Weekend Update (31/10-02/11)

It\’s that time of year again – time to wait till last minute to pick out a costume, throw one together from the remnants of your last sour relationship (crossdresser yay!), skin that cat on the way to whatever scantily clad party you roll into (fur coat for the win!), or just pay a homeless man to beat the living daylights out of you (Arghh…zombie!). Time to rise to the occasion folks and while you\’re at it check out some of these spooky gigs. And check out the newly updated calendar for more.

Friday October 31st

Ready to piss it all away at Temple and give in to the dark lords themselves – yes, The Beijing Misfits. Pretty much all the Halloween you need right there. If seeing three dudes and one feisty chica donning makeup and spitting beer into your face doesn\’t do it for you then I don\’t know what will. And if that wasn\’t enough Bad Mamasan and Bastards of Imperialism will do doing their best Black Sabbath and Ramones impressions as well as a secret guest which we assure you isn\’t Devils at the Crossroads. My guess: Mecha-Devils at the Crossroads. The shittiest of shitshows – only for the brave. Looking for eye candy of a different sort – then how about checking out some bonafide rockers who happen to be female at XP. Sexism aside, The Hormones out of Chengdu sound pretty damn good – check out their just released EP (Editors Note – just saw them an hour ago, they do indeed rock). And besides having the sweetest name ever, Free Sex Shop are slowly raising the ranks of Beijing\’s rock scene. Best of all, costumes just make being creepy around chicks that much easier. For that authentic evilness that you\’re Halloween has been lacking all these years – well, let the metal gods answer your prayers with heavy blood soaked lineup of metals newest elite at Yugong Yishan, including the trash lords themselves Suffocated. Also, sludge metal (and recent heavy band of the year winners at the Sound Stage awards) trope Never Before, Evil Thorn, Silent Resentment, Bad Mamasan, and dark techno wizard Zaliva-D whose music is more menacing than the rest of them combined. Mao Livehouse and high kicking 80s rocker idols Los Crasher host a enormous Halloween Bash featuring the likes of Wuhan scrappers S.C.O.D and Skullcrasher as well as Hell City, Miss Mix, Thyblood, Car Car Cars, and Expolsicum. Down in Shuangjing, Mako Livehouse gets really freaky with the combo of free jazz saxophone mad man Li Tieqiao and electronic heavy techno spazz ChuChu, as well as a host of other DJs and guests – spooky indeed. Virus Base and Own Up! hold the fort down at School this ghoulish evening. And finally, for you non-believers check out Kamila Nas & Pierre Brahin at Jianghu Bar and Liu Dongming at DDC.

Saturday November 1st

Shanghai based Daydreamer is indie pop done right – no pretensions, no gimmicks, no catering – just very tight, very skilled, very melodic (the key to pop in my book) and loads of conviction. With a lead singer whose voice gives stern gravitas, and a sound that veers from Cranberries-esque alt rock to melodic arena indie rock, with a bit of post rock playfulness, the band is definitely one to sway your hips too.. Just try to deflect the charm found in their recent debut – I dare ya. Check them out at Yugong Yishan. In redneck county Halloween lasts a whole week, so why not don that stain-ridden Spider-Man costume again and head over to Temple to get your hoedown on with The Randy Abel Stable. On that note, The Beijing Misfits refuse to go down without a fight and as hungover as they surely are, they\’re re-upping on vodka and will be ready to take on XP alongside fellow underworld dweller Guiguisuisui. Wuhan grindcore gets its due over at School where S.C.O.D (Speak Chinese Or Die!) and Skullcrasher join forces with D-Crash and more for some bogus adventures. Embrace the pain with Dark Haze as the metal outfit celebrates five years at Mao Livehouse with support from fellow eye line wearers A.J.K. Keep it classy at Mako Livehouse as traditional Mongolian performer Delehei gets at it. Last, feel the old times blues at with Zhenren at Jianghu Bar and ladies after it at DDC with Miss Mix, Sutang, and Time Capsule.

Sunday November 2^nd

As cool as it was to catch the Beijing veteran \’electronic artist\’ last week at BEME, FM3 ain\’t exactly the type of music that warrants a smoky dingy livehouse. This is music to sink back into; to focus intently whilst your mind wanders free. It\’s a labyrinth of sounds, one that pays as much tribute to classical music as to ambient music. Hence, why DDC Sunday evening is the perfect venue for the legacy duo to release their newest earworm of an album. Black ties and doobies all the way.Lay into the scraps with these punks and poppers at School including Chinese Modern Guys, Lattice, CDBox, and Noisy Jelly. Catch folk artist Yulin at 69 Cafe and last, check out Mao Livehouse for Fusion, whom I\’m guessing is all about that fusion. Yeah I\’m out of gas here. What do ya expect – it\’s Sunday.