Weekend Update (24.04-26.04)

While we may not have MIDI or Strawberry to look forward to this year, there\’s a heck ton of top-notch gigs at just about every venue in town for the next week and a half. Suppose folks have realized that\’s the allotted time for spring this year, so get at it you crazy kids. And as always whip out that calendar for more (and join LiveBeijingMusic on wechat for updates on-the-go).

Friday April 24th

Dr. Smartass, the latest one man booking dynamite, continues shaking things up over at Temple with their monthly series which looks to highlights Beijing\’s less talked about lady rockers. And grateful for them we are! Tonight brings out garage rockabilly kids Car Car Cars, lively punks Backfire, and hard rockers Hard Candy Revolution, three bands relatively new to the scene. So show some support and find that new earworm you\’ve been aching for. I\’ve been touting white +\’s horn for just about ever and I ain\’t gonna stop. Simply put, they\’re one of the most musically satisfying acts in town. One that\’s not afraid to innovate and dig deep down into exploring what they can accomplish with their sound. And as a three-man ‘mighty morphin megazord’ they\’re a must see act. Heck, I even caught my 78-year-old pops getting down with their set a few weeks back. That’s cred! They\’re going solo tonight at XP but expect a special early DJ set from Brian Jonestown Massacres\’ Ricky Maymi, who\’s been in town checking out Maybe Mars cannon. Alright, I was ready to brush this one aside cause it’s yet another Inner Mongolian band invoking their culture in the most bombast way possible – rock n roll. A sure thing in my book but at the same time it’s been done to done. And then I watched this video. Words can’t describe the shit-eating grin I get watching this think. Me thinks now that Nomadic don’t mess around when it’s comes to their heritage and if these guys can’t find a better way to express themselves than though some serious shredding then I can’t fault them. In fact, I think I have to see this now. The band releases their newest EP, appropriately named Genghis Khani, at DDC tonight. Let the wolves howl!!! Experimental junkies unite! The MIJI series, headed by experimental defacto godfather Yan Jun meets again at the luscious Meridian Space. Tonight they’ve tapped Singaporean artist Yuen Chee Wai who’s in town with his psychedelic soundwave band The Observatory. He’ll be showcasing his noise impov skills alongside scene regulars Liu Xinyu (of Deadly Cradle Death) and Yan Yulong (Chui Wan). Expect offbeat sounds that will either be really loud or really quiet. It’s a grunge off at Mao Livehouse as the scene’s long haired mumblers come out of the woodshed for some brooding including Silt & Lotus, Drunkard, CA, Anti-Bone, TOSS, Abnormal Body, Wacky Tobacco, and Ghost Press. Two up and coming folk artists, Xiao Pu and Coroline, present their latest at the cozy Snail Hostel. Funk it up with Chinese funk outfit Dirty Honey, whose enthusiasm for electronic, funk, and rock, will be on full display tonight at Yugong Yishan. Young rockers take School by force including Super Bad Men, NUT, and Air Wall. Urban folk artist Yuyang releases his latest album tonight at Mako Livehouse with the help of Liu Yusi, Cao Qin, Windsor Forest and more.

Saturday April 25th

Fellow camera buddy and friend Aurélien Foucault, aka Foukographer, has been one of the leading photographers in town. If there\’s a show going down and he\’s there, chances are you\’re gonna get gold. Better yet though, the man is a true music fanatic, whose love goes beyond the camera lens. Well, he\’s been slowly getting his due, and after a successful run in his homeland, he’s bringing his \’Beijing Rocks\’ exhibition to the Caravan, the new Ritan Park Moroccan joint, run by the \’godfather\’ of music blogs, BeijingDaze. Expect only the friendliest folks, special cocktails based on music venues, and a snapshot of Beijing\’s ever-evolving music scene. Oh, and a special secret musical act which Aurélien refuses to tell me anything about. Little bugger. Song Yuzhe, the frontman for the world music collective Dawanggang, gives a special solo outing at MOMA\’s exquisite Post Mountain Space. There he\’ll be officially releasing his latest release, A Collection of Short Broken Songs, a thorough exploration of Song Yuzhe\’s particular brand of world fusion music which mixes everything from of Tibetan, Mongolian, and classical Chinese music to create soundscapes ripe with wonder and beauty. Music to ignite the imagination and transport oneself to a different place. School celebrates five years of keeping the music scene nice and inebriated with a free birthday bash featuring a intriguing assortment of acts – from new wave rocker Steely Heart, post punk space cadets Snapline, garage up and comers Hot Wave, and the legendary Jet Boys out of Japan, who just finished their nationwide tour with the Diders and are an absolute delight – expect man thongs, bleached rainbow hairdos, and phallic vegetables being used as guitar picks. Oh, and there\’s also some trope called the South Acid Mimi Dance Team who will be on hand. So yeah, a clusterfuck of sounds, booze, and unleashed hormones. Happy birthday School! Hard rock instrumental math wiz milk drinkers Mammals straight up murdered it last week at Temple for the Gulou Double Decker – they’re not a band to take lightly. They conjure up some truly badass sounds that hank you out of your seat and beat you to a pulp. They’re about to head off for a micro tour, and they’re kicking it off at everyone’s favorite dive bar, the Old What? for some old fashion shenanigans alongside post rock up and comers SNSOS (She Never Sings Our Songs) and hardcore kids Lost In Space. Old What? and spring time vibes – not a bad combination. Neo folk outfit Bloody Woods present their latest album, Romanzen, tonight at Mako Livehouse with support from Firebell. Chaos weekend at Temple with this trifecta of punk bands including Hell City, The Demonstrators, and D-Crash. It’s a mosh pit mash over at Mao Livehouse as new hardcore kids Chaos Kills The Pain join Collision Dreamer, Multi-Ego, Saving Molly, Stabbing, and The Reason for some intensity. Xu Fei, voted indie folk artist of the year by douban, presents her latest material at Yugong Yishan. Jazz it up at DDC with CMA.

Sunday April 26th

One of punk\’s most promising young acts, Maoxuewang aka Cat Learned Dog (love the name) kick off their first nationwide tour, only a year into their incarnation, at School. Props. Their sound veers toward the post 80s up-tempo punk of Brain Failure and is chock full of lewd, jocular swipes at Beijing life – something I can definitely get behind. They\’re joined by fellow punk comrades Final Impact and Bastards of Imperialism, who have turned into quite the act themselves costume-wielding, profanity spewing, shit stirrers. Kudos. DDC goes for broke today with two very diiferent showcases – first up, in the afternoon Lithuanian family band Sepa & Asorti will perform a mix of country, blues, and rock while later in the evening Mongolian punk outfit 9596 takes stage alongside Singaporean indie pop quartet Take Two. Up and coming pop punk band Negative Children debut their album at Mao Livehouse while hip hop collective Chinatown joins Wi Jeiyi at Mako Livehouse for some fun.