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Mar
1stQuickslants: Indie Music Grows, Stegosaurus, 2 Kolegas Returns and more
ooohhh.. there’s action again!! with the weather warming up, looks like we’re almost back to Business-as-usual level as far as Beijing’s music scene is concerned. Looks for things to heat up even more as we get closer to kickoff date for Jue Festival and Sound of the Xity. This weekend got a few things going for it and some of it might be pretty darn fun. Let’s see what we got Fri. March 1 Indie Music Party @ Mao Live Xiao He and Buyi Headline this first night of indie Music celebration alongside Zhang Qianqian, Po Shang Cun, and Guo Nian. It’s definitely the folky part of this shindig with some bands that have “indie” written all over them. Sure, Xiao He is signed to maybe mars but the others as far as I know have been doing things on their own for quite some time now and that’s what indie really means: independent. A must go to gig… seriously worth the cash. Stegosaurus? @ Temple They came before and put on one hell of a good show at Mao. I liked the costumes and the style they brought along with that eclectic mix of genres in their song. A little metal, a little hard rock with a side of pop, maybe even some rapping here and there. A good band for a good time. I’m not sure i’d say the same for the opening act but let’s stay open-minded, shall we? Sat. March 2 Book Swap and Board Games [...]
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Mar
1stFreeloading & New Releases: Pairs, Stegosaurus, Jacky Danny and more
starting the snake ride with some new tunes: some are old favourites, some are new ones and one is even from out of the country. Let’s see what February is bringing us: Pairs: They’re at it again and they might get the award for most releases in the last 12 months. A new album, available online for free download/streaming and completely different from anything else they have done. I would try to describe it myself but i think they do a better job than i did on it: We’re pretty happy and slightly embarrassed to announce the release of our new album, Eltham Join. The album is a bit of a change as it features absolutely no drums and no guitars and is just piano and vocals. You can both listen to it and download it for free by going to pairs.bandcamp.com We warn you, it may have the most out of tune, most awful vocals ever put to tape. Sorry. I’m tone deaf. It’s to be expected. It was recorded, engineered, mixed and mastered towards the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013 by Adam McRae of Reykjavictim (reykjavictim.bandcamp.com) fame. Adam was awesome to record with. Everyone should do it and should give him heaps of cold hard cash. Do what you will with this info. It’s a digital release only. Who can be bothered pressing CD’s for this trash? But here it is. Something different and something that we found pretty fun to do. Thanks. Love always, [...]
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Aug
22ndNew CD: Shanghai’s Stegosaurus? Unleashes Purple PachydermI like new music and there’s been quite a bit of it lately even though i might not have gotten around to reviewing it. Still, I love when bands email to say they got a new one out the door, even if they’re not from Beijing. That’s the case for Shanghai’s Stegosaurus? whom if you might recall I wrote about over a year ago when they opened for the short lived reunion of Hang on the Box. Actually I should remember that show as the first time I ever hear the Ghost Spardac ( where are they now?) I remember them being tons of fun with their antics, costumes and the loved that they could actually play their instruments. So, anyways, the guys have a new record out called Purple Pachyderm and they’ve uploaded it up n bandcamp as a “name your own price” download. http://stegosaurus.bandcamp.com/ It’s a nice little 10 song collection, well recorded and got some hairy balls on it.. I would expect no less from a record named after Les Claypool’s own brand of wine. Check it out y’all and let them know what you think. I’ll have a review up at some point I hope.
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Nov
5thShanghai Rock: There is Some Music Down South with Fever Machine, Pinkberry et Co.Admit it folks: we’re spoiled in Beijing with live music just about every night of the week and over a hundred bands, some of which are quite good, competing for your ears, eyes and hard earned RMBs. But what’s it like elsewhere? The picture is not as rosy but that’s not to say there’s nothing available! Ruby was in Shanghai a few months ago and had a hard time finding an show on… let’s call it “expo-related malfunction”, shall we? Over the past few weeks, some Shanghai bands have been making a bit of noise and venturing up north to the capital, seeking a new audience! Cool thing is that many of them have tons of tracks available for download on Douban and elesewhere! Here’s where they stack up so far: The Fever Machine http://www.douban.com/artist/thefevermachine/ Dan Shapiro‘s baby rock show! They came up to Beijing during the world cup but yours truly was away. Still, I heard pretty darn good reviews of said show and the few songs they have on douban + videos running around Youku make have them sounding like one of the best bands down south. I wish they could come up again soon. the opening riff to HeartBrokenBleedingAgain is pretty fucking rocking! Stegosaurus? http://www.rockinchina.com/w/Stegosaurus%3F How can you not love this band? They came up a few days back and opened for Hang on the Box at Mao Live. Yes, they’re somewhat idiotic but that doesn’t take anything away from them talent-wise. The band is slightly schizophrenic [...]
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Oct
28thHang on the Box and Friends bring a bag of Mixed Tunes to Mao LiveLast saturday was one of those nights where it was really difficult to make a call on which gig to check out.. In the end, I figured I’ll catch Wu & The Side Effects soon enough and I couldn’t resist the temptation linked to Hang on the Box and Shanghai’s Stegosaurus? I saw flashes of the old Gia at the HOTB appearance last month and I couldn’t wait to see if my statement of that night “The Bitch is Back” would prove right…. Stegosaurus? on the other hand, I never even heard of prior to getting an email from the band informing me that they would open for HTOB. a quick douban trip and a listen got me interested. Show started kinda early for Mao with unannouced guests, The Ghost Spardac. I have never heard of them before but they were mildly interesting in their own little way… I couldn’t decide if they were heavy pop or soft trash but i did like a few of their songs. post-show research shows that the band has been around for a while and getting a decent following. The lead singer, Boxi, had some skills and decent energy. They’ll be back at Mao Live on November 5th along with Bigger Bang, both opening for Taipai’s The White Eyes. Stegosaurus? were up next and someone forgot to tell them that it wasn’t Halloween yet as one of the members took the stage in a luchador outfit. What can i say about them? They’re fun, [...]
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Oct
20thBeijing Live Music Quickslants: Boxes, Buzzcocks, Bucks and Side Effectscool little weekend ahead folks with just enough musical diversity and offering to keep the dazemeister happy and not over-booked. An interesting thing is a few bands playing their “first official” appearance with new lineups when they’ve been seen around town for a little while now.. think Wu & The Side Effects along with Hang On The Box. Oh yeah, in case u ain’t heard, The Buzzcocks are in town. Thursday October 21st: Paperdoll @ Yugong Yishan: I admit it, I know nothing about them and have barely heard a song or two but I’ve liked the descriptions and I’m more than curious to go check them out for shit n giggles. it’s supposed to have rock, attitude and fun. The Beijinger 9th years @ Migas: if you want a reason to get to sanlitun, there are very few better ones. The Beijinger is for the hard nosed expats by hard nosed expats and they’ve been around for a while fighting the good fight. They celebrate 9 years in style with an-you-can-drink for 99RMB at Migas which YOU KNOW will be nuts. Friday October 22nd: Buzzcocks @ Yugong Yishan: I’m writing this one knowing fully that i will not be going to this particular gig.. I hear they still put on a mean performance but I’d rather not see middle-aged 60 year olds singing songs they wrote when they were in their late teens.. it ain’t the same! The Redbucks @jiangjinjiu: I ain’t seen them bucks since the one and [...]
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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