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May
3rdQuickslants: Lidong, Yunggiema, Not There, Reggae and more
Gee… 3 days of non-stop music are over and we’re back to regular rotation before we go unto another onslaught of tunes. So in case the festivals didn’t do you in, here are some goodies you can look forward to over the next 3 days. Of course, don’t forget the CD BLues festival that I mentioned earlier Friday May 3: Lidong @ JIanghu we all know my addition/affection for all things Ningxia, right? well, good buddies Lidong are coming out to the hutongs for one of their last shows for a few months. beautiful modern northwestern folk from the Ningxia plains that will keep you on your seat. Jianghu is probably the best place for them to pull this off… with the nice weather, might as well hit it. Yunggiema @ Mako One of my favorite female vocalists running around all smoggy. She’s got a new performance out and it’s apparently quite different from the stuff she’s been doing with Song Yun Zhe so i’m really excited about this one. It does seems like she’s playing every other day lately but i’m pretty much convinced that there is no such thing as too much Yunggiema. I mean there is a good reason she’s nicknamed the Siren. By the way, Mako is reopening their upstairs restaurant tonight with some pretty tasty xinjiang food so in case you got a bit of a hunger, this will take care of it. Saturday May 4 One Drop @ 2 Kolegas yup, the reggae boys [...]
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Mar
8thQuickslants: Women’s Day, Jue, Punks and Japanese Noise
A bit of a late quickslants edition but as they say, better late than never. A whole lotta things going on for the weekend and even early next week so let’s get right into it starting with all the women’s day festivities around town: Fri March 8 Women’s Day @ 2 KOlegas Residence A, Wu and the Side Effects allong with some ROlling Bowling rockabilly will be providing the entertainment over at the drive in. I believe women get in for free and the gig is very much worth it. It might actually be quite hopping and crowded but in 2 KOlegas Fashion, it’s all good. Not a bad start to a Friday Ember Swift @ Temple Well Well Well… my favourite Rock n roll mama hits up temple and who better to lead Women’s Day festivities than her? I’m not sure if it’s her solo or with the full band but it will be good either ways. Guo Jian, LSD frontman, will be DJing afterwards. Sat March 9th Mars En Folie @ Yugong Yishan a celebration of all things francophone over at Yugong brings together an eclectic mix of musicians and lot of French folks if you’re into that sort of things. They usually party hard and you’re gonna be in it for a good time. so, why not “Laisser les bon temps rouler”. Some of the acts include Kl Pelgag, Benjamin Schoos & Sophie Galet, Les Mauvaises Langues and Junior Tshaka… who?? yeah.. Nostalgia @ School Two of [...]
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Mar
7thNews to Ooze: Sohu Music, Residence A, Djan San, Chasing Stars, MIDI, Strawberry and more
You can almost feel spring around the corner folks… its warming up, t-shirts are making appearances and the live music scene is heating up once again. A shit load of tidbits taking place so let’s go over some of them. Biggest thing for the industry seems like a nice settlement between SOHU and the major labels. They have reached a licensing agreement, details of which i don’t know yet. In doing so, they’re following in the footsteps of Baidu and can legalize their music offering. That’s a nice welcome change for international acts. I’m not sure how this helps the local music industry though. Read more here A really cool piece on one of our favorite bands, Residence A, just made it into The Beijinger blog. It’s unusual in that it actually gives more insight into the band’s history and their frontman, Zhao Zhao. Good job by Kyle Mulin on this one No one can accuse Jean Sebastian Hery (aka Zhang Si’An, aka Djan San, aka front man of AIS and i might be forgetting some of his titles) of laziness. The guy is a really good example of the DIY scene in Beijing and he’s putting out 3 freaking albums at the same time. Sure, anyone can record their gigs and release them but the scene would be so much more vibrant if a few more folks followed the footsteps of the mad Frenchie. He’s gonna have a release party Saturday at Jianghu. See his website for details and [...]
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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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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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Sep
14thQuickslants: Grunge Nights, No Fillers, Sand and CoversChange: All Events at 2 Kolegas cancelled til 9/18 due to tense situation with nearby Japanese Embassy IT’s already been a week? Time flies when when you’re waiting for music and there is a shitload of it in town over the next few days. Ruby’s has already been out and about catching Zhaozhe, her “potential” gig of 2012, but the real action starts tonight with a shitload of goodies. We’re even treated so some pretty sweet sunday choices. Let’s dig in: Friday September 14 Music Day @ Tango: Reflector headlines this night eclectic music at yonghegong which has Escape Plan (former Perdel), Residence A, Namo and Dude. Arguably some of the most popular and fun bands in the city right now, they’re sure to draw one hell of an audience at Tango… I hope so because the place feels like a cave when empty. Lao Liu & Sand @ Jianghu An old favorite stops by Jianghu as it gets closer to closing its doors. Lao Liu still one of the better bluesmen of the capital and has a loyal following. Cool little chill gig to warm your heart as temperature take a dip. Cover Night @ Yugong Yishan Here is a gig that has some great potential if done right and the bands get out of their comfort zone: Not There, Army of Jade Kirin, Velvet Highway, The Gray and Longjin are set to cover some of their idols. I can definitely see AJK doing Marylin Manson but the tricky [...]
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Aug
28thThe Beijinger Showcase Delivers on Good Times, Beer and some MusicSo last year at some point, the Beijinger managing editor promised a New Music Showcase and the team set out to deliver. The result was called “The Beijinger New Music Showcase” that took place last week over at 2 Kolegas… The promise was for the audience to discover new music, drink a lot of beer ( free flow from 4:00 to 11:00pm included Slow Boat, Vedett, Tiger and Budweiser) and have one hell of a party. I got there a little late on the day so I missed the first few bands that went on, namely Not There and Pacololo but I did manage to catch Residence A, Stiletto, Elephant Fresh,Ronnie’s Will, Bad Mamasan, the new SUBS and the Amazing Insurance Salesmen.. That is a decent lineup worth the admission price , especially at RMB100 ( btw, full disclosure, I didn’t pay to get into this gig). I was excited to actually catch some band I hadn’t seen before along with some sure values. Granted, the only really new band in the fold was Stiletto but we’ll deal with that later. Residence A was on as i got there putting on a performance like only they can do. The played most of their usual songs but also had some new material that sounds a bit different, mellower than their early efforts. They had the crowd jumping throughout most of their set and the excitement boiled up with some moron pouring his beer over Zhao Zhao whom managed to not miss [...]
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Aug
5thGrooving in the Grasslands: Behind the scenes at Zhangbei InMusic FestivalZhangbei, around 4 hours drive from the capital, close to Inner Mongolia, has been referred to as China’s Woodstock, but it commonly known as one of the more chaotic, gritty local festivals on the calendar. I went out there for the first time on the last day of last year’s festival and had so much fun I wanted to head back again this year. This I was planning on heading out again on the bus and camping, but the offer of joining friends who were performing was too good to turn down, so at 7am on the Sunday morning I headed out on the musicians bus with a bunch of sleepy bands due to play on the last day of the 3 day festival. 4 hours later, after passing wide open grasslands, wind-power turbines, and leaving the grey skies of Beijing far behind we arrived at band central, a holiday park full of chinese tourists staying in permanent yurt-style rooms just across the fields from the stages. If we were still in Hebei, it didn’t feel like it, during lunch we were serenaded by three horsehead fiddles – with a backing track of drum & bass and flashing lights and dancers! After last year’s experience, and the drama I had heard about, but not been affected by myself, this year seemed a lot more organized. Sure the acts were running late, starting the day about an hour behind, and ending up over 2 hours late, but I can say behind [...]
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Jul
31stNews To Ooze: No Megadeth, Welcome Apocalyptica, Beijinger Showcase, Punk & Hardcore FestivalsWell well well… Megadeth’s show on August 3rd has been “postponed” until further notice. This doesn’t really come as a surprise. 2 weeks to the show, no prices were announced, no advertising was printing etc.. I’m not sure the folks from Guitar China have any credibility left outside of a few hardcore fan who believe their “we’re the victim” cries. They had a major fuck up with Dream Theatre not too long ago and now they pulled off this one. The consensus since day one was that it was impossible that Megadeth would be playing Tango: Too small, they’re too expensive and somethings just didn’t add up. On the other hand, Apocalyptica is confirmed to play at Yugong Yishan this September. Originally, rumors had them playing Beijing earlier this summer at the workers’ gym but nothing came out of that. They are reportedly confirmed for September 7th at Yugong Yishan which has the potential for being a madhouse considering the legions of Metallica fans in China and how this is the closest they’ll get to it for a little while. They’re also playing Mao Live in Shanghai. The Beijinger has announced the lineup for their New Music Showcase at 2 Kolegas. Looking good with Subs, Bad Mamasan, Residence A, Amazing Insurance Salesmen, Not There etc…. I can’t complain: half the bands on the lineup were there for ‘dazeFEAST. Hoever, I’m kinda bummed a little bit though because I really was hoping they’d go out and help discover new bands, bring [...]
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