-
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 [...]
-
Jun
6thVoodoo Kungfu Farewell Show: A Passionate Emotional GoodbyeI’ve criticized Voodoo Kungfu just as much as I bathed them with praise in the past, Much like their charismatic leader, I was not willing to settle with anything less than greatness from them. Tell you what folks, 2 weeks ago, as they delivered their last performance ever to a packed Mao Livehouse, they were at the top of their game. Put it this way: words that could describe the power, intensity and overall feeling of that night do not exist.. I can’t think of any that would do them justice! To say Mao Live was packed would be an understatement… it was a death-pit and a catastrophy waiting to happen but no one cared! The 600+ faithful that gathered to pay their tribute to one of the most charismatic figures and entities that graced the Yaogun Scene. The place was covered in small chunks of paper carrying calligraphy. Those were hanging on the ceilings, on the instruments, thrown on the stage, into the audience etc… The place was packed by 8:30 even though the band didn’t start until much after 9:30.. it didn’t matter, it was the calm before the storm! and as soon as the band came on stage, the storm was unleashed! Last time i experienced such fury, emotion, passion, madness, love and more was when Exodus graced Beijing with their presence.. if that one was intense folks, Voodoo Kungfu’s last gig was nothing short of cataclysmic! And NOOOOOOO!! I am not overstating: from the first Tibetan [...]
-
May
25thLive Music Quickslants: 2 Kolegas Turns 7, Voodoo Kungfu Says Goodbye and moreI think May is officially “Music Month” in Beijing… we got things started with festivals and we’re finishing them up with the yearly 2 Kolegas bash and the Beijing Blues Festival. It’s been a good but loooooong month folks and summer is just arriving! Sad thing about this week is that we’re saying goodbye to two bands I care about… Goodbye, Thank You For The Fish played their last show wednesday night at Temple. Voodoo Kungfu will play their last show sunday at Mao Live. I hate when this happens to good bands. anyways, let’s see what’s cooking for the next few days: Friday May 25 2 Kolegas 7th Year Anniversary – Part 1 Devils at the Crossroad, Buyi, Skarving, Rolling Bolling and Nucleus will be on hand to get the festivities started at the drive-in… It’s gonna be loud, fun, messy, grungy and there’s really no where else I’d rather be tonight. Last year, both nights, people were still on the lawn at the wee hours of the day. My appreciation for that place is well documented and i’ll see you there for a bourbon! Yunggiema @ Yugong Yishan She has one of the best voices in China, bar none! The Tibetain minority songstress will delighting the audiences at Yugong Yishan with her beautiful melodies and dreamy tunes. I’ve seen her enough times playing with Song Yu Zhe but as far as I understand, tonight at yugong is her own gig. It should be good and special! Saturday May [...]
-
Feb
17thVoodoo Kungfu: A Weibo Goodbye from Li NanFlash back to 2009 when yours truly had a hectic circuit running around Beijing from show to show, the one slotted in the middle featured Voodoo Kungfu and the Folk Orchestra at Mao Livehouse. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the sight of Li Nan perched up above the stage, his body covered in writings, preaching to a hypnotized crowd in a packed Mao Live. It was beautiful! Fast forward a few years, things have changed and it’s apparently time to waive Voodoo Kungfu goodbye as their frontman and musical soul, Li Nan is headed out to Berklee College of Music. The announcement was made through his weibo account also announcing a farewell tour sometime this spring. Here’s hoping it’s a grandiose and befitting celebration of a unique monster. All of Voodoo Kungfu’s tunes are now available for download on their douban page for personal use and hopefully not for abuse. Voodoo is one of the most interesting acts still and Li Nan definitely had a lot to do with it. I’m sure something will come out of his time stateside! You can also follow the band on weibo for some interesting tidbits and historical facts that Li Nan has been posting lately about the music, logos, makeup, influences etc… http://weibo.com/voodookungfu I don’t think many people will understand how special of an artist China is losing… I’ll refers you to this slightly outdated, but nevertheless relevant, interview by Gary Temple for City Weekend a few years back: http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijing/articles/blogs-beijing/the-beat/voodoo-kungfu-and-the-coming-dark-age/ Up from [...]
-
Jan
10thTop 5 Best Chinese Albums of 2011: IZ, Ordnance, Hedgehog, Proximity Butterfly and LongshendaoMan it sounds so pretentious to say this… but it’s a title that gets headlines and scores high in search engines so deal with it. There are many reasons why this is not a traditional “best of”, main one being I can’t claim that i heard every album released in 2011 all around the country. From those I did hear though, and there were quite a few, there are a number of standouts.. let’s see how they go: IZ [ Kolengke ] If a steel mill could sing, that’s what it would sound like (thanks Sharon)! This has been one of the better records of the year and that for many reasons. It’s pretty darn different from anything available in China that I managed to get my hands on. If you know of something similar, let me know. Mamer and his crew just put together a beautiful cacophony of sounds and made it work. It’s dark without being too gloomy. The album is actually beautifully simple despite what seems like elaborate compositions with thundering bass lines and percussions. Back in the days, Kazakhs used to write songs about grasslands and plains where they roamed free. Nowadays, Mamer and IZ are city dwellers, it makes sense that they songs reflect their new lifestyle.This is an album that stands on its own in and outside of China as far as I’m concerned! It doesn’t need nor does it ask for excuses! Hedgehog [2011 DEstroy meMOries] yup, Hedgehog! The trio has been extremely [...]
-
Dec
26thVoodoo Kungfu at Mao Live — Downhill DescentRoughly about two years ago, I had one of the most memorable gigging experiences in Beijing when I managed to catch ChunQuiu Unpluged at jianghu, Voodoo Kungfu and the Folk Orchestra at Mao Live and finally the tail end of The Tag Team Christmas Shindig featuring none other that Ziyo… amazing night I’m telling you! Fast forward two years, Voodoo Kungfu is back to the scene of the crime, albeit without the folk orchestra. I did see the band about 4 times this year with the better performance being their short lived headlining set at MIDI.I had high hopes that they would be bringing their A game to Mao Live and show Beijing that they still had it. One would think that the band would have a sense of urgency given that they haven’t really managed to cross over at the level they expected especially with that humiliating participation at the summersonic competition. Mao was comfortably packed when I got there with J-Curls, Ruby and Ms Glee. There wasn’t much in terms of stage decoration but I’m learning that it’s a standard thing with the band. The show from 2 years ago was an exception… The place erupted when the band finally came on stage and we got started.. at least the computer did. For the next 45 minutes, I stood there watching and listening in horror realizing that more than half of the music was just audio samples coming from some console or laptop. No matter how good they [...]
-
Dec
21stQuickslants: Second Hand Rose, Muma, Subs, Voodoo Kungfu and More (updated)Hellooo Beijing.. miss me? I didn’t think so either. Ruby did an amazing job keeping the show on the road while I was out on an ear-cleaning mission. Many posts/comments coming up once I catch up but let’s first get started with some quick slants as tonight (wednesday) has some pretty darn solid offerings. Wednesday Dec 21st Muma & 3rd Party @ Yugong Yishan One of the most intense performers I’ve seen this side of the big silly is back with a heavy hard hitting record. We’ve been waiting and talking about this one at ‘daze central for a few months already and the results will be heard tonight. I did get to sample a few of the new cuts and it’s very dark and industrial sounding (think NIN). I’m not sure how that’s gonna come of live, especially at Yugong Yishan. Still, Muma & 3rd Party are veterans coming off a national tour and this should be pretty darn solid. Second Hand Rose @ Tango: Good old funny veterans are back in Beijing playing a venue they have learned to control.. Their last gig over there was pretty darn amazing for the band’s 10th and I wouldn’t expect any less from the gang. They’ve also been out touring quite extensively this year so it should be quite tight. Cross-talk rock at its finest with a hint of drag and a whole lotta attitude. Thursday Dec 22nd Take a break and save yourself for the weekend…. It’s gonna be massive [...]
-
Dec
13thMidi Awards 2011: Do you agree with the winners?As much as I wanted to hangout with the Santas on Saturday and make the most of a rare not so cold, blue sky day in the Jing, I also wanted even more to head into the big warm dark cave that is Tango 3rd Floor and spend the entire day watching bands, drinking beer and seeing who got to take home a Midi brick or 2 (or 3 in the case of one lucky person!) So with BD on a plane downunder, Alex & I headed to Yonghegong to party with our favourite bands! If you’re not sure who was nominated this year, check out this cool clip from Midi introducing the awards and the nominees: And, drumroll please, here are your winners: Best New Band: Steely Heart Best Album Artwork Design Award: Pet Conspiracy 宠物同谋 “Pet Conspiracy” Best Instrumental Performance: Jì Yuán 纪元 (Air Carnival 空中狂欢节乐队- Guitar) Best Hard Rock Band: Ordnance 巨蟹座 Best Metal Band: Yaksa 夜叉 Best Female Vocalist: Jiāng Xīn 姜昕 Best Folk Musician: Hao Yun 郝云 (presented by Alex from Beijing Gig Guide!) Best Rock Song: Gala “The Purest Dream Chasing Heart” Best Rock Album Year: Long Shen Dao 龙神道 “Hug” Best Live Performance: Miserable Faith 痛仰 Best Rock Band: Long Shen Dao 龙神道 Best Male Vocalist: Zuoxiao Zuzhou 左小祖咒 Contribution to Rock: Modern Sky 摩登天空 Big congrats to all the winners, especially the busiest guy of the day, guitarist Gao Xu, who took home 3 awards (2 with Long Shen Dao, 1 with [...]
-
Aug
25thMini Slants: XTX, Beijing Jazz Festival Cancelled, To Die For, Free RusticFolks, it’s been kind of a busy week with ‘daze HQ moving into town but still, I’m not gonna leave you with your weekly fix of recommendations: Beijing Jazz Festival CANCELLED: If you were planning on attending the 3 day extravaganza at Gongti East Gate, forget about it. It’s been cancelled! I spoke to some of the bands slated to take part in it who have confirmed the news. XTX / Tiger Translate @ Tango on Friday The Beijing grand Finale of Tiger Translate battle of the bands featuring Xie Tian Xiao. Should be fun with Army of Jade Kirin being one of the finalists. Rustic @ d-22 Friday: Free shows from the boys before they hit the road for their England/Europe tour. Should be fun! To Die For / Vic Anselmo / Voodoo Kungfu @ Tango Saturday metal metal metal… there aren’t many metal shows where voodoo kungfu is definitely not the best band on the bill I promise more updates next week
-
Aug
12thMark Your Calendar: Vic Anselmo, To Die For, Voodoo Kungfu on 8/27I love the opportunity for a good diverse show and this one coming up August 27th at Mao Live Tango* has all the markings of a really goooooooood one! The freaks will come out and it might get bloody! Latvian Goth siren, Vic Anselmo ( not to be confused with that other Anselmo) will join forces with Finland Metal monsters To Die For along with China’s Voodoo Kungfoo and Frosty Eve. I expect a lot of Chains, eye make up, black clothing and heavy heavy rhythms. Tickets available on Taobao for pre-sale: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=12497783512& this one gonna get loud folks! * = Thanks to Gleefully for noticing the mistake in location
- ‹ Older Posts
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
Ganbei!!!!
'dazeFEAST 2012 - June 23rd at 2 Kolegas.
17 Bands, Roast Lamb & All FREEWhat’s on Offer?
- 10 Questions (31)
- Album Reviews (22)
- Beijing 人 (44)
- Belly Ties (52)
- blabbers (326)
- Book Review (1)
- Chinese Through Lyrics (2)
- Freeloading (34)
- Geek matter (17)
- Gig Reviews (58)
- Need'em liquids (9)
- On The Road (3)
- Outsourced Blabbers (21)
- Provincial Restaurants (15)
- Quickslants (64)
- Roaming Around (11)
- Tunes under the moon (524)
looking for something?
Ingredients
2 kolegas Amazing insurance salesmen Bad Mamasan Beijing 人 black cat bone Brain Failure buyi Chunqiu DH & the hellcats Dude Ember Swift Flying Mantas free the birds GAWTMY Hanggai Hedgehog iz Jacky Danny Kaiser Kuo Kick Ass Lidong live music mademoiselle Maggie Who Mamer Mao Livehouse MIDI Miserable Faith Nanwu Nucleus Omnipotent youth society provincial restaurant randy abel stable Residence A rustic skarving Steely Heart SUBS Suffocated The Redbucks voodoo kungfu whai wu & side effects xiao he yugong yishanFresh Pills
- 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?
- karen millen dresses How Can you Use Myspace Layouts on Quickslants: Jurat, PiL, XTX, Yangjima for a Loaded End of Week
- HEATWOLVES热狼 on Full MIDI 2013 Information: Camping, Travelling, Hotels and More
- 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