Weekend Quickslants: Music, Art and Sex Toys – a little something for everyone

While BD is away sipping cocktails on the beaches of Vietnam, the rest of us here are braving the icy Beijing winds looking for places to escape the cold. Things will soon be winding down for the annual Chunjie break with 2Kolegas being the first venue to stop advertising shows (although I hear through the dreadlocked grapevine they will have a reggae night this Sat). For those not heading away there are still plenty of shows to keep us busy this weekend.

Friday Jan 21:

AIS, Wu & the Side Effects, Lazy Camels @ D22
GBoB China winners AIS head out to the Wu in what could possibly be the last chance to catch them before they head south to KL to take on the rest of the world? They’ll be joined by their 2Kolegas buddies Wu & the Side Effects, D22 regulars Lazy Camels and End of the World.
**Update – Wu & the Side Effects have cancelled. **

IN3: The Impatient Rabbit Makes Its Attack @ Yugong Yishan
Ok, I’m more of a metal chick than a home girl, but I have been listening to a bit of CMCB recently & if I wasn’t taking one of my twice annual trips to Haidian, this is probably where I would be. Billed as the indisputable champions of Chinese hip-hop, these boys rap over a variety on tunes from hard rock to jazz, r&b to electro. Here’s hoping the YGYS sound system plays nice for them, or maybe in this case the lack of volume might highlight their skills on the mic even more …

Saturday Jan 22:

The Red Light Revolution Art Auction & Party @ Salud
Film meets art meets sex toys?! Join in on the silent auction for artworks made from props in the sex shop comedy Red Light Revolution. All proceeds go to bringing the film to audiences around China. www.redlightrevolution.com

Love’s Tourettes @ VA
New kids on the Beijing scene will have you grooving along to their infectious funk vibe. These guys get tighter as a band every time I see them and I’m looking forward to hearing their cover of one of my favourite Australian bands The Cat Empire.

Sunday Jan 23:

WangZi Opening Party @ Yugong Yishan
Artist WangZi launches his new exhibition enlisting the help of Queen Sea Big Shark, The Dancers, Zhan Pan, Bian Yuan and others. There’s also an afterparty @ School for those who don’t have to get up for work on Monday.

GangZi & Liu Minghan @ Mao
While his Hanggai buddies are away on tour GangZi keeps the Mongolian tunes alive, including his own version of the Drinking Song. If you missed his solo show last thursday and his impromptu jam session with Li Dong the next night, be sure to catch him with folk singer Liu Minghan on Sunday.

And if all this isn’t enough to keep you busy, there’s a new music venue opening in Gulou. Tu Shu Guan (The Library) has it’s opening party on Friday night with pop-rock band Doll Soldiers, then DJ taking over later and a free welcome drink for all. This venue has some French involvement, so maybe it will be the replacement for the old Gingko? (Here’s a map to help you find it)