Weekend Update

Lying in bed trying to kick this ol’ fever so I can make it this weekend – I’d better cause this weekend is overwhelmingly packed with great shows left and right – even Sunday is causing me distress seeing how glorious it is. Might have to go the old bottle of Tequila technique – atomic bomb those nasty little bugs out of my system. Cough. What’s in store doc….

FRIDAY

Comically wired super villains (or heroes, or aliens) rock envy Friend or Foe are coming up from Shanghai to heat things up as they celebrate the launch of their remix album What Have You Done With My Claw!? – first night looks to be a hoot at Dos Kolegas with Residence A, Devils at the Crossroads, and thruoutin (who remixed one of their songs) supporting. Two of the hottest hardcore emo bands in town, Tookoo and The Reason have two new singles under their belt and they’re looking to spread the word as they begin their nationwide Love Hangover tour over at School. Hard working trash bluesmen Low Bow will be kicking it at the appropriately gaudy Old What? Bar with the help of Dwaas and then some. Liu Yusi, the friendly folkster with a heart of gold, is releasing his Bicycle Dairies over at 69 Café and he’s giving most of the proceeds to charity – what a gent! XP is getting in on some lo-fi goodness as Soviet Pop, Alpine Decline, and Mr. Ray look to explore the outer fringes of music. Loud and proud they are Mao Livehouse is looking to rally up some metallers with Logic Control, IBU, and Tarot Saint. How about a blast from the past – Michael Cheung, one of the rock pioneers of Southern China has recorded his latest 12012. Lost in Beijing and is looking to share it with his fans along with a host of friends at Yugong Yishan. If you’ll looking for something with a little more spunk and that warm jazzy feeling, head to Temple to catch Ember Swift sing some original tunes. Candy Monster gets things upbeat over at Blue Stream Bar while at Hot Cat Club blues and folk collide as LSD and Johnny Barch face off. Lulu Galore hits Jjianghu Bar to entertain and Mama Funker, bring, yup, the funk to Modernista. Finally, rock on young ones, rock on – 13 Club will host fresh off the market bands The Dukes, Black Lake, Someone, and Too Much.

SATURDAY

If you haven’t the cash to fork over for omni-god Cui Jian over at the Mastercard Arena don’t worry, there’s plenty more to chew on. The electronic side project of Carsick Cars’ Zhou Shouwang and The Gars’ Wang Xu, white +, is a beast of its own at this point, and after showing the goods to Berlin, they’re back in China for a tour of this fine land kicking it off at XP tonight. On the tail-end of their tour, indie soft-electro rockers Da Bang will be hitting Mao Livehouse with their newest release Celebrate along with party rockers CNdY. Post rock group Glow Curve, who have been mixing it up these past couple months, will be showcasing their latest material at School along with Hua Lun and even less. Those rambunctious boys, Friend or Foe, are still in town – tonight they’ll be getting a little more intimate at Temple along with The Dyne and Fuzzy Mood. Fifteen years and going, trash metal group Suffocated are still riding strong (even playing at the Wacken Open Air Festival in the Deutschland) and they’re celebrating in style over at Tango. Fresh off of winning Folk Artist of the year at the MIDI Awards last year, Su Yang are giving Beijingers a taste of the northwest of China as they bring their luscious melodies over to Mako Livehouse. Xinxiang punk heads, Pumpkins are in town as well – they’ll be popping by the Old What? Bar along with Discord, Bedstars, Sochu Legion, and The Ghost Dancing – a lot of noise packed in tight quarters over there, just the way I like it. If you’ll looking for a taste of the Mongol – head to Zajia Lab for Three Horse-Head Fiddles. Finally, see French solo artist Byga at Jianghu Bar and New Perfume along with David Cui for some sweet pop tunes over at Blue Stream Bar.

SUNDAY

Of course the big show today is the 4th MIDI Music Awards at The M Space – read all about it here – a commitment that’s definitely worth your buck. If not, well Yugong Yishan is throwing quite the bash with their charity event set to help out the elderly homeless – a whole assortment of artists including Miserable Faith, Billow’s Fairy Tale, Ma Tiao, Gear & Eraser, Heaven, Recycle, Miss Kiva & Via, Light Speed Flight, Shi Xiaofei, Spinning Glasshouse, and Chen Lei of Tang Dynasty will be on hand – an eclectic lineup if I ever saw one. You can always check out Taiwanese indie pop trio Tizzy Bac at Mao Livehouse for some giddy fun. An early evening with Bedstars, Syringe, and Brother Tough at XP ain’t a bad way to go out, especially if that hangover has persuaded you to go another night. Folk legends Wu Tun and Zhou Yunpeng will be gracing their presence at Mako Livehouse for some pristine and pure music. Xinxiang punks Pumpkins are still in town – catch them at School tonight along with Discord and Joking Tasty. To round off the evening are weirdo rockers The Last Three Minutes giving an unplugged show at 69 Café, Tuer Xun playing a mix of world and flamenco music at Jianghu Bar, and experimental duo Li Jianghong and Vavabond getting intergalactic for their newest Back to Sirius at Zajia Lab.