Quickslants: IZ returns, Book Swap, Olympic Rock, Simple Plan, Folks of the World and more

Welcome to 2012 darlings… let’s make sure it rocks!
For this first edition of the quick slants, we find ourselves all over the spectrum with choices. Some of them definitely rocking! It might seem deceivingly underwhelming but there are some real gems hidden out there. Let’s kick it!

Thursday Jan 5th

IZ @ Temple
As you might have noticed, Temple is making more and more noise out here! This week, they’re scoring huge points by getting IZ to make an rare appearance in Beijing. The band is fresh off their world tour in support of the album Kolengke that I’ve shortlisted as one of my favorite albums of 2011. Temple will be an interesting space for them to do their space/kazakh/improv rock. Potentially the best gig of the week.

Friday Jan 6th

Folks of the World @ 2 Kolegas:
Appalachia, Ningxia and Mongolia come together on this night at the drive in in the forms of The Randy Abel Stable, Lidong and Ajinai…. I’ve been keeping an eye on this date for quite some time now and I’m definitely looking forward to it, mostly because I have not seen Ajinai in a while. Lidong are sure to light up the crowd with their folksy tunes (becoming ear-worms to some extent) and the Stable speaks to my inner redneck.

Simple Plan @ Yugong Yishan:
I’m not a big fan of pop-punk but I must admit these kids are intriguing: Been together for almost 15 years, getting a worldwide following and staying humble by the sounds of it. The’ve done everything right in terms of getting their Chinese dates worked out by promoting the hell out of the show, getting local scenesters involved and even working out a duet with a Chinese pop-star. I’m curious to see how the locals react to this. Despite the 200+ price tag, I expect this to be a busy sold out affair.

Saturday Jan 7th

Book Swap & Board Games @ Sequoia
The monthly meet up of fun loving, book-swapping, game-playing, beijingers is sure to be a blast. Come and relax, meet likeminded folks and just have a good time. From 2 to 6 pm @ Sequoia cafe inside the jianguomen diplomatic compound.

Rock Spring Festival Gala @ Olympic Sport Center
this is almost a festival out of turn… the list of participants is pretty impressive with Miserable Faith, Misandao, Heaven, Liquid Oxygen Can and the Face just to name a few. It’s a bit of a strange location and the tickets are interestingly priced… 107 and 201. I can really figure out if this is indoors or outdoors but It’s an indoor show with an impressive stage setup if i’m to believe the pictures on weibo. here is the link to more information and to buy the tickets: http://www.damai.cn/ticket_31454.html

V-Rock Festival @ Mao Live:
Interesting concept for a weird evening at Mao live.. they’re promising visuals, cosplay (which I had to google), gifts, mystery guests and a whole lot more! oh yeah, they have music too courtesy of Joker, Army of Jade Kirin and Providence’G. If you’re into fetishy things, you might wanna be here!