Weekend Update (12/12-14/12)

It\’s a big weekend folks in case you haven\’t noticed the mountain of self-promotion that been going on around these parts. It\’s LBM\’s last hoorah of the year and we\’re going all out for Fake Fuzz Fest. But that doesn\’t mean there aren’t a slew of other shows worth checking out. See, I’m a nice guy. Let\’s get into it.

Friday December 12th

Helen Feng and Nova Heart release their much delayed, much hyped, official debut LP at Yugong Yishan – the dark electro disco rock group have been hitting up outlet this week and promise a damn exciting show. They\’ve also managed to take in some great support, including The Big Wave, one of this years top acts and WHAI, who themselves are a sight to behold. But really this is Helen Feng and companies\’ show and they won\’t disappoint. Post rock gets its due at School but what’s most interesting about the four acts tonight is how each bands only uses that label. From the math rock spazz of Mammals, to the metal tainted rush of Nakoma, to the more picturesque sounds of Sparrow and new kids on the block SNSOS, it\’s gonna be like watching a bunch of kids in a sandbox showing each other how they would go about building a fort. It\’s couples night with this eclectic group of twofers with very different approaches at XP. Well the poetry slam blamo of Underhand Noise and Little Red Tiny Little Red may appeal to the experimental gonzos out there, I\’m super stoked about Nanjing post punk duo Plastic Heads, and garage rock Mad Max-invoking Boss Cuts, a band I’ve never heard of before. Cool. Get a jump on finding that next band of 2015, aye? The Sound Stage goes offline for a showcase of some of the program’s favorite acts including the ever-dependable Residence A, pretty much a staple of the indie scene here -they’re joined by The Eat, who I have a feeling with be popping up and many peoples radars come next year and folk artist charmer Liu Yusi. All at piss drunk heaven Templeeee! Let’s hope we get some more shows out of Mr. Alpart in the near future. Keep things frosty and heavy with this metal hoedown at Mako Livehouse featuring Silent Elegy, Source Code, Norclement, Renegade, and Bleeding Wound. Catch blues rocker Liu Donghong at 69 Cafe and The Beijing Beatles at Jianghu Bar.

Saturday December 13th

Fake Fuzz Fest – at DDC – its gonna be a hot mess of fun – art, food, and of course music. Day one of Fake Fuzz Fest kicks off at 6pm and is bringing the noise with performances from Da Bang, WHAI, Luv Plastik, Perpetual Motion Machine, Dirty Fingers, and Guiguisuisui – be there or be square. Independent music promoters New Noise, based out of Chengdu and responsible for bringing over some of the worlds bigger post rock acts, celebrate 5 years of rocking it with an musical extravaganza at Yugong Yishan headlined by post rock giants Wang Wen out of Dalian and pg.lost out of Sweden (the two also released a split together a couple years back) – they\’re joined by our own Glow Curve. Big bands, big sounds. Should be a treat. Down at Mako Livehouse, the Octo series puts the spotlight on Ningxia and longstanding folk rock outfit  Buyi. Guangxi legendary punk band Banana Peel hits up School on their national tour along with Dr. Liu & The Human Centipede, The Diders, and The Flyx. The newest venue on the scene, Snake Pit Livehouse welcomed rockabilly lords Rolling Bowling as well as Mr. Honey, 0190, and Hot Wave. Sweden death metal outfit Niura returns to Temple with a lil help from Nakoma. Popular US indie rock duo The Drums takes over Tango and last catch Uncle Hu at 69 Cafe and Moonjive at Jianghu Bar.

Sunday December 14th

If you thought day one at DDC was a hoot then you best be prepared for day two of Fake Fuzz Fest where we\’re bringing ten bands over the course of the day with performances from electronica artists thruoutin, Feeling of Regret, Noise Arcade followed by performances from Fuzzy Mood, The Harridans, The Eat, Me Guan Me, Nakoma – plus a special modular synth set from Alpine Decline and an acoustic set from Gum Bleed. Whoa! Guangxi punks Banana Peel swing through Temple while one if Chinas pioneer rock stars Xie Si makes his way over to Yugong Yishan. For you twee pop pervs, hit up Mao Livehouse for  Paper Memory, Sutang, Candy Ray, Mr. Odd, and Self Portrait. Last, check out the Beijing Jungle Big Band at Jianghu Bar.