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Oct
10thquickslants: covers, releases, Punks and Goths- a solid few days of music aheadwow.. another round of early quickslants after missing out on them last week. But seriously folks, it looks like all the venues are coming out of the october holidays with some kick ass gigs lined up from wednesday to sunday! In some cases, more than one “must-see” per night and i’m not about to complain about this. Let’s kick it Wednesday Oct. 10 Youth Night @ Mao Live Kick Ass, Emitter, Devils at the Crossroad and Longway get together for a heavy cover night. expect lotsa AC/DC, Guns n Roses, Motorhead and more with some of the better young bands in town.. actually, can i still call them young? I mean these kids have been around for a while and the beards on some of them almost qualify them as old timers. Meng Zhi album launch @ 2 Kolegas The gang at 2 K is actually excited about this gig and even though i’ve never heard of the person in question, i know better than to doubt their opinions by now. He’s been playing around Beijing for a few years now and he’s looking to break out with this “Folk 2012″ release Thursday October 11 Michael Dallin @ Temple probably still one of the more underrated performers in the capital, Michael is still going strong with his original songs may it be alongside Bad Apples or his other projects. this particular night, expect an eclectic jam probably with a few musicians jumping in to contribute. Goth NIght @ Mao Live [...]
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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 [...]
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Feb
29thThe Virgins at Mao- Devils and Pirates steal the show with the Youth Gone Wild.Saturday night, Mao live was home to yet another strangely titled performance: The Virgins… now, I’m not sure why or how and I can testify that no virgin was sacrificed in the name of rock while we were there! Well, maybe that guy who took his clothes off during Los Crasher set but we won’t go there! The bill was for 7 band: Los Crasher, Jacky Danny, Devils at the Crossroads, Flaming Heat, Kick Ass, Red Pirates and more… I missed the opening acts but heard a lot of good about Jacky Danny‘s performance. I swear there is a conspiracy against me seeing them with the new lineup! I will get there sooner or later but I’m glad to hear that others are enjoying their set and calling it tight. Good go.. Kick Ass sounded better than the last time I saw them! This lineup has been together for quite some time now and even their ex-axeman was in town to cheer them. I still wish they could get more of their own personality instead of sounding like a copy of many bands all in one! They’re still very much in the Velvet Revolver side of things at this point. Los Crasher came on after that with their in-your-face 80s style screaming rock. high kicks, top hats, tight pants, rock n roll and cowboy boots! The crowd digs them and they always put on a performance! Saturday, they were quite out of tune but even then, enjoyable! Devils at the [...]
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Feb
22ndQuickslants: Jue Starts, 80s revival, Ajinai, that Prodigy dude, Buyi and moreWe’re almost back on regular rotation folks meaning that the good shows are back on the menu but so are the bad ones! It’s unfortunately the side effect of having so many bands around Beijing. Mao is having a strong showing this week with some decent lineups from Thursday to Sunday. I’m particularly excited about the 80s revival saturday night with all the cheeky kids. Temple continues to make a stand for themselves even when the big boys are back in town! Jue Festival kick off that same day and as much as I think that might be an interesting show, I’m weary of the kind of folks it might attract…. yeah, hutong hipters galore complaining about 20rmb qingdao while not even listening the band they just paid good money to watch. Wednesday February 22 Devils at the Crossroads @ Temple: If it feels like these cats are everywhere lately, that’s because they are! I’ve seen the Devils play a half dozen times lately and I like them. It’s not music that’s gonna save the world but you’re gonna have a good boogie time and down a few drinks. but then again, that’s just me, I like my rock n roll with a side serving of attitude! An Temple is actually earning some serious Rock n Roll chops at the moment… it’s gonna be tough to beat them this year as a venue! Thursday February 23 Punk & Metal @ Mao Live This one is actually advertised as Punk versus [...]
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Sep
6thMusic Videos and News: Rustic, AIS, The Unsafe, Muma and moreA couple of little ditties from the scene to hold you guys up! It’s looking like a busy weekend ahead but we’ll address that in the quickslants later this week! Remember The Unsafe ? I really dig the band and think they have interesting potential.. They showed up for an Ok set at the Punk Festival last month after the album release and even managed to get a music video out for “Don’t Look Back”. It’s got a little DIY feeling with a lot of gloom and doom. Worth a few minutes Rustic is ready to take over the UK finally… something they’ve been promised as part of winning the Global Battle of the Bands a year ago ( man, it seems so far away). The boys left Beijing this weekend and should be there by now. While this has been out for a while, I’ve only recently seen their video for “Girls are not yours”. It’s actually cute… not to be left out, the Amazing Insurance Salesmen, on hiatus while frontman Jean Sebastian is in France, also have a video out for the song “in the park”…. this one is a montage of footage from all over the place, mostly what looks like their performance at Zebra and GBoB. I like the concept if it’s really a concept with the “park” being a metaphor for the music arena out there. Video is only of Sina and I can’t figure out how to past the fucking thing in here so [...]
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Aug
30thQuickslants: Stringfellow, Swift Release, Bookswap, Queen Tribute and moreHiya Hiya Moving over at ‘daze HQ so we might be able to resume normal blogging operations as of this week. A lot of pics, reviews and news coming your way but we’re gonna start with an early edition of the quickslants because of a potentially VERY good show on Wednesday at Yugong Yishan…. so here goes folks Wed October 31: Ken Stringfellow + Sonja Van Hamel @ Yugong: I’ve been keeping my eyes on this one for a while due to strong recommendations from a friend whose opinion I do respect. Stringfellow is one of those modern day poet/troubadours with tons of talent. He had his hands in the last Hanggai album among other things like playing with REM and the Posies. Sonja is also multifaceted and multi-talented. This one should be pretty darn good folks… pretty rarn good. Read an interview with Strangefellow over at City Weekend Thursday Sept 1: Pierre Brahin Trio @ Jianghu: Been a while since Jianghu made an appearance on here. This trio, regulars on the Beijing scene, have mastered their craft and deliver smoothing Jazz sounds. I haven’t been able to catch them in a very long time so it’ll be quite fun to see how they changed. I remember thinking that Pradat’s stuff was hit or miss a few years back… I’m overdue for a do over. Friday Sept 2: Ember Swift CD Launch @ 2 Kolegas: I like Ember.. She smiles and entertains all while delivering songs that are not all [...]
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Dec
9thQuick Slants: Lao Da, Li Dong, Santas on the Run, Omnipotent Youth with 80′s FlairQuite a busy weekend shaping up for beijingers with options all over the spectrum. Looks like at least 2 good events per day so get your subway cards , patience and stamina ready cause you might need all of them. Thursday December 9: Purple Smog @ VA: Chances are this might be the last ever performance by Beijing’s one and only Jimmy Hendrix cover band. The guys are talented and it’s always a good time with friends coming out and singing along to good old classics. I just wish it didn’t take place at VA but I’ll take it like a cowboy and check it out. You know Ruby will definitely be there. Friday December 10: Li Dong @ Jianghu: Think of this as the folky version of Nucleus. They’re actually really good with honest folk rhymes and rhythms. I heard some of their stuff recently over at 2 Kolegas late one night and was pleasantly surprised at Li Xia’s voice. I expect good times and drunk Ningxia Boys. Lao Da (Zhao Yi Ran) @ 2 Kolegas: Gao Feng told me about this one a month ago and promised that there will be a roasted goat on the premises.. just don’t quote me on that. Lao Da is a fixture at 2 Kolegas, one of those bluesy folk types whose voice carries the pain and emotion of generations. This record, live in 1988, has been a long time coming. You can bet that the rest of the Ningxia boys will [...]
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Nov
22ndContraband Tapes, Being Yourself, Top Hats and Eating Volcanos: 10 Questions w/ Mess Xiang of Kick AssI love all kinds of music but my heart and soul belong to Hard Rock.. give me AC/DC, Deep Purple, Aerosmith, Motley Crue any day of the week and I’ll be content. As of late, after too much time devoted to indie/punk/what not, there has been a bit of a hard rock revival in Beijing with Kick Ass being one of the pack leaders. I’ve had the privilege of knowing founder and uber guitar player, Mess Xiang, for a while now and I finally had a chance to pick his brain about life, the band, and music in general. It’s a long interview but worth every minute you spend reading it… I’d have never thought someone in China would be listening to a band like Faster Pussycat or the sort…. Enjoy! 1- Who is Mess and what’s going on in your world? Ah, firstly thanks a lot buddy for this interview. In Beijing music scene, Mess is a guitar player and that’s all about him. In ordinary life I’m a graphic/Flash designer and user experience engineer, focusing on websites and software. Also I wrote 2 books, translated 4 books in web usability fields. In short, an IT guy but not a geek. Someone might say I’m not exactly a rocker because I have my regular life, not drunk every day in alcohol and weeds, not changing chicks every night. But I think I’m OK. We are living in China not Hollywood after all. The reason I form the KICK ASS [...]
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Nov
16thRock ain’t dead & The Flying Mantas, Steely Heart, Los Crashers et co. proved itAs bad as I thought the friday at Yugong Yishan was, the show at Mao Live more than made up for saturday night. I missed Jacky Danny and Kick Ass but managed to catch Steely Heart, Dude, Los Crashers and the Flying Mantas for a rocking good time. The show must have started early as 2 bands had already been on by the time i got to Mao Live around 9:40. Steely Heart was on stage much to my surprise as i didn’t remember them on the bill. I’ve seen them enough times by now and made enough comments about lead singer Sai Li 赛力 and his shoegazing. That said, somebody might have spiked his drink on saturday: he was actually jumping around on stage and displayed some emotion even. I’m starting to dig their songs, especially Sexy Lie. Dude was next! How to describe these kids? They punkify classic songs and they’ve gotten good at it. With their formula, wherever they play in China, they have a built in advantage because the local audience knows every single word to every single one of their songs by default. That’s not a bad trick if you can pull it off! Cody is an engaging frontman that loves to interact with the audience and the band is really high energy. This is not socially aware music that will save the world, but it’s a 3 chord blast that will save you from boredom. When the next band – Los Crashers – came [...]
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Nov
10thBeijing Music Quickslants: Shanghai Invasion, Rock in Sanlitun and moreinteresting weekend ahead y’all with tons of happenings all around Beijing. TEDx is sure to mobilize the masses, Bookswap and board games rocking things along and finally a slew of Shanghai bands coming up to make some noise in Beijing. Thursday November 11: Gangzi @ Jianghu: The Inner-Mongolian Metalhead-turned-folkster will be holding court in jianghu delivering some cool melodies. I caught him twice so far and really dig his style even though he tends to be heavy on the bass notes. And Jianghu is always a fun place to hit. Friday November 12: X is Y & Amazing Insurance Salesmen @ Yugong Yishan: This is where the Shanghai invasion gets started. The guys from X is Y have been all over the place this week and quite proactive about making sure people show up to their show. That type of work ethic on its own is worth checking them out! Beijing’s own AIS rounds up the bill and are always a treat. I haven’t seen them play in a few weeks so I’m looking forward to what’s probably gonna be their last performance in Beijing before heading off to HK and the GBoB finals. Steely Heart, Candy Monster @ 2 Kolegas: My favorite talented bored rockers head to the drive in along with Candy Monster. This should be a decent if not remarkable rock show with a good turnout of Chinese audience. Steely Heart usually pulls in a few fans! I haven’t seen candy monster play in so long I [...]
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