Quickslants: Hanggai, Sound of the Xity, CMCB, Cobain remembered and more

The weather is nicer, the freaks are coming out and that means the choices available to get our fill of music in town are increasingly more diverse and difficult to pick from. This is especially true with the Sound of the Xity series hitting us with a full frontal assault of great lineups.
The party got started early for a private media only gig wednesday night at 2 Kolegas where Second Hand Rose, Whai and others blew the roof off the venue with explosive performances… Watching er shoo is such an intimate setting brought back some fond memories of smaller gigs at the old Get Lucky bar… So, without further due, let’s get down to the meaty side of the weekend.

Friday April 4th

Hanggai @ Mako
Yes, finally China is getting access to Hanggai’s latest record. It’s been released overseas already to critical acclaim and let me tell you folks, it’s a good one. It’s classic Hanggai but with less gimmicks and more feelings. The band has grown up and they’re showing it through better music and honest lyrics from the heart. I’ve been know to drink the kook-aid for some bands and this one is definitely one of them.. deservedly so if I may say it myself.
Here is the video for the title song

Classic Rock @ Yugong
Tomahawk, CMCB, The Face, Sick Pupa and more classic metal/hard rock bands will be headed over to Yugong Yishan for an old school China flavoured music night. The cats on the bill have all been around the proverbial block many times in a row an this rodeo is nothing new for them. You’re guaranteed to meet old school Beijing Yaogun-heads and bang your head while raising some horns.

Saturday April 5th

SotX @ Tango ( Note: Starting at 2:00 p.m)
Tribal Trip, Dagadana（POL), Fuel Fandango（ESP), Albert Kuvezin（RUS), TenTemPies（NL), Longshendao and Suyang: Talk about a freaking loaded show!! I’d go for suyang and longshendao on their own but with this army of names and acts, that’s a lot of value per buck and a lot of new bands to meet. I don’t have any particular running order but this is huge.
Here is the MV for the Suyang Classic: 苏阳《像草一样》

Kurt Cobain Tribut @ 2 Kolegas
get inside a time machine and travel back to the early 90s when grunge was king. Dayfly (Korea), CA, Silt & Lotus,Wacky Tobacco and Drunkard are all on deck for this tribute. A lot of unknown bands to me so it might be quite interesting to get a first look at all of this fresh blood.

SotX @ Temple:
Neemah, Sanchuan, Depedro (ESP), Tulegur and Taan Towch will be over in Gulou for a World-Music flavoured evening. I’m not sure they picked the right venue for this one but hope the audience will shut the hell up and let people enjoy some of the music.

Sunday April 6th

SotX @ Tango
This is the loaded finale.. on a sunday!! Tango is at it again with a stellar lineup [ Les Tireuxd’Roches（CA）MAYA KAMATY（FRA）Nine Treasures, Soundtoy, Jambinai（KR）Nsista（BR）Shanren ]

S0tX @ Temple
you can unwind with an easy going night [AMATORSKI（BE) The Randy Abel Stable（US） AJINAI GUOJIAN ].. Not a bad way to close out 4 days of intense music.

So folks, no excuse to net get some live music this weekend with all the choices you have. I’m personally gonna stick with the S0tX shows for one main reason: This is a showcase and all the bands have a vested interest to put their best goddamn foot forward. Remembering last year, they’re playing like each one of these songs is the last one they’ll ever play.