-
Feb
22ndJue Festival 2013: Back for (a lot) More and some picks
one things we can’t blame the folks at spli-t for is to be lazy or underachieving. For the 5th ( am i counting right?) edition of their Jue Festival, they haven’t really toned down their attitude and if anything, they’re setting themselves up for even more work than last year. I remember that for last year’s edition, you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing one of their events: amaricana workshop at hotcat, concert at jianghu, art exhibit here, something else there… I was exhausted just keeping up with it. I wish them good luck and unlimited supply of red bull and espressos over the next two months. There are a few things standing out right now in the lineup with probably more to come: Mongolian Bling // Mar.14 – Yugong Yishan Forget about nomads and monks! It’s hip-hop that’s making Mongolia move in the 21st century. Join JUE | Music + Art and the film’s director/producer, Benj Binks, for the China Premiere of insightful yet exciting new documentary, Mongolian Bling… Screening at 7:00ish followed by Q&A then performances from film stars Gennie and Quiza, Beijing MC Nasty Ray and members of Hanggai. Matzka // Mar.15 – Mako Live house This is one hell of a cool band from Taiwan. Reggae with aboriginal characteristics! I’ve been aware of them for a while now and they freaking rock!! Do yourself a favour and block out this date. Woodie Alan Reunion Show // Mar.17 – Jianghu This one is gonna be like a car [...]
-
Apr
20thVideo: Jue 2011- Abaji Jam with Zhang Wei Wei and Song Yu ZheI keep being asked why i’m so excited to see Abaji in Beijing and it’s a bit difficult to explain.. But this is the kind of stuff i love: A Jam session between him, Zhang Wei Wei and Song Yu Zhe from last year’s Jue festival. If tonight is half as good, I’ll be extatic…
-
Apr
5thJue Festival – Shanghai Night in Beijing: We Ain’t no Foes, Let’s Be Friends on The RainbowThis one might take the crown for tackiest blog post title.. it’s also the king of late posts as it comes a full 2 weeks after the fact but hey, Beijing is keeping me busy. To say that I had been looking forward to this show would be an understatement… Talk about this night started months ago after Friend or Foe visited Beijing last winter and it was finally here. Fuzzy Mood was scheduled to get things started over at the drive in. I missed their set and from what I heard before, that was not necessarily a bad thing. They’re good kids, trying hard and we’ll leave it to that until I actually hear what they’ve been sounding like the past few months. I’m sure Ruby has some choice words to describe them. By the time i got there, it was time to stand up and answer the question: Are you a Friend or Foe? The trio hit the stage like a bat out of hell an proceeded to rip through their catalog of high energy goofy Alienesque Rock n Roll. I’m not sure how else to describe their music really… it’s fast, it’s punkish, got tons of attitude and is about as unpretentious as it gets.. I mean we’re talk songs about “Snorting Clorox” which by the way is even better live than on the record ( Read the Review). I have this theory about how the band didn’t actually come from outer space but they were subjected [...]
-
Mar
16thDo-Over with Jon Campbell: Red Rock, Worthy Perspectives or How Yaogun Can Save Rock n RollLike I warned yesterday, you’re not done reading the name “Jon Campbell” on this blog, at least not for this week. I believe I’ve already interviewed Jon before before, albeit more for gigs he was playing in. This time around, it’s different! He’s in Beijing as part of Jue Festival and the Bookworm Literary Festival promoting his book, Red Rock::The Long, Strange March of Chinese Rock & Roll. I read the book a while back and I’ve also been following Jon for quite sometime.. this was an opportunity to catch up and get some extra details out of him. 1- How is post Beijing life treating you and what’s been keeping you busy now that Red Rock is out? Post-bj life is great. Mellow. Very not rock and roll, really. But nice. My wife and I own a house and a dog and a backyard and it’s great. I work as a publicist for Harbourfront Centre, a cultural organization and venue on Toronto’s waterfront that hosts all kinds of festivals, events, exhibitions, dance/thatre performances, concerts, etc, most of which is free. 2- I’m curious.. What made you decide to write the book? Was there a sort of Eureka moment or was it a long process? The short answer is that Earnshaw Books put out a call for writers. I answered it. The longer answer is related to that feeling I think many expats have, which is, I have a perspective that is worthy of getting out into the world. I [...]
-
Mar
15thQuickslants: Bloozy Farewell, Aussie Slams, Dongs, Mackays, Green Fab and more..After the madness from last week, it feel like this weekend might be an opportunity to get some rest… hum…yeah right! It’s not as charged but just as hectic and this is again happening all over the place! Metal competition for Wacken, Bookworm and Jue Festivals etc.. you name it! Let’s dig in: Thursday March 15 Protect Our Rights @ Mao: A couple of cool little bands will make their way on stage to and have a good time. For some reason, they’re being billed a slightly punk but maybe the word they’ve been looking for is “rebellious”. Kick Ass, Summer Tribe and Longway Band will be providing the goodies. I haven’t seen Summer Tribe in a while and it would be interesting to hear their progress. They tend to travel with a decent sized crew of homies that support them. Electric Shadows @ The Bookworm This is officially called “May Your Pen Grace The Screen”. Electric Shadows curates a special short film screening for BLF 2012. Filmmakers from around the globe submitted films inspired by Luka Lesson’s poem “May Your Pen Grace the Page”. Join us for a screening of the topselections and a live performance by Lesson. starts at 10:00 P.M Friday March 16th Black Cat Bone @ 2 Kolegas: Never thought this name would appear again on the blog but oh well… With Jon Campbell back, how could it not! it had its own post yesterday so you can go to that one for reference. It will [...]
-
Mar
13thJon Campbell Brings the Red Rock Home & Pulls Out a Black Cat BoneOf all the good people that have left their imprint on Chinese rock n roll, or Yaogun, as he likes to refer to it, none deserves more kudos than Jon Campbell as far as I’m concerned. He’s been a true trooper, participant, supporter of Yaogun and we do miss having him in Beijing. ( Jon, how about some Norwegian Death Metal Bands??? ) Well, since Jon is coming for a visit as part of the Bookworm Literary Festival to talk about his book, Red Rock, -the quitters retirees slackers good folks that made up hell raising, bourbon and white russian guzzling bloozers- Black Cat Bone will take out the suits from the old closet, put a little deodorant or baby powder on them and head over to 2 Kolegas friday night for the farewell performance they never gave. This will happen after the regularly scheduled show with Devils at the Crossroad, Flaming Heat and End of the World So, the flyer says it all….. This.will.be.rough…… Don’t forget Jon’s talk at the bookworm Saturday March 17th at 4:00 pm. He will be joined by music critic Han Fan in a talk moderated by Nathaniel Davis of Split Works. It’s a joint Jue Festival & BLF event.
-
Mar
8thQuickslants: Women, Insurance Payback, Re-TROS, Jue Festival, the Bookworm and moreoh yeah babay.. it’s heating up in Beijing and I’m not talking about the weather that’s taken a dip again. Beijing is finally fully awake and we’re getting to that point where it’s tough picking which show(s) to go to. This Saturday is a prime example with good stuff all over the goddamn city from 798 to Tango with both Jue Festival and the Bookworm Literary Festival starting. So, to quote The Beastie Boys: Let’s Kick it… Thursday March 8th: Women’s Day at Starfish: yeah, it’s a restaurant but the amazing Jess Meider is playing two sets between 6 and 8 pm, there will be whiskey cocktails courtesy of Stephanie Rocard and your truly. A cool celebration of women’s day in style to get your evening started! Randy Abel Stable @ Temple: How about that? what celebrated Women more than good old honky tonk tune from Beijing’s reigning kings of americana? I ran into Randy yesterday who casually mentioned new tunes and a possible marathon set with many songs touching on the topic of the day: Women… what can i say? grab a bourbon and holler along about double-timing, heartbreaking significant others. Light & Love at Mao: Not to be left out, Mao Live is putting together one a power punk show with some of Beijing’s underground female-fronted bands: First Medal, Cool Fish and more. This one will be a young student affair most likely and could be a cool little distraction for the early Gulou crowd. Friday March 9th: [...]
-
Feb
26thPains of Being Pure At Heart: An interview and opinionThe upcoming Jue Festival (March 9-25) was primed last night by Brooklynites Pains of Being Pure At Heart at Yugong Yishan, their relatively short set finally giving some context to the hype and many reviews. Fortunately they don’t care about either of those things, and frontman Kip Berman provided a thoughtful interview on getting reviewed, songwriting in the internet age and how the big city affects small bands. Q: From afar, the NY scene seems like a paradox: It’s both extremely inspired and jaded, an easy place to find inspiration and get burned out. What do you think NY did for you guys, for better or worse? Kip: I think you’ve hit on something very true – it’s easy to get inspired or jaded in New York because there are probably 100 great bands and you can either be inspired to create great art or feel that there is no point, that your voice will just get lost. I guess for us, we found the other bands around us that we admired really inspiring. Bands like Crystal Stilts, Vivian Girls, Frankie Rose, My Teenage Stride and caUSE co-MOTION. Seeing them make great records and tour forced us to focus and spend our time wisely. We all had full time jobs, so it wasn’t like we could rehearse whenever we wanted and play music full time. I spent a lot of time on my own writing the songs and, when we did get the opportunity to come together, we concentrated on [...]
-
Mar
30thJue Thoughts: Beijing gets Artistic Awakening with Poetry Slams, Abaji and moreFrom Jue’s Website: What is JUE? 觉 / JUE (pronounced joo-eh) –verb: to sense; to awaken As far as I am know, Split Works was one of the first parties to organize such a festival over a period of time ( 2 or 3 weeks) bucking the trend of stuffing tons of shows in 2 or 3 days. I like that kind of spread because I can actually appreciate the event without feeling rushed through god knows how many options. And the lads did a great job so far this year. The Shows: I managed to make it to the Poetry Slam at 2 Kolegas, a collaboration between Jue and the Bookworm’s literary festival, that had over 200 persons crammed inside the drive in. I can’t really comment much about the content: I’m a rap ignoramus…. the poetry side was pretty cool! What did strike me was the variety of of people this event attracted to 2 Kolegas: locals, expats, backpackers, teachers, bankers, authors, rappers etc… All of them pretty much stayed in and enjoyed most of the night’s festivities. To me, that is what Artistic Awakening is all about: using arts to bridge the gap between various echelons of society, using art to bring these otherwise-overly-different crews together! In that regard, this event succeeded! This past sunday was my second Jue event and the one i was looking most forward to: Abaji’s concert at Jianghu Jiu Ba. It did not disappoint!!! I remember gloating about Abaji in my quickslants, [...]
-
Mar
10thQuickslants: Last days for Key Largo, Ghosts with Friends and Jue Takeover.It’s feeling like spring already. The weather is warming up, the parties are rocking and it’s become extremely difficult to find time to spend a quiet evening at home with all the happenings around town. The next few days promise more of the same. So, here’s some of the stuff I’m looking forward to: Bertie Higgins @ R Lounge all weekend: This is the last week of his residency at the Renaissance hotel’s R lounge. I went there to check it out last week and had loads of fun. Bertie usually does 2 sets and has been getting a little help from the Jackson Twins ( Previously at LAN). He does the classics, talks a bit and gets a couple of covers in, all in good fun. Honestly, the guy can sing folks to check him out. I think Saturday is his last day in residency there. Thursday March 10: Che Ren band @ Jianghu: Idiotic band is how their name gets translated into English.. they’re everything but idiotic though. They’re extremely traditional is their performance, a-la second hand rose. They’re a lot of fun and definitely worth a listen, especially in an intimate setting like Jianghu. Friday March 11: Ghosts & Friends @ Mao: Ghost Spardac, Me Guan Me, Dude and Christmas…. do i need to say more? 3 out of 4 are proven value and great fun, bands that i love listening to. Matt, from DUDE, swears that Christmas is not so bad, quite fun he says.. so [...]
- ‹ 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