Looks like XP and Temple won out this year…funny considering they’re the new kids in town. But really, combine Temple and XP’s relentless pursuit to put on shows of all skins at very affordable prices (hell, Temple is free 99 percent of the time) as well as their close vicinity to me, and you have my ass there. In all honesty, it looks like I hit the top five venues on a regular basis.

I was a latecomer to D-22 but loved the homey appeal of it. So when XP came around, I knew it was only a matter of time before I would find myself lurking around there. I dig how XP isn’t bound to its Maybe Mars catalogue and is constantly taking chances with offbeat sounds and music. Of course that means that it\’s not always gonna be for you. Can\’t count how many times I\’ve begged people to check out Skip SKip Ben Ben with me there, and have have turn right around. Nevertheless, it’s always intriguing. This idea of XP as being a safe heaven for exploring sounds and genres rings true, and it’s one of the few places where I can check out on my own without feeling like the lone wolf. Cause hell, the place is full of eclectic loners who find solitude in the dungy place. From electro freaks, to experimentalists, to dirty rockers, to you name it – all are welcome.

And Temple, well it’s the liveliest, friendliest, jolliest place that would be an ace place to go even without live music. Therein lies the magic, walking the thin lie between live music venue and bar; Temple has the best of both worlds. Temple takes away so many of the unnecessary transactions with going to a show – price, time, and commitment – take those away and everything else like having a good time becomes that much easier. This lack of pretention is exactly what makes their shows so good – on a slow night, you can relax with a beer, friends, and tunes. And on a big night, you get the exact opposite – people busting their asses, singing along, and enjoying the hell out of the music. And a solid mix of bands that range from metal, to reggae, to rock, nothing is sacred. Good music, good times – Temple understands how to get the people coming back.

Dos Kolgeas still is my numero uno at heart simply for the fact that it’s always an all around fun time. The locale, the Harbin beer, the grass, the noodles, the familiar faces, the vibes – it might as well be in another city, cause once you’re at the entrance the hustle and grain of Beijing life is completely forgotten and everything comes to a beautiful crawl. And considering they didn’t open their door till March, I’m certain they would have most likely topped the charts.

Mao and Yugong Yishan are where they should be – consistent enough, with big stages, big shows, and the only place where crowd surfing is a necessary. I’d give Mao Livehouse the edge, just because of how nice their set-up is, sound and all that nonsense. But still, both lack that special touch to keep coming back on a regular basis. And they like charging heftier prices, which the wallet can’t front up all the time. It\’s where you go when you wanna go big, and that ain\’t all too bad.

I’m ashamed I didn’t go to Old What? though as I friggin adore the place. It’s grungy, scrappy, and when the temperature is nice, a chill place to pour down some beers and make some noise

And yup, while I keep telling myself I’ll check out the smaller venues in town like Jianghu Bar, Zajia Lab, and Blue Stream Bar, the young able body that is me still avoids them. I suppose that’s what New Year’s Resolutions are for. Here’s the breakdown….

Here\’s the tally count

XP/D-22 – 20

Temple – 17

Dos Kolegas – 15

Mao Livehouse – 13

Yugong Yishan – 13

Hot Cat Club – 6

Tango – 4

Old What? Bar – 3

Other – 11

Why? Because I like numbers…geez

That’s a lot of cash spent well (or a lot of sneaking around, drawing stamps, buying uv ink, walking around with a arsenal of beverages – you get the picture) – now time to get on those New Year\’s Resolutions! Be sure to check the entire \”Best of 2012\” List

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Ethereal – Nova Heart

Just No – The Planets

Nous Avons De La Chance – Brain Failure

La Lasta’ – Skip Skip Ben Ben

Silver – white +

Vibrant Poetry － Li Dong

Hundreds Feet of Cooper Mouth 十丈铜嘴 － Nine Treasures

Never Sever – X is Y

Scorpion － WHAI

Choose Whatever You Want All The Time － Hedgehog

Fast Eddy – Low Bow

朋友再见 – Rolling Bowling

Part of Solution – Snapline

Stupid Heart 梵心 – Jia Huizhen

A surgeon at a hospital in Shanghai severed a nerve in my groin – Pairs

Refute 辩驳 – Chui Wan

War Horse – Tengger Cavalry

Nathan Ave. – Dwaas

Hate Me? You Old! － Birdstriking

Distance – thruoutin

Chicago – Casino Demon

Into The Light – Pet Conspiracy

Flying Free 自由的飞扬 – Jia Huizhen

Eighteen Shakes – Pairs

Song For Her 她的歌 － Dear Eloise

Modern China is Too Complicated – Dead J

Double Vision – Glow Curve

Love Will Lost Your Love – The Gar

Go to Part 1 of my Top Songs of the Year

Go to the rest of LBM’s Best of 2012

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送春 – Residence A

Viva Murder – Re-Tros

Beihai 北海 – Perpetual Motion Machine

TV at 7pm － Birdstriking

堕落 – Rolling Bowling

red – white +

NNYYY – Skip Skip Ben Ben

Rainy Day － Li Dong

Heart on Fire － Hedgehog

My Song 9 – Nova Heart

Zhangzizhong – thruoutin

Flu – Snapline

Train 火车 － The Gar

Bling Bling Bling – Queen Sea Big Shark

Ladder 阶梯 – Jia Huizhen

Hotel – Pairs

Don’t Panic – Pet Conspiracy

The Gathering of Fools – Rainbow Danger Club

Happy & Triste － WHAI

Han\’Xin Temple 寒心寺 － Sparrow

Surf with Sharks － Hedgehog

Magpie － Birdstriking

Childhood – Casino Demon

Snortin Clorox (thruoutin remix) – Friend or Foe

Parking – Skip Skip Ben Ben

玻璃杯 – Perpetual Motion Machine

Be OK – Brain Failure

The Stranger 陌生人 － Dear Eloise

Throw the Block – Mr. Graceless

第101个路灯 – Residence A

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These are the bands or artist who I went out of my way countless times to see, cause they simply never put on a bad show. These are the most consistent bands in town, the bands I show off to new Beijingers, and bands I will gladly throw the camera aside for just so I can move my ass. Click on the names to see my extensive coverage and ass kissing of these bands.

Buyi


Skip Skip Ben Ben


Residence A

Li Dong

Perpetual Motion Machine

Hanggai

Rolling Bowling


Hedgehog

Ten New Favorites

These are the bands who impressed the hell out of me, once or twice, who I’ll be following closely in the next year. Expect big things out of these music makers. They are about to be on some new level shit.

The Planets


Tengger Cavalry


Alpine Decline


WHAI


Glow Curve


Nova Heart


Low Bow


Deadly Cradle Death


thruoutin


White+


Don’t forget to click on the names to link to their videos and photos. Stay tuned for more best of.

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Entire shows or individual performances that made my jaw drop, made me dance like a madman, plastered a shit-eating grin across my face, and basically rocked my world. And take note, because of the sheer awesomeness of these acts, my camera was not always priority number one – so excuse any shite camera work because I was too busy having my face melted. These are the performances of the year.

Zhang Shouwang and Skip Skip Ben Ben at D-22 Farewell Show.

Shouwang had a top-notch year in my opinion, from white +’s Colors blowing the minds of many, to the resurgence of Carsick Cars as one of the best acts in town, but it all started with his performance at D-22 (rest in peace) and their last Zoomin Night last Janurary. Creating a maelstrom of noise which eventually settled into a rendition of “Invisible Love”, Shouwang, along with Yan Yulong, gave audiences the greatest memento to D-22, a intimate love letter to the place that raised him. The show was also my first encounter with Skip Skip Ben Ben who no secret I crush hard on. Like I said before, underneath all the shoegaze indie pop, and Ben Ben’s minute voice, they packed a heavy sound that’s rocks hard. This was only the beginning of my love affair.

Li Dong and Buyi at Dos Kolegas

Of course Li Dong had to make it here – the Ningxia folk group hasn’t been around too long, but when they played at Dos Kolegas for the release of their debut album, it felt like the band had been together forever. Both intimate and feet stomping, the group never kicked up more dust than tonight. Not too many bands can give that warm homey feeling. And Buyi, well, I love me some Buyi, they have yet to let me down. The energy these guys bring to the table, it’s riles you up in seconds.

CNHC Festival at Mao Livehouse

I don’t listen to hardcore music at home – I can’t commit to it. But going to a hardcore show, seeing hardcore music up close and personal, now that’s something. Screw massages. Need to release some tension? How about six hours of moshing with the some serious shredding, blood-boiling screams, and the happiest group of hardcore fans out there. Was riding on fumes after that one.

Li Daiguo and thruoutin at XP

While the collaboration between the two was a bit much for my liking, individually these two artists impressed the hell out of me one calm afternoon at XP. Though thruoutin’s album Dots keeps finding its way onto my playlist here, it wasn’t until I saw Brad perform at XP that I realized he was the real deal – dreamy electronics, a friggin pipa – the very definition of chillll. And Li Daiguo is a whole other level of genius – I’ve never seen anyone manipulate his or her voice to the effect this man has. I was literally laughing during his set, out of delight, confusion, and nervous wonderment. Bonkers.

Perpetual Motion Machine at the Old What? Bar

Cause nothing spells a good time like shirtless dudes jamming out some mighty catchy melodies in a narrow two-meter by five-meter room where your only option is to get moving. And it was my first reminder of how just how awesome Perpetual Motion Machine were and still are. And how underrated the Old What? Bar is – let’s hope it stays that way.

Hanggai at Dos Kolegas and Strawberry Festival

Dos Kolegas, what are the chances you bring back the outdoor setup you guys had for Hanggai? Cause what they say is true, Hanggai in the grass is that much better. If you can’t take off your shoes while listening to Hanggai, then what’s the fucking point. Come on people. I wanna rub Ilchi’s belly as well. Is that wrong?

Residence A at Mao Livehouse

Performance-wise I’ve seen better from these boys. But as with most shows you bring a lot of your own package with you which can make or break a show. My package – bottles of red wine, and some of the jolliest friends this side of the world. The outpouring of joy was simply contagious that night, and I’ll always remember arms chained to these misfits singing and kicking along to “In Spring” (送春) – good times, bad wine.

Birdstriking and Alpine Decline at XP

Birdstriking’s album was one of my first here in China, and it’s stuck with me since. No holds barrel raging rock and roll. There’s a resonance to it that I simply can’t shake off. Seeing them live on their hometurf definitely was a treat, even more so, since this was their last show before they went on hiatus. The icing on the cake was seeing Alpine Decline for the first time, and being surprised at how much it clicked with me – something about these duo bands that get me.

Zhaoze at Mao Livehouse

I’ve caught the post-rock bug – it took some time but I finally get it. It’s larger than life music, that’s epic, romantic, and the closest I’ll probably ever get to seeing a symphony. Zhaoze takes it one step further. Listening to the band, which utilizes a guqin to badass effect, is indeed a journey on itself, exhausting at times, but holy shit, some of those highs they pulled off were simply awe-inspiring.

New Pants at Strawberry Festival

Why: Goofy, giddy, shiny, and fucking righteous, New Pants still have the magic that makes their shows high scale fun. Oh, and mushrooms plus New Pants equals the greatest dance party I ever invited myself to. Yeah, it’s cheating a bit. But hey, sure beats trying to watch Voodoo Kungfu on shrooms – huge mistake there.

Chapilier Fou at Mao Livehouse

Yeah, a foreign act, so what. While JUE Festival gave me the gift of revisiting my adolescent love of Death Cab for Cutie as well as seeing new shoegazers on the block The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, it was this unknown gent from France that literally blew me away. Some of the most hypotonic beautiful music ever contrived, from a wildly talented person who fused together violins, electronic loops, keyboard, and hell, even a singing TV into a performance I was gushing about for days.

WHAI at Temple

Because these guys were playing the soundtrack to the most badass action movie I’ve yet to seen, playing at one of the most badass joints in Beijing. And it started immediately as I walked upstairs, so I came to the conclusion that it was my own soundtrack. Slow motion explosions!!! I wish I could go back in time, and play this music in the hockey locker room before games.

Hedgehog, The Gar, Casino Demon at Mao Livehouse

Three is a good number – two simply isn’t enough, four is sometimes just too much – three is the perfect number. Three bands, three styles, one awesome show. Nothing got bogged down, not an ounce of fat anywhere. And the music, fan-fucking-tastic, Casino Demon gave me an old school rock and roll, The Gar left my jaw hanging, and Hedgehog got me jumping up and down like a madman. The place needed ice cubes for crying out loud, it was so friggin hot.

Rolling Bowling, Skarving, Mademoiselleet son Orchestre at Dos Kolegas

Dos Kolegas is always a fun time in the summer – when the crowd is overflowing outside, chuanr is being cooked, and sun dresses are out. But add in three of the most fun bands in town, including Rolling Bowling who have been on a hot streak all year, and Mademoiselle herself showing the Spaniards how it’s done, you’ve got the recipe for landmark show. Dare someone to get a lineup like this again.

White + at XP

Zhang Shouwang continues his hot streak with his electronic lovechild white+. Well, I love electronic music, I found myself often this year keeping it at a distance. While the entire show was rad in its own right, with special props to Dead J, when white+ came on, the mood changed completely – you knew you were about to witness something inspired, unique, and memorable. Really, white+ is a fever dream of colors and music that simply worms its way in.

Click on the title cards to see further videos and photos of these amazing shows. And stay tuned for more ‘best of’.

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