Weekend Update

For the girls – Perdel

Hear that? No, good. Let’s keep it that way till next year, alright China. Let’s get back to hearing from some noisemakers of a different ilk. Or better yet, impress that Valentine date with a candle-lit dinner followed by a little rock n’ roll – a dealbreaker if I ever saw one. Worry not though, plenty of pickings this weekend, while we wait for spring to come (seriously, come). Here’s what’s ahead…

Friday

Valentine’s Day comes early at Yugong Yishan as folk songstress Wu Hongfei & Happy Avenue hopes to serenade those romantics out there along with Shan Ye, Zhao Lei, Gangzi, and others. The Pangbianr team takes over the Old What? Bar bringing one of my favorite bands in town, Skip Skip Ben Ben, along with You Xi, and Chaos. Over in Wudaoku, 13 Club is looking to keep things moving along – tonight they will host Perpetual Motion Machine, Fuzzy Mood, and others. Swedish post-rockers Immanu EL hope to achieve nirvana with their cinematic sound at Mao Livehouse with support from our own Glow Curve. Down the street, Temple is keeping it funky with Mama Funker and DJ Carlo. And if your looking for something a little more low-key, walk over to Jianghu Bar to catch soulful Lao Liu & the Sand Band, to the Hot Cat Club to see Parisian duo 8, or to Gulou 121 to catch new act Pirate Radio.

Let Lucifer charm you

Saturday

Metalheads, you know where you’ll be tonight – if word on the street is true, Operth will be tearing Tango a new asshole – guess this is Sweden’s week. Nostalgic baby boomers, flower girls, yeah this is where you’ll be at – Jefferson Airplane’s Jorma Kaukonen bring his blues sound to Yugong Yishan. Guoan fans, there’s only one place to show your love for the football team tonight – Mao Livehouse, with help from Early Bus, Discord, S-industry, 1043, and a whole host of MCs ready to lay it all down. While we wait for Rustic to return, we can enjoy Lucifer and Lone (of Joyside) show us their softer side at Blue Stream Café. Nearby, Zaija Bar continues to mix it up (artfully that is) with DJ Olivier and Multimedia. Further down, Zhong Lifeng, brings his poetry and music to Jianghu Jiuba, while psychdelic rockers Not There have fun at the Hot Cat Club, and The Beijing Beatles, well, play the Beatles at V.A. Bar. Finally, for all you Trance-lovers, head down to Mako Livehouse for their Psycfidelity night.

Sunday

Yaaa! Women Subvert Rock Day! Whatever the heck that is – at least it’s an excuse to head to Mao Livehouse to check out some of Beijing’s fresh and multi-genre women-fronted bands including Beaten to Death, Time Street, Speed Limit 80, First Medal, and Razor. Pristine folksters Han-Feng bring their unique approach to music at Jianghu Bar. And lastly, Dafay & Skyscraper close out the weekend at the Old What? Bar.

For the boys – Da Bang

Tuesday (Valentine’s Day)

Girls! Bring your dates to Yugong Yishan for Valentine’s Day if you wanna win him over – Da Bang, SUBS, A-Boys, and Glow Curve will get them ready to submit. Boys! Bring your dates to Mao Livehouse so they can feel all mushy with Perdel, Billow’s Fairy Tale, Summer Tribe, and more.