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  • Dec
    14th    Quickslants: Apocalypse Saturday with Suyang, Cui Jian, DaBang and More….

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    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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  • Sep
    6th    Quickslants: Indiechina Celebrates, Apocalyptica, Shufuland, Tuya Festival and more..

    There’s a mouth watering variety of great gigs coming your way this weekend folks. You want metal, you got it. you want reggae, you got it, you want pop, you got it etc… i’m pretty stoked about this one folks so let’s get it started! Friday Sept. 7th Apocalyptica @ Yugong So we might not have gotten Metallica in town but we get something close enough here.. The Cello version! Apocalytica has been making waves for years with their own take on the songs. The monsters of rock themselves have given them their endorsement and they are usually picky. Indie China Anniversary @Mako Indiechina.com celebrates 8 years of covering the scene and they’re bringing in the big guns for this celebration. We’re talking really big underground guns: Low Wormwood, Omnipotent Youth Society, Glow Curve as well as relative unknowns (for me) The Dyne. This might be one of the few chances people get to see OYS without it being silly crowded and sold out considering Mako has a bigger capacity than Mao at least. A great bill and a good celebration of people that have supported the music industry for a long time. That said.. 8 years and they can’t figure out how to make a poster for their big event??? WTF? Longshendao @ Mao Dreadlocks and linen with be all over the Mao pit as China’s reggae icons, longshendao, comes out to party! Expect a lot of funny smells in the air, good times, sing alongs and one hell [...]

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  • Jul
    11th    cool news and happening: Chinese Metal at Wacken, Lidong on the charts and Black Snakes Subs

    there’s been quite a bit of things happening around the Chinese music scene as of late and some of them are particularly exciting for yours truly, especially in terms of developing the scene overseas: Suffocated, Yaksa and The Falling will be featured in this year’s Wacken open air metal festival. How about that folks? 3 Chinese bands playing the biggest Metal festival in the world.. I’m stoked! This is a huge feat with many parties involved to make it happen including MIDI, Painkiller Magazine’s Yu Yang and the Chinese Ministry of Culture. I hope this works out for all parties concerned. A few years back, Voodoo Kungfu made it to Wacken but there never seemed to be any follow up. Here’s hoping this is different and the bands make the most of their opportunity. For those going to Wacken ( lucky bastards), the show times are scheduled as follows ( h/t Rock in China) The Falling on W:E:T Stage 02-08-2012 at 16:40 Yaksa on Headbangers Stage 03-08-2012 at 11:30 Suffocated on Party Stage 04-08-2012 at 11:00 Congrats to the bands going and good luck! I think Suffocated will do just fine. Yaksa really needs to have a good day to impress but The Falling will get swallowed live. A band like SAW, Tomahawk or Ordnance would have done a much better job in terms of appealing to a Metal audience that knows their shit. On a lighter fokier note, looks like the lidong masterplan is picking up: Their song Xiao [...]

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  • Jul
    5th    Quickslants: Snakes, Mohanik, 3 Weddings, Mamer, Heavy Birthday and Music Galore

    Summer is officially music season here y’all.. we’re looking at another busy weekend in old smoggy ( and boy is she smoggy this week) to try and distract us from all our weekly grind. It’s a rich and diverse one with tribute shows, metal galore ( and lulu galore) not to mention a whole bunch of ‘daze favorites stopping by… let’s get to it, shall we? Thursday July 5th Lulu Galore & Sweet Leaf @ Temple Lulu rocked the grass at 2 Kolegas 10 days ago with her suave voice, charming smile and soothing ukulele sounds. I’m assuming she will do more of the same to the Temple goers tonight and have no reason to believe it won’t be fun. Friday July 6th Omnipotent Youth Society @ Yugong I get a feeling I have not been to Yugong Yishan forever and that might be true. Granted, they’ve been putting on a few high profile shows lately and I’m seriously overdue for a return there. Friday would be interesting and packed most likely with Shijiazhuang’s Omnipotent Youth Society doing a rare stop in the capital. Last time these cats played a paying show, there were 200 people stuck outside Mao Livehouse that couldn’t get in. Even with ticket prices at 150 rmb, I expect a full house here. 3 Weddings & 1 Farewell @ 2kolegas DH & The Hellcats as we know them will be no more. One member is moving overseas while 3 are getting married. They’re marking the occasion [...]

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  • Jun
    20th    Making Strides… Suffocated, Brain Failure and others on National TV

    we’re going mainstream folks, slowly but surely! A few years ago, there was no place for Yao Gun on National Chinese TV, especially not the Metal and Punk Variety. Now, it’s all changing! With football ( Euro 2012) dominating the headlines, it’s easy to forget about the music but CCTV5 is making sure this doesn’t happen. Before every game, they have been showing a 10 mn clip with a local rock band, all pre-recorded a few weeks ago during a 2 day extravaganza at Tango. And guess what, Suffocated is one of those bands… yes, probably the reigning kings of metaldom in China were on National TV playing music and chatting: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/Rh8jwhWz5as/ How about them Metalheads? I love how the host went: “first thing i thought of after hearing you guys is “where are the lyrics”.. it’s cute almost! There is slowly more mainstream acceptance for this and I’m loving it. I’m gonna try to collect all the clips when I have time. For now, enjoy suffocated embeded in here and click over to CNTV website for some more like Brain Failure in the link below. http://eurocup.cntv.cn/2012/20120612/118135.shtml man man lai

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  • Mar
    29th    Quickslants: Hellcats, Mantas, Metal Battles, Sound of the Xity and more

    This end of March/beginning of April period is kicking ass, taking names… And there’s no escaping it baby! These quickslants basically carry over into next week thanks to the ballsy folks from Sex in the Xity who have pretty much taken over Beijing from April 1-3 with shows all over the freaking city spawning all genres! C There’s a lot to get to so let’s get started without any further delays: Thursday March 29 Dong Chorus @ Jianghu I went out of my way to catch these guys last Thursday. They didn’t disappoint! beautiful harmonies, really interesting outfits and just all around special. I’d see them again. Be warned though that even though they might announce Wu Hongfei on the bill, she doesn’t play. I actually got quite ticked off about that at 2K but what the post. Still, worth checking. Friday March 30 Hellcats/Mantas/Beatles @ 2Kolegas Put on you dancing shoes an come on over baby… The hellcats will be swinging it, The Flying Mantas with surf things up and might show you a couple of surprises. The Beijing Beatles can take care of the fab side… This is an early candidate for gig of the freaking year and I expect to see 2 Kolegas hopping til the wee hours of the morning. Christmas, purveyors of idiotic rock, also on the bill. gonna be an interesting one. Saturday March 31 Mademoiselle @ Modernista Yes, spring is back and so are the lovely tunes of one Marie Claude Lebel. The [...]

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  • Nov
    25th    MIDI Awards 2011 Nominations announced: The New Guard is IN

    most of the blogosphere has given MIDI a lot of shit over the past 2 years for their awards and the incestuous nature of the nominees/winners. Fact is a lot of progress was made from the first edition to the second edition last year. This year, the jump is even bigger! The nomination process notice was given months ago and it looks like people have answered! http://www.midischool.cn/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=54374&extra=page%3D1 This one is probably the most diverse I’ve seen so far and I like it. Seeing fresh faces on there like Long Shen Dao is cool. Omnipotent Youth Society ciments their status as one of the better bands in China whereas Namo doesn’t really come through despite a busy year touring. Steely Heart, soon to release an album, makes an appearance as nominee for best new band which is a bit surprising in my book. Missing is also Xiao He with his latest release in the folk side but Su Yang makes a well deserved appearance. No Maybe Mars or Modern Sky artists, including MIDI favorite, Xie Tian Xiao who hasn’t done much this year. Here is the roughly translated list of nominees 1、“最佳年度摇滚专辑”提名 “Best Rock Album Year” ： 龙神道《拥抱》- Long Shen Dao “Hug” 马木尔与IZ乐队《影子》 – Mamer & IZ “shadow” 苏阳《像草一样》- Su Yang “Like Grass” 左小祖咒《庙会之旅II》 Zuoxiao Zuzhou “Temple Journey II” 　 2、“最佳年度摇滚歌曲”提名 Best Rock Song of the Year： 川子《郑钱花》 Chuan Zi “zhèng qián huā” GALA《追梦赤子心》 GALA “The Purest Heart” 咖啡因《时光》 Caffeine “time” 龙神道《慢慢飞》 Long Shen Dao “slowly fly” 万能青年旅店《杀死那个石家庄人》 Omnipotent Youth Society [...]

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  • Sep
    20th    Intercity Festival 2011: Good Times, Dry Times, Fantastic Performances and crapouts

    Last week’s Intercity music festival is all forgotten now in the wake of more up to date news and all but I still wanted to chime in with a little review mostly of day 1 with snippets from day 2. Day 1 was undoubtedly highlighted by the performances of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC) and He Yong for most, including yours truly but there was so much more that took place that day and deserves to be recorded. The location in the heart of Chaoyang Park is dear to my heart for being the place where Chaoyang Pop Festival was held in 2007 and remains the standard I hold others to. This year, it was a bit understated with a few stalls selling random foods, some selling water, juices and vitamin water and alcohol was inconspicuous by its almost non-presence continuing a tradition of semi dry festivals. Only this time, a few stalls set up makeshift cocktail bars with watered down Cuba Libre warm beer in water cooler. Attendance during day 1 started slow with more people coming later in the day despite it being a beautiful autumn afternoon in Beijing but for the few that were there, we had some decent music. Strangely enough, Pilot Records, the festival organizers, sent most of their bands to the smaller stage in the back where they struggled to get attention and keep the fans sitting. Bands like Liquid Oxygen Can, Suffocated, CMCB and Face, just to mention a few, usually the labels’ [...]

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  • Sep
    8th    Quickslants: Mongolian Festival, Intercity Festival, Hell’Bone Night, Lulu Galore and more

    This is the kind of weekend that hurts my head in terms of picking where to go… so many good shows, so little time and I wanna see them all.. yes my precious, I want them all! Mongolian Music Festival at Mako, Pilot Records Intercity Festival in Chaoyang Park, Black Cat Bone w/ DH & The Hellcats ( aka Hell’Bone) just to name a few! Let’s snap to it! Thursday Sept 8 Gou Mao @ Jianghu I’ve never heard of the guy but he’s got a couple of CDs to his name and the stuff on Douban sounds pretty darn good. Acoustic rock with earthy vibes and a slight heavy edge. Plus, I’m thinking I ain’t been to Jianghu in a little while. Definitely an interesting option Friday Sept 9 Mongolian Festival day 1 @ Mako Yes folks, this is taking place at Mako Livehouse in Shuangjing who is making a strong comeback over the past few weeks as a premier live music venue. Headlining Day 1 of the festival is old Friends Hanggai along with rockers Thin Man whose lead singer, Dai Qin is also Mongolian. Shaman Humai, one of the first bands on, seems quite interesting. it should be fun! Miss Lulu Galore @ Alanting Yes, Lulu Galore, of the Burlesque Group fame, is launching her solo dance and music project with this debut performance at Alanting in Sanlitun South.. to put it in her own words: ” Miss Lulu Galore and Sweet Leaf is her latest music [...]

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  • Aug
    23rd    GROWL 4: They came, They Rocked and it was FUN

    Pilot records has undoubtedly some of my favorite Chinese acts signed up. They’re on the heavier side of things and keep rock alive with a good mix of bands and regular shows. The 4th edition of GROWL was just like that this past week when ZuoYou, CMCB, Suffocated and The Face joined forces together and rocked the shit out of Mao Live. I didn’t make it there on time to see ZuoYou (but I will, one day)..however, I did get to see CMCB for the first time in almost a year. I discovered the China MC Brothers at Pilot’s festival last year and they impressed the hell out of me. Enough to go out and get the record right away. They didn’t disappoint in the few songs I heard them do! Their “这里是北京” is one hell of an enticing song and get the crowd going every time. To their credit, they do actually play instruments, do solos but also use a DJ… not one of those “everything is sampled” bands.. Suffocated was up next and I was smack down front front row for that one… and baby it was special! They’re doing everything right from theatrics to a heavy sound, nasty drums and growls not to mention more stage presence than you can throw a gorilla at. I’m gonna have to make a continuous effort to try and get their songs because they get the crowd in a trance and I wanna understand what they’re saying. The place was just [...]

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  • The Mini Skinny

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