Weekend Update (21/11-23/11)

Releases, anniversaries, international talent, and oh so much more – the threat of winter hasn\’t slowed down Beijing one bit. So grab that coat and soak it all in kids – it\’s hunting season. And as always, hit up the calendar for more goodies.

Friday November 21^st

New wave traditional Chinese meddling rock outfit Perpetual Motion Machine return with their latest album Battle.Song at Mao Livehouse. I miss these guys quite a bit. Just sweet, down to earth, who use their background and love of history to inject their music with a Chinese identity that\’s never forced. They\’re supported by indie shoegazers Fuzzy Mood, another band that doesn\’t receive love. XP hosts the \’Zaofang\’ series this weekend, highlighting  fresh names from out of town, or in this case, one of Beijing’s long forgotten bands who burnt out way too soon, psychedelic jammers, DICE. They\’re joined by Da Bang\’s drummer Linan, who\’s been dipping his toe in electronica recently and white +, who refuse to let their sound stay put, and have managed to surprise me each and every time. While I never became a full-on Bill Callahan fan boy, his voice is one of the most recognizable ones in the music world. First and foremost a storyteller, the man builds a narrative with every song that goes to unexpected places all the while remaining true to the lo-fi homegrown aesthetic. A modern day Leonard Cohen one may say. He\’s joined at Yugong Yishan by Beijing\’s own Leonard Cohen junkie, Bian Yuan who\’s become quite the storyteller himself. \’Pyongyang Stars\’ continue bringing in tight acts to School with garage rock, post punk, and more courtesy of Streets Kill Strange Animals, Luv Plastik, Girl Kill Girls, and Hulu Boyz. Heavy electronic rock outfit WHAI brings the pain at Temple, while grass roots faves The Randy Abel Stable get down at DDC. Finally, earthy folk singing-songwriter Liu Donghong goes down the well that is Mako Livehouse.

Saturday November 22^nd

Guiyang rock group Run Run Run joins Chui Wan for the second round of \’Zaofang\’ at XP. Never heard of these cats but a quick listen gets me excited – noisy psych rock whose sound gets more and more wrapped the further it goes. Basically a more tweaked out version of DICE, which could explain the douban mention of the band on DICE\’s douban page. Love hearing what\’s shaking at these second/third tier cities, so definitely considering checking this one out. Now here\’s a band that I\’ve followed for some time – The Raveonettes – a band that immediately won me back in 2008 when Lust Lust Lust came out. Dug in even further to their catalogue when I became BFFs with a Danish fella my first year in Beijing. Just super fuzzy, transcendent, garage rock that bombards the eardrums. I missed them back in 2010 when they played Yugong for a measly 100 yuan. So yeah, the high price tag at Tango tonight scares me. But seriously, this one of the finest duos of the past decade and I can\’t imagine being disappointed. Xinjiang folk hero Ma Tiao returns to Mako Livehouae to serenade audiences with his rustic voice and rugged folk ways. Record store hangout fRUITYSHOP continues the goodness with Feeling of Regret and Li Jianhong. Get your indie popping emo rocking fun times going at Mao Livehouse with Twinkle Star, Tookoo, Oska, Time Capsule, and Magellanic. Celebrate 15 years of bandana wielding, Jim Morrison riffing indie rocker Muma & The Third Party at Yugong Yishan. Swing through Temple for a lil metal action from Never Before and Scare The Children or for you folk-mined people check out Zhong Qianqian at 69 Cafe. Last, hit up School in the afternoon for a cosplay party before its turns into a rocking good time with Emitter, Mr. Odd, Brozzers, and The Flyx.

Sunday November 23rd

Hutong as an art platform is the newest craze to hit Beijing. In a time where any hutong home space can get torn down without forewarning, the idea of using hutongs spaces for art is definitely something I can get behind. That\’s where TRIA PRIMA comes in. The collective headed by Michelle Proksell, Ophelia Chan and Rose Wong will be hosting their first installation this Sunday in Dashilar with performances from some of the city\’s best experimental (aka anything goes) artists Liu Xinyu and Soviet Pop, who\’ll be joined by a slew of other \’performances\’ doing god knows what. Exactly why I\’m excited – about time I\’ve dipped my toes into the unknown abyss. Full details here. Hong Kong indie pop duo sensations My Little Airport return to Beijing for the utmost time with their album in tow at Yugong Yishan. It\’s folk night at School and they\’ve got traditional Irish folksters Blackwater bringing the fun.