Weekend Update (17.04-19.04)

Rain, sandsorms, blistering heat, breezy chills, and blue skies – it’s a freak show outside as of late – proof that springtime is one unsatisfied dude. So enjoy it while it lasts, cause next thing you know, it’ll be summer. And what better way then to hit the road, and partake in some of these musical escapades this weekend. Oh, and as always, check out our calendar for more.

Friday April 17^th

About damn time – Rolling Bowling’s vinyl release under Genjing Records was postponed last winter due to the folks over at customs not sure what to do with a hundreds of records from Eastern Europe. Well, glad they sorted it out cause rockabilly masters Rolling Bowling are one of my absolute favorites. One of the most consistently entertaining bands around, and one that never ceases to put a smile on my face. According to their new violinist, they’ve been trekking down the bluegrass avenue since they signed their souls over to Modern Sky, so expect tons of new material tonight as well. So head over to School where every ticket comes with a 7’’ slab of wax to add to your collection. How good is that? The latest from the Fujian-born, Beijing-based electronic musician and visual artist Hong Qile, finds him digging deeper into datawave experimental electronic niche that he started up with his label, BrainWave Communication. Be wowed tonight at XP by artist’s (and accompanying technology) capability to create soundwave-generated visuals. Here’s a little tease of his most recent showcase. Not sure what I’m watching here, but it’s pretty friggin gnarly – like watching a machine try to reach out and express itself. Laptops these days, right? Should be interesting to say the least. Been meaning to check out Badr’s new foodery, Caravan, which is slowly turning into the live music venue we all knew it would turn into. Dude’s got good taste, both music and food wise. So color me intrigued by this weekend’s musical treat, bluegrass rookies of the year, The Hutong Yellow Weasels, who are a guaranteed dance starter. Really, you don’t have choice in the matter, so just give in while you can. Supporting them is the one and only Dan Taylor, the crazed, off kilter folk musician of Luv Plastik and The Harridans who’s been making waves in the music all year. Good tunes, good food, good liquor, and good folks. Catch a heavy dose of punk as Swedish punk outfit The Headlines bring the pain over at Temple with help from Beijing’s greatest pixie fairy grindcore (now trio!) Cat AIDS – bring your disinfectants. Sydney instrumental post-rock/prog quartet sleepmakeswaves bring their magnetic showcase to Yugong Yishan tonight with support from 16 mins. Get your fix of homegrown blues rock n roll at DDC with the Hoochie Coochie Gentlemen and hose yourself in the rock tunes of Magic Mama, The Pisces, Hard Candy Revolution, and more at Mako Livehouse. And finally, Friday and Saturday, Dangdai MOMA\’s Post Mountain space hosts Machine Rouge, the first big music event of the sprawling Croisements Festival 2015 – MACHINE ROUGE is the duo of Denis Lavant and François R. Cambuzat (Lydia Lunch\’s favorite guitarist) where he’ll provide the guitar soundtrack to Denis Lavant\’s performance art / spoken word antics – such get wild.

Saturday April 18^th

Heck of a lineup here over at School! Dance punks outfit Heat Mark, who have been slowly attracting more and more ears, are officially releasing their EP tonight (spin it) and they’ve gathered quite the guestlist including indie psych rockers Gate to Otherside (a band I predicted last year would hit it really big this year), up and coming new wave trio DiD, who impressed the hell out of many folks at the last Gulou Double Decker, and hard rock band Inciscors, who released this crunchy debut last year. Nice variety of sounds on hand here. Bye Bye Noise, have been steadily craving their niche in the indie rock scene over the past year, performing across the city and even making their way onto CCTV during the Spring Festival. And now they’ve got their debut to show for it over at Mao Livehouse. Getting heavy Strokes vibes here (which makes sense as it was produced by Steve Fallone who produced The Strokes second album) but all in all, they’ve got solid charisma. For their release, they’re joined by some of Beijing’s up and coming heavy hitters including instrumental hard rock outfit Nakoma, shoegaze psychedelic group Solaris, and indie pop outfit Elenore. Reign in the newbies! What better way to spend your afternoon than soaking in the sun, with bbq, cheap cold beer, and free music. That’s the plan with a new monthly mantinee series at DMC hosted by Cool Ghoul. From the late afternoon into the early evening, the Tangzhou punk haven will host an assortment of bands including scrappy folk duo Little Punk, hardcore math rock duo Fake Weed, who someone described to me as ‘getting a wedgy from a crack addict’, as well as sets from Final Impact, Diseased Fruit, and Fengsu – all relatively new bands with new sounds to serenade (and impale) you with. It’s a trek out to Tangzhou, but as an afternoon adventure with beer as the destination — count me in! J-Fever one of the Beijing hip-hop underground’s shining stars takes over XP for a special solo performance. No hype man. Just a dude, a mic, and beats to nod your head to. J-fever always has stuck out from the rest for the way he invigorates the genre with an offbeat personality. Slick, self aware, off-kilter, with a jazz master’s bent – it’s no wonder he’s been the talk of the town. Djang San is a man who just doesn’t give up – release after release, show after show, the French-born, Beijing-reborn artist is one of the hardest working musicians out there – catch a sneak peek at their upcoming album ‘Bridges’, at Temple. Indie hard rock faves OOC give a special performance at the ever cozy Jianghu Bar. It’s a Hip Hop Party over at Mako Livehouse with TwinCities,1043,Naughty Boy$, Bluso , Young Clan, DJ Slim, and much more. Last, get your funk fever on at Yugong Yishan with China’s first big funk band The Verse, fronted by Xiamen live house manager Huang Bo, who make their long awaited return.

Sunday April 19^th

Just found out about this one – Maybe Mars’s rising star noise rock quartet Birdstriking are holding a secret show this Sunday at XP – it’ll be doiubling as a MV shoot so expect filmmakers trying to get the audience nice and sloppy with free drinks and snacks. Also supporting are Gate to Otherside, and Deadly Cradle Death — yup, hardcore evil rap duo Deadly Cradle Death are back and that is awesome! New tunes, new tunes – with spring comes the sounds of bands blossoming and finding their voice. See who surprises over at School. Does 90s alt rock revisionists The Twenties have what it take. Or female-led garage rockers S-Mud? Or pop-ridden rockers Mr. Odd? It’s anyone’s game this year and fresh talent is right around the corner. Finger crossed! Dutch indie rock band Atlantic Attraction are strutting their stuff on their first China tour – expect synths galore, Britpop and more all at DDC.