Quickslants: 330 Metal Festival, Devils Return, Re-TROs and Zhaoze

As bad as it was to pick gigs last week, it had nothing on the lineups coming up for this end of the month craze and it is a craze my pretty babies of the rock n roll! Between new bands, old favourites, visiting artist and all. Let’s kick it…

Friday March 28th

OOC Unplugged @ Jianghu
I must confess, i have not been able to catch these kids play live in over a year and I am beyond beyond pissed off at myself for that. Heck, I’m so pissed off about that I’m putting it at the top of my picks for Friday (tonight). Good old school rock n roll, a little blues and a lot of heart.

Drifting Festival @ Yugong Yishan
China Drifting Festival, hub for the introduction of Chinese avant-garde music and visual arts in Europe, presents this bombastic bash at Yugong Yishan…. yeah, that was a copy and paste but if you’re looking for a fun time with tons of talented explosive bands from the avant grade of China’s rock n roll scene, this is where it’s at tonight: One.Sentence.Supervisor (Switzerland)r e-trod, Duck Fight Goose, Pet Conspiracy. I’d go for re-TROS alone who blew my mind last time at the Indie Music 3rd anniversary show

Niuria & Nakoma @ XP
Metalcore night, or so they dub it… I call it an opportunity to watch Nakoma in an intimate setting. I’ve been hearing amazing things about the band since drummer Linda came back.. I mean fuck, this makes friday night a potential 3 show evening but that’s too much. Still worth the trip to XP.

Devils @ 2K
Devils at the Crossroad returns tonight with a preview of the new lineup at 2 Kolegas.. moving from a 3 piece to a 4 piece with addition of frontman extraordinaire Dave ( Red Pirates). They got the buddies from End of the World on hand to help out as an opening act. This one might be the gig that will bring on the debauchery tonight.

Saturday March 29th

330 Festival @ Tango
wear your black jeans, black t-shirts, get your fingers ready for some horn action and get to Tango early as things kick off at 5:30. This is the home brewed metal festival that we all love to support! Organized by the loveable rogues of Suffocated, this one brings together the metal community in Beijing like no other. On the bill: Spring & Autumn, Suffocated, Nine Treasures, The Samans, Stone Glory, Ego Fall, Punisher, Explosicum and Chenmi.. just to name a few.. this is our night to scream out loud

Americana Night @ 2 Kolegas
The Randy Abel Stable, Zhenren and the Beijing Dead descend on the drive thru for a night of old style music that sure to bring out the emotions. By my reckoning, it’s the first time that Zhen Ren plays over there and i’ve been keeping my eyes on them for quite some time now. Definitely a winner.

Peter Hook & The Light @ Yugong
The former Joy Division dude comes down to Beijing but don’t make the mistake of thinking this is some weird nostalgic show. Peter Hook still has the chops to make amazing music and has gone past his former successes to do new stuff and rock the shit out of it.

Sunday March 30th

Zhaoze @ Yugong Yishan
I can tell you where Ruby will be sunday… the undisputed kings of melodic Chinese post-rock come up to Beijing for an increasingly rare appearance in the capital. I’m not one for this gig and will be otherwise busy.. that said, it’s worth it if you’re into that style of music.

There you have it folks.. no excuse not to get out and have a little fun this weekend.