quickslants: Punks in Love, Reggae Parties and a Swapping good time

A strange weekend ahead in Beijing with some pretty low key events taking place all around the city, a few of which have really cool potential. The biggie of Course is the 8th annual Punk Festival at Mao Livehouse.. It might be one of the few times ‘daze and Beijing Gig Guide agree as to the “gig of the week”

Friday August 5th:

All My Faith Lost @ The One Club:
They’re described as Italian neo-folk whatever that means but they sound halfway decent. Apparently, the visuals at their gigs are quite impressive and they’re good about creating an athmosphere. It’s definitely a sleeper hit IMHO. I haven’t been to The One in quite some time so I might have to trip it there.

Hollow Shadow @ Hot Cat Club:
This one screams “car crash waiting to happen” but again, it could be a good one. front-man of Goth Band IDH releasing his own solo effort which is supposedly more on the folksy side of things. In a night where not much else is really happening, it could be cool to check out something different.

Satuday August 6th:

Bookswap & Board Games @ Sequoia:
The August edition of this monthly event will be bittersweet with us saying goodbye to one of the original founding members as she prepares her post-China life. So come by between 2 and 6 pm for bookswapping, board gaming and saying goodbye to one of the original founders of this Beijing institution.

Punks in Love @ Mao:
I’ve been waiting for this one since last year! SUBS, Misandao, the Unsafe, Hell City and tons of other bands will all be at Mao paying tribute to the gods of boots, Mohawks, Oi Rock and Oi Boys. Heavy sponshorship on the this edition by Doc Marten and Vedel Beer. SUBS will be premiering their new lineup officially in Beijing whereas The Unsafe will be releasing their long awaited new album. I’m also looking forward to seeing Unregenerate Blood again after their last outing at Mao. Really cool bands folks

Sunday August 7th:

Suede @ Worker’s Gymnasium:
This one is bound to be jam packed as SUede is one of those bands with great popularity in China. During their hiatus, frontman Brett Anderson kept their name relevant by coming in often enough and this hard work looks to pay off. For me, the band will always be synonymous with the song Film Star that Eddie Izzard used on the opening credits to one of his DVDs.

Reflector + Tiger BoB @ Tango:
Reflector headlines this last series of Battle of the bands at Tango 3rd Floor. Judging by how other legs of the competition have been, this one should prove popular. Reflector is a big enough draw on their own merit depending on which bands actually made the cut, this could end up a promising bill.

Tuesday August 9:

Neon Tree @ Tango:
we had a contest on ‘daze to win a bunch of tickets for this show that drew decent interest. The folks behind this gig have really gotten the promotion machine rolling and I’d be curious to see the turnout for this show. I’m personally not a huge fan of the Neon Tree but they’re definitely not offending me. Pet Conspiracy and a yet unnamed band share opening duties.