this one. IF not tonight, they also play [...]
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Nov
2ndCool Stuff: Brain Failure Promo Video for Nationwide TourI like when bands do things different, especially when it’s in term of promo or merch. Good old Brain Failure is learning new tricks with their latest release: they have actually made a promo video for their nationwide tour that’s ongoing right now. it’s not much, true… but it’s a step in the right direction as far as i’m concerned. I’m looking forward to catching them at Tango when they come to town.
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Jul
17th[Book Review] Dave O’Dell’s Inseparable: the Birth of Punk Anarchy in the old P.R.CI generally consider myself pretty lucky to be here in Beijing at this moment in time, being witness, chronicler and sometime participant to the ever growing underground Rock n Roll scene. These are amazing times and I’d never thought in a million years that i’d somehow be part of it. And While I’m pretty knowledgeable about the current scene, I love getting more information about its past and compare it to what we have now. Good friend Jon Campbell wrote his Red Rock with was nothing short of amazing: a beautifully constructed dissection of Yao Gun and its roots! It’s probably my favorite history book so far. Now, we get another gem in the form of Dave O’dell’s Inseparable: The Memoirs Of An American And The Story Of Chinese Punk Rock . David O’Dell was one of the earliest supporters of the Chinese punk rock scene that started taking shape in 1995 in Beijing both as a friend of the scene and as a musician. He is now a Physics teacher over in Texas. The book is a rich and uniquely personal collection of stories, over one hundred previously unreleased photos and translated song lyrics from the earliest Chinese punk bands and the dizzying development of the scene I got my paws on this baby quite a while back and i kept forgetting to write about it when i really should have… and for many reasons: The book is a beautiful, honest and slightly biased history of a specific era [...]
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Jun
20thMaking Strides… Suffocated, Brain Failure and others on National TVwe’re going mainstream folks, slowly but surely! A few years ago, there was no place for Yao Gun on National Chinese TV, especially not the Metal and Punk Variety. Now, it’s all changing! With football ( Euro 2012) dominating the headlines, it’s easy to forget about the music but CCTV5 is making sure this doesn’t happen. Before every game, they have been showing a 10 mn clip with a local rock band, all pre-recorded a few weeks ago during a 2 day extravaganza at Tango. And guess what, Suffocated is one of those bands… yes, probably the reigning kings of metaldom in China were on National TV playing music and chatting: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/Rh8jwhWz5as/ How about them Metalheads? I love how the host went: “first thing i thought of after hearing you guys is “where are the lyrics”.. it’s cute almost! There is slowly more mainstream acceptance for this and I’m loving it. I’m gonna try to collect all the clips when I have time. For now, enjoy suffocated embeded in here and click over to CNTV website for some more like Brain Failure in the link below. http://eurocup.cntv.cn/2012/20120612/118135.shtml man man lai
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May
25thLive Music Quickslants: 2 Kolegas Turns 7, Voodoo Kungfu Says Goodbye and moreI think May is officially “Music Month” in Beijing… we got things started with festivals and we’re finishing them up with the yearly 2 Kolegas bash and the Beijing Blues Festival. It’s been a good but loooooong month folks and summer is just arriving! Sad thing about this week is that we’re saying goodbye to two bands I care about… Goodbye, Thank You For The Fish played their last show wednesday night at Temple. Voodoo Kungfu will play their last show sunday at Mao Live. I hate when this happens to good bands. anyways, let’s see what’s cooking for the next few days: Friday May 25 2 Kolegas 7th Year Anniversary – Part 1 Devils at the Crossroad, Buyi, Skarving, Rolling Bolling and Nucleus will be on hand to get the festivities started at the drive-in… It’s gonna be loud, fun, messy, grungy and there’s really no where else I’d rather be tonight. Last year, both nights, people were still on the lawn at the wee hours of the day. My appreciation for that place is well documented and i’ll see you there for a bourbon! Yunggiema @ Yugong Yishan She has one of the best voices in China, bar none! The Tibetain minority songstress will delighting the audiences at Yugong Yishan with her beautiful melodies and dreamy tunes. I’ve seen her enough times playing with Song Yu Zhe but as far as I understand, tonight at yugong is her own gig. It should be good and special! Saturday May [...]
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Apr
26thQuickslants: The Busiest Music Weekend in the World I thinkseriously, I’ve lived in 4 continents, countless cities and seen my share of shows but nothing compares to the musical onslaught that is about to be unleashed on Beijing over the next 5 days. It’s actually mind blowing and busy enough to make a music fan go insane trying to decide where/what to do. This set of quickslants is just for the regular shows in the clubs/venues. Here is the my guide and list of picks for the May Mayhem of Festival that i’ve done separately . Shall we get started? (pic shamelessly ripped from http://www.zazzle.com/ Thursday April 26th La Souris Deglinguee @ Yugong Talk about a blast from the past. This band was a crowd favorite in France and I never thought i’d catch them in Beijing of all places. These French punks have been around since 1976 and they’re still rocking their ass off with some cool live shows. If you can’t catch them at MIDI, this is your chance to see them on their own. I expect a heavy French presence tonight. Friday April 27th Acoustic Brain Failure @ Jianghu: Last time these cats got together to do this, i missed it. Thankfully, they recorded the whole gig and put it online as a proof that they got the chops and can play their instruments. I like what they do and I love how they’ve been doing it lately so I would expect Jianghu to be extremely packed for this one. Nova Heart EP Release @Yugong Somehow, [...]
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Mar
22ndBrain Failure Acoustic Gig Video AvailableLast year, Brain Failure joined a the likes of Miserable Faith and other rockers in doing an acoustic show at Jianghu. These kinda gigs are always risky, especially when a band depends a lot on fast riffs, distortions and what not. I didn’t make the show for whatever reason and kept wondering what it was like… until now! The video for the whole show, all 45mn of it, was just posted on Youku and it’s sounding pretty darn good. They’re planning another one on April 27th that I’m definitely gonna try making! http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjkwODcyMjE2.html who’d have thunk it? They can actually play their instruments ( tongue in cheek comment)
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Jan
11thQuickslants: Folk for the People, Bad Mamasan, Wan Xiaoli, Tea Quintet, Ma Tiao’s New Album, D-22′s last show and moreI’ve been trying to get the quickslants in early this week mostly for tonight’s show at Mako in support of the young Hasetie’er. Friday is gonna be one of those “it’s fucking hard to pick” which show to go to day with solid ass lineups all around town. Let’s get this baby started with my recommendations Wednesday Jan 11th: Hasetie’er : You’re Not Alone @ Mako Mamer, Dawanggang, Wu Tun, Dongzi, Zhang Weiwei, Liu Kun, the Jam Band, Mural, Yerboli (the younger) and more join their musical talents to support a night of giving. The folk community in Beijing/China is amazing in terms of pulling their resources together and helping out those in need! Be there, it’s gonna be amazing! Thursday Jan 12th: Liu Kun @ Jianghu: Low Wormwood’s frontman, Liu Kun, seems to be hanging around Beijing a lot lately. I oughta ask him about his favorite lanzhou mian place in this town when i get a chance. His brand of folk is quite interesting, earthy with western influences. Quite appropriate for a venue like Jianghu. Judging by how popular the gig was at Mako a while back, Jianghu might be packed. Ma Tiao Album Launch @ Tango: Well, the album is out. Ma Tiao has literally been around every show played in Beijing this past month. He popped up at Yugong Yishan during Muma’s performance. He was there at Tango during Su Yang’s show and he’s been promoting his new release. The New album is called “Master” or [...]
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The Mini Skinny
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