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May
16thQuickslants: Tambours du Bronx, New Shanren, Painkiller Fest and more
stop me if you have heard this before: here comes a crazy few days of too many decent/wonderful musical choices for us to deal with. The onslaught began monday with no hype on that Mamer/Song Yun Zhe gig that ruby covered and there is plenty more headed to old smoggy. Let’s figure out what we’re up to over the next couple of days. Thursday May 16th Le Tambours du Bronx @ Poly Theatre If you’re into percussions, there is no other place you’d rather be the next few days: Les Tambours du Bronx is a French industrial percussion band created in 1987. Les Tambours du Bronx has 17 musicians on stage surrounded by synthetic sounds, samples, and singing, all in time with the powerful rhythm…. in other words, for once, get out of the smoky slums and get thy rear end to the Poly Theatre Bob Log III @ Temple I don’t think he needs this plug but according to everything i read, this fella is quite the show. expect weird outfits, singing through microphones, girls on lap and god know what other kinds of weirdness taking place throughout the evening. It’s supposedly psychedelic experimental weird costumed rock.. Opening duties courtesy of Low Bow and the Intrepid Adventurers. Friday May 17th Painkiller Fest with Caliban @ Mao our good friends from Painkiller Magazine are celebrating and they have invited some German friends to come along! Caliban, in the midst of their “we are the many” tour is landing in Beijing [...]
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May
9thQuickslants: No Dong, Some Punk, a Little Ordnance and more
the big expected gig of the week would have been the Dongpai Folk Festival at 2 KOlegas but if you’re read the site yesterday, you know that it is pretty much dead in the water. I got to hear various versions/reasons for the cancellation but none of them really makes sense at this point. Either ways, it’s fucked! Still, there’s a number of cool little gigs around town starting tonight. Let’s see what the consolation prizes are: Thursday May 9: Coprocephalic @ 2 Kolegas Death Metal from California/Taipei… that’s how these kids are being labeled and it sounds intriguing enough. In pure 2K tradition, we know nothing about the gig or the band other than they’ve been around since 2011. Options are scarce enough that this makes an appearance on the slants for a thursday. Punk @ XP: Discord along with Flyx, Brother Tough and Found Amber are headed to the west side of town for a mohawk night at XP. Nothing out of this world but surely a decent enough option for those craving a little 2 to 3 chord action with badly tuned instruments but fun nevertheless. Friday May 10: The Randy Abel Stable/Shun Kikuta @ CD Blues Probably the best show from this series of Blues Festival when Beijing’s resident Americana hellraisers pair up with one of Japan’s more prolific guitar players for a night of good mellow tunes. If you were looking for an excuse to head over there, this is the best night. Just remember [...]
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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 [...]
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Apr
18thQuickslants: Mademoiselle, Giants, Julio Baby, OOC, Punks, Intrepid Trouble and more
Last weekend was a balckhole of Capoeira.. i basically went in and didn’t come out until late monday night. Missed out on quite a few good shows apparently but oh well… Time however for music to take its due now and there is a nice set of gigs coming up to just do that! Let’s get started without delay Thursday April 18 Mademoiselle @ Jianghu The Canadian Mynx is back from an extended overseas trip that saw her play throughout north and south america. For a moment there, i thought Beijing might have lost her for good. No worries though, she’s back and we’re getting ready to get a dose of her addictive suave Jazz starting tonight at Jianghu. I could think of worse ways to start preparing a weekend. Friday April 19 Death to Giants @ Old What Bar Shanghai freak rockers, Death to Giants, along with DJ B.O are putting together a show featuring a collaboration between Death to Giants and DJ B.O known as Death to Cinema. DJ B.O will be screening hand-picked film clips while DtG improvises a soundtrack on the spot. Sounds pretty fun and freaky to me. Also a pretty good option is you can’t catch them at Temple Saturday night. Worm is Green @ Yugong Yishan Trip Hop from Iceland…. do i even need to say more? it sounds so bizarre that it might be worth checking out! I honestly have no idea what to expect but it’s one of those things where [...]
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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 [...]
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Mar
13thQuickslants: Americana, MATZKA, 3 Years of AIS, Jeff Lang and more
I had to try and get in an early quickslants this week folks because there are just way too many good things happening in town with Jue Festival action as well as a stronger than usual lineup that might get lost around. I mean, i’m kinda pissed off that i’m probably missing all of it due to bar commitments but that doesn’t mean you can’t go, right? Wed Mar.13 // Americana Workshop – Jianghu Randy Abel and Liu Yusi combine forces tonight to answer all your American Folk Music questions and play a whole bunch of tunes for you all. Audiences are also encouraged to bring your own instruments, and participate in a folk jam at the end of the night. Free if you bring in an instrument. Thur Mar.14 // Mongolian Bling – 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. Fri Mar.15 // MATZKA – Mako Livehouse 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. I might have to close the bar for this one! [...]
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Jan
12thlast minute slants: Stable, Omnipotent Society and Wild Children Reunited
I really gotta get my life sorted out so i can start following up again on all the bands stuff.. a Year ago, there is no way a saturday like tonight would have gone almost unnoticed with 3 awesome nights gigs happening almost at the same time: Saturday Jan 12th: Stable & Salesmen @ 2K The Randy Abel Stable planned this little honky tonk night a while ago and that was enough for it to be a stand out night but as of yesterday, we have The Amazing Insurance Salesmen added to the bill alongside Lucifer (Rustic) and folkster Meng Zhi. This is one hell of a good party lineup with decent musicians and good people. Omnipotent Youth Society @ School I’ll be honest, I haven’t been to the new School yet but from everything I hear, if you liked D22, then this is gonna be your hangout. And tonight, they got Omnipotent Youth Society… These kids sell out Mao Live so expect those 100 tickets on sale to go very very fast. Heck, there might be people waiting now. This is one of the best bands to emerge over the past few years. Wild Children @ MOMA What? what year is this? Wild Children were credited for inspiring bands all over the city and the country. They have been broken up for almost 10 years…. and they’re back! While Zhang Wei Wei and Guo Long have been cooperating for years and also put out a great CD last year, [...]
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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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Oct
26thQuickslants: Monsters, Queens, Ghools, Fairies and more Creature Musichere’s a toast to post titles that don’t mean jack shit.. because that’s really the case here. I couldn’t think of anything better that would encompass all the musical goodness that lies ahead over the next 5 days or so… yeah, this is a long edition of the quickslants due to a busy weekday set of great shows.. let’s kick it! Friday Oct. 26 Whai @ 2 Kolegas The ever evolving WHAI is turning 1… man the band has changed so much since i first spotted them. The sound is more complex, they have added a DJ and are now internationally travelled: they just came back from playing a festival in Korea. I still can’t quite define what they play other than experimental progressive folk fusion.. how is that for a mouthful? The lads have pushed hard on this gig and the weibo promotions are through the roof. I expect a lot of fun, drinking and playing around. Tuleger @ Jianghu Gangzi has changed his stage name to Tuleger, but his Inner Mongolian stylings are still the same. Tonight, he’s letting loose a new release: “I Am Mongol”… i haven’t had a chance to listen to the new record yet but I have no reason to think it won’t be good. He’s slowly but steadily following in the footsteps of Hanggai and Ajinai while retaining his own style. Saturday Oct. 27 hardest night for me to pick a gig.. really! so much good stuff out there: Rolling Stones Tribute @ [...]
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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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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
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'dazeFEAST 2012 - June 23rd at 2 Kolegas.
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- 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
- PS: You Rocked Me – Abaji, One Drop, Devils, Yungiema etc..
- Quickslants: No Dong, Some Punk, a Little Ordnance and more
Can of Worms?
- 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
- ruby on MIDI 2013: Anywhere, Anytime, Thanks for the Rock n Roll
- Beijing Daze on MIDI 2013: Anywhere, Anytime, Thanks for the Rock n Roll