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Sep
4thRandom Tidbits: New CMCB, Duck Fight New MV and The Day I Saw Rock n RollRandom little midweek tidbits that i came across recently! Looks like we’re due for a slew of new music soon judging by the noise on weibo and douban! CMCB, Beijing’s outspoken Rap-Metal luminaries are busy in the studio getting stuff recorded. They’ve been saying this for quite some time now but it seems to be happening! A Video of them in the studio doing the new song 我说的就是我想干的 (What I Said is Exactly what I want to do) is out. I like these guys and I’ve liked them for a long time but the new song is really more of the same. I’m hoping that things will be a bit different once they get the whole thing worked out. In the meantime, Here is 我说的就是我想干的 Shanghai’s Duck Fight Goose has also given the video treatment to one of their songs, Glass Wall… it’s..ahem.. different and strangely reminiscent of like 80s videos. I like it is a weird way! Good to see a band put out a video, strange or not. It’s the best way next to merch to get exposure IMHO Check it out here: Remember MIDI from 3 years ago and that unplugged finale from Miserable Faith? Well MIDI apparently had some tape rolling and here is really the clearest video I’ve ever seen. It’s also got a great little narrative of how things went that night looking for flash lights and having barely enough power to feed one microphone. Just watching it sends chills down my spine folks!! [...]
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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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Oct
15thNews to Ooze: MIDI 2011 Awards, Jacky Danny, Douban how-to and moreIt’s been a while since the last bit of random news so let’s see what’s been happening in China Music Land MIDI 2011 awards are in the process.. The anouncement appeared on weibo today! Expect the awards to be held mid-december. REcord companies, bands and participants are encouraged to contact the organizers at the number below: Hedgehog are in the middle of their US tour and they’re having fun. They posted a bunch of pictures over on their official website. Check it out here. They have also added yet another bootleg live recording from september, titled Still Alive, that sounds pretty darn good. Check it out: http://hedgehogrock.com/lp/8 Jacky Danny, a ‘daze favorite, is “back on the saddle” so to speak! They got a new drummer, rhythm guitar and old bass player back so expect them to start popping out in listings all around town. I’m looking forward to this…. yes, they’re one of my guilty pleasure and I dig them! CMCB are finished recording their new record. Expect a release party around December 10th at Mao or Tango. More details as they become available. I love these guys brand of Rap/Metal and they’re Beijing to the bone. Last but not least, Andy Best is blogging more regularly about the Shanghai music scene again. See his latest extremely informative article about following bands on Douban: http://www.kungfuology.com/andybest/2011/10/following-chinese-bands-on-dou.html
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Sep
20thIntercity Festival 2011: Good Times, Dry Times, Fantastic Performances and crapoutsLast week’s Intercity music festival is all forgotten now in the wake of more up to date news and all but I still wanted to chime in with a little review mostly of day 1 with snippets from day 2. Day 1 was undoubtedly highlighted by the performances of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC) and He Yong for most, including yours truly but there was so much more that took place that day and deserves to be recorded. The location in the heart of Chaoyang Park is dear to my heart for being the place where Chaoyang Pop Festival was held in 2007 and remains the standard I hold others to. This year, it was a bit understated with a few stalls selling random foods, some selling water, juices and vitamin water and alcohol was inconspicuous by its almost non-presence continuing a tradition of semi dry festivals. Only this time, a few stalls set up makeshift cocktail bars with watered down Cuba Libre warm beer in water cooler. Attendance during day 1 started slow with more people coming later in the day despite it being a beautiful autumn afternoon in Beijing but for the few that were there, we had some decent music. Strangely enough, Pilot Records, the festival organizers, sent most of their bands to the smaller stage in the back where they struggled to get attention and keep the fans sitting. Bands like Liquid Oxygen Can, Suffocated, CMCB and Face, just to mention a few, usually the labels’ [...]
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Sep
8thQuickslants: Mongolian Festival, Intercity Festival, Hell’Bone Night, Lulu Galore and moreThis is the kind of weekend that hurts my head in terms of picking where to go… so many good shows, so little time and I wanna see them all.. yes my precious, I want them all! Mongolian Music Festival at Mako, Pilot Records Intercity Festival in Chaoyang Park, Black Cat Bone w/ DH & The Hellcats ( aka Hell’Bone) just to name a few! Let’s snap to it! Thursday Sept 8 Gou Mao @ Jianghu I’ve never heard of the guy but he’s got a couple of CDs to his name and the stuff on Douban sounds pretty darn good. Acoustic rock with earthy vibes and a slight heavy edge. Plus, I’m thinking I ain’t been to Jianghu in a little while. Definitely an interesting option Friday Sept 9 Mongolian Festival day 1 @ Mako Yes folks, this is taking place at Mako Livehouse in Shuangjing who is making a strong comeback over the past few weeks as a premier live music venue. Headlining Day 1 of the festival is old Friends Hanggai along with rockers Thin Man whose lead singer, Dai Qin is also Mongolian. Shaman Humai, one of the first bands on, seems quite interesting. it should be fun! Miss Lulu Galore @ Alanting Yes, Lulu Galore, of the Burlesque Group fame, is launching her solo dance and music project with this debut performance at Alanting in Sanlitun South.. to put it in her own words: ” Miss Lulu Galore and Sweet Leaf is her latest music [...]
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Sep
1stBeijing Intercity Festival 2011: Cui Jian, BRMC, Pretty Reckless, Biohazard, Second Hand Rose and MorePilot Records is doing it again folks!! After bringing Ill Nino and Trail of Dead last year to supplement their stable of excellent local acts, the gave the nod to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Biohazard and Pretty Reckless to make the trip this year! Of course, the usual suspects are all here as well including Cui Jian, Miserable Faith, Second Hand Rose and more… This intercity thing is setting itself up as a worthy successor to the defunct and missed Chaoyang Pop Festival…. The Pretty REckless with Taylor Momsen is innofensive Barbie rock but most of the other acts are legit! Last year, plenty of drinks were available and catering was handled by Tim’s Texas BBQ… Here’s hoping it happens again! The final lineups and time slots were released earlier this week: Here ya go: A couple of interesting notes: Cui Jian is closing the thing again. I’m getting the impression that festival organizers have finally learned to put the biggest possible name on that slot otherwise everyone is pretty much gone. I’m sure Pretty Reckless will have a the biggest audience and Pilot Records is really pushing them on weibo. Miserable Faith is slotted at a surprising mid-afternoon appearance… that’s pretty darn weird to me! There is no mention of the “school stage” this year but unlike last year, there are 2 big stages with different headliners.. I like that! It’s gonna be one hell of a busy weekend with an inner-mongolian music fest at Mako and some other [...]
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Aug
23rdGROWL 4: They came, They Rocked and it was FUNPilot records has undoubtedly some of my favorite Chinese acts signed up. They’re on the heavier side of things and keep rock alive with a good mix of bands and regular shows. The 4th edition of GROWL was just like that this past week when ZuoYou, CMCB, Suffocated and The Face joined forces together and rocked the shit out of Mao Live. I didn’t make it there on time to see ZuoYou (but I will, one day)..however, I did get to see CMCB for the first time in almost a year. I discovered the China MC Brothers at Pilot’s festival last year and they impressed the hell out of me. Enough to go out and get the record right away. They didn’t disappoint in the few songs I heard them do! Their “这里是北京” is one hell of an enticing song and get the crowd going every time. To their credit, they do actually play instruments, do solos but also use a DJ… not one of those “everything is sampled” bands.. Suffocated was up next and I was smack down front front row for that one… and baby it was special! They’re doing everything right from theatrics to a heavy sound, nasty drums and growls not to mention more stage presence than you can throw a gorilla at. I’m gonna have to make a continuous effort to try and get their songs because they get the crowd in a trance and I wanna understand what they’re saying. The place was just [...]
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Aug
19thQuickslants: Mo’s Last Stand, CMCB, Suffocated, Namo and MoreThe quickslants are coming in a bit late this week folks but trust me, it’s been freaking busy as hell on this side of ‘daze HQ. Plenty of goodies happening around town with some of them in places we’re not used to writing about much anymore! Friday August 19 Growl 4 @ Mao: CMCB, Suffocated, ZuoYou and The Face, 4 really old school bands are set to rock the shit out of Mao Live. Last time I saw suffocated, they unleashed a storm of metal of MIDI. One of the better sets of the year and I’m looking forward to more. The Face, since they added Diao Lei ( ChunQiu, Honeygun) have gotten even better. The real band I’m looking forward to though is CMCB: I have fond memories of seeing them in Chaoyang Park last year where they impressed the hell out of me with their brand of rapcore. I’m looking forward to more. Nanwu/Namo @ Jianghu: You better get there early for this one folks. These kids are the new darlings of the scene so everyone and their mama will be there to watch them play. I’m not sure Jianghu can handle the onslaught but it should be fun! The stage has got to be too small for them but I’m sure they’ll find a way. Unique brand of crosstalk rock and loads of laughs. Back To School @ Hot Cat: Not There, funk/intrumental/rock , is throwing a party at Hot Cat Club, free of charge and you’re [...]
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Jul
18thIn Music Festival 2011: Rocking the Grasslands with QualityHellllo Beijing… miss me? Been on a nice sabbatical for a little while during which Ruby did one hell of a great job keeping the blog going!!! Big ups to my BFF. A whole bunch of shows and CD reviews are overdue but I’ll get to those in due time. For now, biggest thing is the schedule for the In Music Festival, happening at the end of the month, has been released: This is one hell of an exciting festival looking at those names: Ill Nino is back to China for the second year in a row, CMCB is slowly waking up and hopefully has a new CD in the making. Miserable Faith, Reflector, Omnipotent Youth Society, Face, SUBS, Second Hand Rose and more… This year also includes an appearance by trippop act, Tricky…. Honestly, depending on how the setup is, this might be one hell of an opportunity to go out and spend 3 days camping out in the Hebei grasslands. I’m sure I’lll be talking about this a bit more over the next 2 weeks. Are you going?
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Oct
5thInter City Music Festival Day 2: a bell curve of fun with CMCB, Miserable Faith, Honey gun and the puppies of metalyeah, I barely even made an effort this October to catch the music festivals but the organizers can only blame themselves for taking away any interest and excitement we used to have about those. Still, Catching day 2 of Pilot Records’ Inter City Music Festival at Chaoyang Park on sunday was one of the overall better festival experiences of the year for me. Things were off to a shaky start at first when I spent 30 minutes walking around chaoyang park trying to find the damn site with the pimple-faced bao’an sending me in all directions…. I was just about ready to swear off any further festival visits but i finally found the place which was where the old chaoyang pop festival used to be held. I caught the tail end of “Trail of Dead” as I was walking around the fence trying to find the entrance and they sounded pretty darn good! A few conversations I had with friends who saw them play confirmed that they actually put on one hell of a performance with the drummer and guitar player swapping spots often enough. gonna have to give them a better listen. There were two stages setup for the bands, the big main one and the one we shall refer to as the puppy stage, about 500 meters away. I was a bit afraid that they might step on each other’s toes but they didn’t.. I must admit that at least on that day, Pilot Records was running a [...]
The Mini Skinny
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