Doing a little overtime work here, cause despite the Qingming Festival forcing most of us to work tomorrow, the music scene could give two shits about whose grave we’ll be starting a bin fire in front of (which is pretty cool as far as holiday rituals go) and I’m OK with that. More tunes to soak in over the long weekend, more opportunities to check out some new bands, and plenty of time to recover from whatever it was you ingested the previous night. Did I metntion your contributor here will be throwing another LBM showcase this Sunday, April 2nd at DDC with bands making the trek from Tianjin, Baoding, and Xinxiang – so throw a bone and swing on by! And without further a due here’s your weekend roundup
FRIDAY MARCH 31st
Cosmic Child (Singpaore), Last Goodbye at Hot Cat Club
Singaporean shoegaze outfit Cosmic Child hit up Hot Cat Club on their five-stop China tour for a night of warm fuzz and reverb-drenched soundscapes (check out our interview with them). They’ll be supported by Beijing’s own shoegaze torchbearers Last Goodbye, who have been leaving their mark on the music scene with their DIIV-evoking melodies. FREE
Planet & Tree at Omni Space
One of this year’s biggest surprises has been the emergernce of folk rock outfit Planet & Tree. Headed by the esteemed and infamous Cui Xudong – a prominent musician from Shijiazhuang whose time included playing with bands such as Omnipotent Youth Society’s processor Nico, Ruins, Soundtoy, and more – the band is a dusty bluesy rock band that’s riffed with soul and the spirit of rock and roll. 100 RMB
Tulegur with Foes at Yugong Yishan
Veteran Inner Mongolian singer-songwriter Tulegur presents another edition of his concert ‘with foes.’ Such foes, there to challenge and unleash your greatness, include singer-songwriter Chu Qiao, hip-hop/rock DJ Zhang Ran, Liquid Oxygen Can frontman Zhang Yu, reggae guitarist Gao Xu and Cedric and Matt from metal band Scare the Children. Sounds like good fun.
Mobby Kingdom, Secret Club, Silent Speech at School
Nanjing britpop rockers Mobby Kingdom are currently winding their way through China on their current tour and tonight they’ll be docking at none other than School Bar – joining them are happy-go-lucky Britpop enthusiasts Secret Club and experimental alt-rockers Silent Speech. 100 RMB
Purgatory，Abnormal Infected，Electric Lady，Black Lotus at Temple
Four bands with a ‘female touch’ rock the stage – but don\’t be fooled as these ladies bring the pain. China\’s first female vocal melodic death metal band Purgatory, the most ferocious slam brutal death metal band Abnormal Infected, new school heavy-weights Black Lotus, and stoner / doom metal band Electric Lady. FREE
The Lawrence Ku Jazz Quartet at Jianghu Bar
Ku is a guitarist, composer, arranger and educator, currently the headmaster of the Shanghai JZ School of Music. He’s collaborated with jazz artists from around the world, including Dee Dee Bridgewater, John Legend, and Benjamin Koppel. Join him and his band tonight. 100 RMB
Zhege, The Hunters, Star Band at Yue Space
Zhege is releasing their second record; An EP titled ‘Ba Ba Beijing’ that will be available online from the 1st of April (Spotify, iTunes, etc). To celebrate the release, they will be hosting a party at Yue Space. The event will also feature crazed Hugh Reed & The Vlevert Underpants, and the melodic tunes of Star Band. 50 RMB
Ember Swift at DDC
Canadian artist Ember Swift who now resides in the magnetic city of Beijing, China has released 12 albums since 1996 and continues to have a loyal fan base across many national borders. She brings her swag and stylish indie rock to DDC as the longstanding Beijing-based artist presents material from her just released album Sticks and Stones, which echoes ‘childhood joys while living in an adult world’. 50 RMB
Mademoiselle et son Orchestre at Jianghu Bar
Mademoiselle et son Orchestre in a quartet version this time with Doug Martin on guitar, Fiach O\’Brien on drums and ET on double bass. One of the \”oldest\” foreign band in Beijing and the only one singing in French, they’re a joy to behold.
Niu, Steve Blaque, Miranda, Zin, Nick Parsons, Wu Gui at 69 Café
Indie musicians from around the world welcome spring at 69 Café including NYU student Niu, while folk singer Wu Gui, Miranda and Steve Blaque of Radiance, who just released their album The Fragile Strength and more. 60 RMB
SATURDAY APRIL 1st
TOSS at Temple
The band Toss kicks off their national tour with a free show in support of their new eponymous double album at Temple. The trio challenges the rules of music and society with their explosive rock and roll, which can be confusing and melancholy but always pushes the limits of the genre. FREE
Free Sex Sop, Skin Bad, XianTong, Moland, LinCe at School
Local label and promotion group Cold Neo are throwing a hell of a party showcasing some of their roster as well as other guests including the newly signed punk trio Skin Bad, ambient post-rock group XianTong, as well as the trippy pop rock foursome Moland. 80 RMB
S.A.W, CMCB, Laisee, Drunkard, DR. V’Agent, Ephemerality, Scar Constitution, The Skin I Live In, City, Fearless, Devil Mask, Need A Name, The Uncrowned, AJK, Fukedeifu, Nuclear Bomb at Yugong Yishan
Take it up a notch with this epic lineup of hard rock and metal featuring a shopping list of bands that’ll get you screaming and moshing all night long including The Uncrowned, S.A.W. CMCB, City, Drunkard, Scar Constitution, Army of Sade Kirin, and much much more. Nu metal, industrial rock, and good ol’ fashion screamo – no genre goes untouched. Sixteen bands ready to give it their all so get there early. 5pm start/180 RMB
The Paramecia, Bian Yuan, Wangzi, Zhu Jie at Modernsky Lab
This April Fool’s concert is no joke – four respected artist with plenty of experience take the stage including Su Zixu and the Parmecia, who incorporate avant-garde rock, fantastical melodies and ideological melodies into their sound. They’re by Bian Yuan, the former singer of Joyside, Wangzi, the singer and guitarist from Casino Demon and Project A’s Zhu Jie. 100 RMB
Tong Yan at Snail Hostel
Tong Yang stops in Beijing on her national tour in support of her new album Mountain Side. The indie balladeer is known for her voice, which sounds like a ‘suppressed explosion, and her straightforward style, which can cut like a knife’. This is her third solo album, and she ‘s by friend and guitarist Chen Chuanquan. 80 RMB
Car Car Cars, Miss Mix, Los Crasher, Scare The Children, Self Portrait at Mao Livehouse
Tight jeans, garage rock dreams, horror metal, and sultry girl power – it’s just another evening at Mao Livehouse as the venues hosts an assortment of bands and styles including Scare The Children, Miss Mix, and more. 100 RMB
Sparrow, Next Door Band, Magic Mama, Xiao Bianer at Yue Space
Yue Space releases the holiday with a fan favorite lineup featuring post rock sweet tarts Sparrow, indie pop outfit Next Door Band, and much more. 100 RMB
Zhang Qianqian, Shi Xiaofei, Huang Yuqin at Mars Club
Mars Club hosts a concert to remember singer Leslie Cheung, who committed suicide in 2003. The show will start with a showing of the film Ah Fei Is, and followed by a folk concert featuring Zhang Qianqian, Shi Xiaofei and Huang Yuqin, playing songs by Leslie and as well as their own works. 70 RMB
Nancy J Brown Quartet at The Living Room (Chao Hotel)
Keep your finger on the jazz pulse of the city with Chao’s new series ‘Singer in the Spotlight’ which looks to showcase Beijing\’s finest vocalists. The session kicks off with Nancy Jenkinson Brown quartet made up of talented musicians from Italy, Ireland and England that blow away the idea that jazz is obscure. Expect some good ol time. FREE
Shai Rosenboim at La Plantation
Shai Rosenboim is emerging as one of the most promising young musicians in Israel – a highly requested performer of contemporary music who has worked with promient Israeli composers, Ami Ma\’ayani and Tzvi Avni and has been awarded the highest scholarship from the American-Israeli Cultural foundation as a \”highly sensitive and thoughtful pianist\”. 150 RMB
Stevie Mac & The Mac Daddies at DDC
Inspired by all things classic, pop, and big band, Stevie Mac & The Mac Daddies bring ‘a vintage approach to contemporary music’. Enjoy classic reimaginings from the ever-expanding trope at DDC. FREE
Golden Buddha & Friends at Jianghu Bar
Golden Buddha Jazz Band was founded from 2005. This band is not only aims to explore the integration of Eastern and Western music cultures of different styles; it is also combined the modern Western music and the Chinese music together. All the members in the band are top-ranked Chinese musicians. 80 RMB
Tavey Lean and the Solid Gold Dream Machine at Modernista
Modernista is welcoming CandleX Non-Profit fundraising event to support mental health projects and awareness in Beijing, and to celebrate the 2nd year anniversary of this awesome organization in the most fun possible way – with afternoon dance workshops and live music at night courtesy of Tavey Lean and the Solid Gold Dream Machine. FREE
Templo de Samba at Caravan
Templo de Samba will be on hand to infuse the evening with the enchanting sounds of a Pagode, making us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Bossaboca, Samba, and latin flavors – it\’s gonna get magical folks. 60 RMB
Ani, Nathan, Nick Parsons, Yixia at 69 Cafe
Swiss guitarist Ani brings her American rhythm and blues to 69 Café alongside dream popper Yixia, music scene veteran Nathan Borofka, who mixes punk, folk and experimental rock, and Nick Parsons. 66 RMB
SUNDAY APRIL 2nd
Pumpkins, Lonely Leary, Briefs Dryer, Qianchuan Drugstore, Division Control at DDC
Live Beijing Music makes its seasonal trek to DDC to cook up a live music extravaganza – a red hot, fresh off the market lineup that’ll spring you into the Qingming Holiday weekend. We’ve been scouring the landscape for some Beijing’s best-kept secrets, as well as a new breed of scoundrels, punks, and bands that have sprung up in Beijing’s various neighboring cities, including Xinxiang, Baoding, and Tianjin. The bill includes post punk favorites Lonely Leary, esteemed punk quartet Pumpkins (Xinxiang), indie rock swooners Briefs Dryer (Baoding), rollicking post punk renegades Division Control (Tianjin), and up and coming alt rockers Qianchuan Drugstore (Beijing). Each looking to kick start your spring and keep the good times rolling. 50/70 RMB
Suffocated, Dressed to Kill, Blade Edge at 13 Club
Thrash metal giants Suffocated celebrate their twentieth anniversary as a band and the tenth anniversary of the release of their first album, Against The Wind. They will perform works which have not been heard live in nearly a decade and are joined by fellow metal bands Dressed to Kill and Blade Edge. Shits gonna get loud. 120 RMB
The Hotline, The Diagon Alley, Backspace, Pacalolo at School
School’s Bad Education series continues onwards with a rollicking lineup featuring electro rock up and comers The Hotline, much talked about indie rock outfit Backspace, quirky female fronted electro rock duo Pacalolo and brit poppers The Diagon Alley. 60 RMB (ladies free)
Robella, CA, Hind Brain, The Pace of Time, Drunkard, Pork, Wacky Tobacco, Wang Yangming at Mao Livehouse
Pay tribute to Kurt Cobain and the grunge movement with this hefty annual grunge festival thrown by none other than Mao Livehouse who have rallied up just about every band under the grunge umbrella including veterans Drunkard, Pork, and much much more. 100 RMB
Elenore, december3am, SNSOS, 4 Channel Club at Yue Space
A solid lineup featuring post kraut rock favorites december3am, britrock hard hitters Elenore, post rock wranglers She Never Sings Our Songs, and 8bit tuner 4 Channel Club – lots of genre jumping going on here. 80 RMB
Dragon Kam, Penicillin, Puzzy Stack, Lofimaker, Zaliva-D at Modernsky Lab
A two part music festival – with two vastly different parts. First, bripop outifits Dragon Kam and Penicillin pay tribute to John Lennon, Leonard Cohen, BB King and Bob Marley. Afterwards hard hitting producers like Puzzy Stack, Lofi Maker, and Zaliva-D, bring on their A-game. 120/200 RMB (half pass/full pass)
Harper & Midwest Kind (AUS) at Temple
‘An amalgamation of blues, soul and world music’ – catch award-winning, Billboard charting didgeridoo and harmonica blues master Peter Harper and his band Midwest Kind at Temple with their highly original take on the roots genre which many have labeled \”World Blues\”. 60 RMB
Mu Xi, Xiao Kou, Wang Jie at Snail Hostel
Snail Hostel hosts a celebratory concert for the Tianjin Folk Inn, celebrating the venue’s two year anniversary. Frequent performers including Mongolian ballad singer Mu Xi, pianist and folk singer Xiao Kou and guitarist and singer Wang Jie, along with other Tianjin artists will be in Beijing to perform. 70 RMB
Plum Trees, Read, Jurat and Ke Jueyao at 69 Cafe
Australian indie folk group Plum Trees join Read, a folk duo with a retro sound who is obsessed with poetry and Uighur folk singer Jurat, who blends folk, jazz and psychedelic punk, and others for a Qingming Festival concert. 66 RMB
MONDAY APRIL 3rd
StarRo (USA), DaBozz, Gant.Z, By Dream, Trius at Yue Space
Grammy-nominated producer starRo, based in LA, Tokyo-born brings his dizzying mix of street culture and classical music to Yue Space along with the hiphop singer/song-writer Dabozz, Beijing\’s very own post-rock band By Dream, beatmaker SunXu Trius and Gant.Z of Elegant Music. An eclectic evening of sounds to soak in. 120 RMB
Chinese Football at Yugong Yishan
It only took two years but Wuhan’s emo stalwarts have hit the big time with their latest EP Here Comes A New Challenger – with a new drummer and four brand new songs that further solidifies the band’s tight musicianship and sound the math rock infused emo rock outfit is on a national wide tour now to promote it. Expect a packed house as the breakout successes bring their sincere sound to the masses. 80 RMB
Narakam, Spirit Trance, Evil Thorn, Chuge at Mao Livehouse
It’s a Qingming Festival Tomb Sweeping extravaganza of metal as melodic metal veterans Narakam celebrates with their friends the only way they know how —- black metal and mosh pits!!! 120 RMB
Project Impair, Motorbike Girls, The White Papers at DDC
Korean rock duo Project Impair return with their foot-stomping head bopping tunes inspired by Korean traditional music (“gugak”) and the blues. They’re joined by local garage rock outfit Motorbike Girls and The White Papers. 60 RMB
Not in Catalog, DVC at fRUITYSPACE
Experimental/improv rock group Not in Catalog, made up of some of the experimental and improv scene brightest characters who are ‘walking in the opposite direction to rock music’s evolution in various periods’ release their debut tonight with support from DVC. Expect beatnick vibes and musical tomfoolery of the highest order. 4pm start/50 RMB
TUESDAY APRIL 4th
Yue Xuan, Dee, Wang Ziheng at UCCA (798 Art District)
Get in your art kicks while checking out this top notch lineup at the widely regarded UCCA space in 798 art district. Performacnes from award winning avant garde pianist Yue Xuan, experimental madman Shengdi (aka Dee), whose willing showmanship and willingness to push the boundaries has made him charmingly unpredicatable, and experimental saxophonist Wang Ziheng, one of the top in his field. 4pm start/80 RMB
Song Yuzhe at Yue Space
Song Yuzhe, the frontman for the world music collective Dawanggang, gives a special solo outing at the Beixinqiao venue where his 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 will grace ears. 100 RMB
Nocturnes, Atelier II at DDC
Dark ambience and haunting indietronica coming your way at DDC as ambient drone duo Atelier II join atmospheric indie electronic duo Nocturnes, who just released their thrilling EP last month. 50 RMB
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