The Beijinger Blog - Live Music

Fall on your knees and bow to greatness, oh punk rock infants of Beijing, for the founders of Hardcore Punk is coming to town!

thebeijinger — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:12:29 +0800

DOA, the band that Henry Rollins called 'one of the greatest live bands of all time', and that Dave Grohl, Sonic Youth, Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have all cited as one of their major influences is finally here for their first ever China Tour! Frontman, Joe 'Shithead' Keithley was kind enough to give the Beijinger his time to shed some wisdom, tell us about the past, present and future of the band, and get the word out to all you aspiring Beijinger punks that he wants to hear your music!

New Year with the Queers

thebeijinger — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:26:54 +0800

Having racked up an impressive resume in the last 20 years releasing a flurry of albums, co-headlining with the likes of NOFX, Screeching Weasel and Green Day since the late 80s, and even being honored with a personal invitation from Marky Ramone to tour Europe and Asia in 2007 as part of his band, punk rock cult legends, the Queers, are finally kicking off their first tour in China on New Year’s Eve at the MAO Livehouse. The Beijinger talked to frontman, Joe Queer, about his experience in Beijing, his views on the local punk rock scene, what Ursula Finally Has Tits means to him, and how he plans to ring in the new year at the Mao Livehouse.

the Beijinger: You have already been to Beijing before with Marky Ramone in summer 2007. What do you think of Beijing?

Interview with Mr. Graceless

thebeijinger — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:23:30 +0800

Mr. Graceless is:

Amojo: guitar, vocals
元帅 (Yuan Shuai) : bass, vocals
官僚 (Guan Liao) : drums

How did you guys meet and form the band?
Amojo: I met Yuan Shuai at university, and he already knew Guan Liao from high school.

What colleges do you guys attend?
Amojo and Yuan Shuai: Beijing Transportation University.
Guan Liao: Beijing Aerospace University. (They are all engineers).

So, you don’t study music?
No.

Are you busy?
Very busy…

Review: D-22 University Night

thebeijinger — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 18:08:53 +0800

Review: Pet Conspiracy at the Song Club

thebeijinger — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:26:59 +0800

Pet Conspiracy – Song Club – Thursday, December 18, 2008

Cranking out a medley of sounds from 80s techno, Japanese punk rock, indie, and old school electronica, Pet Conspiracy delivered a short and energized show at the Song club last Thursday… and deliver they did.

Switch On Tour: Electronic Audio and Visuals from Switzerland and China

thebeijinger — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 12:39:14 +0800

--Exclusive Interview with Organizer, Michael Vonplon

Switch back ten years ago and you’ll find the roots of this weekend’s SWITCH ON touring event. The cross-cultural event linking Swiss and Chinese electronic artists kicked off last Friday in Shanghai, gathering together more than 350 clubbers. The tour arrives in Beijing this Friday night at Tango with BaiCai’s special guest, Luciano, founder of Cadenza Records. The outstanding DJ and prolific producer is headlining the two-story extravaganza that will run between Mango and Tango’s main floor. On Saturday night the tour closes at White Rabbit with a notable line-up of live acts, visual artists, and DJs.

The Young Fool Who Made a Film: Profile of the Director of Yugong Yishan Documentary

thebeijinger — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:00:29 +0800

Yugong Yishan is one of the best live music venues in town. It's won the Best Live Music gong at the Beijinger's Readers Bar and Club Awards every year for the past 5 years and this week Kaiser Kuo told Beijing Boyce that he considers the new digs on Zhang Zizhong Lu to be one of the 5 best Beijing live music venues of all time. Where else can you see a French trip-hop DJ on Friday night, then on the next night catch a raucous blues show and then on the following day go and watch Peking Opera with the local Peking Opera society? On Friday night they'll be screening a 30 minute documentary about themselves by director Joanna Vasquez Arong. Steven Schwankert caught up with the director of the film last month and we've included his profile of the director below.

Qbert bailed, but Babu is on the way

thebeijinger — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:26:20 +0800

DJ Qbert did not come last week. That was not that cool for hip-hop heads but there’s good news this week in the form of the latest act to hit town. DJ Babu is the world renowned DJ and producer for Dilated Peoples, but that’s not all. He used to be part of the best DJ battle team ever –the Beatjunkies –and is part of the Likwit Junkies with Defari, as well as being a DJ in his own right. We caught up with him before his show at Block 8 on Saturday (Dec 13) to get the lowdown.

the Beijinger:What inspired you to start DJing?

DJ Babu: I was very inspired by the explosion of hip hop culture in 1984, at first I was trying to be a b-boy but much later found I had a fondness for DJing, hearing rap groups who had prominent DJs was also very influential; groups like EPMD who had DJ Scratch, Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Gangstarr with DJ Premier, the list goes on.

Review: Kylie Minogue at Workers' Gymnasium

thebeijinger — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:00:14 +0800

Kylie Minogue
RMB 280-2,580.
8pm. Workers' Gymnasium (6501 6655)

I had never even heard of Kylie Minogue before buzz starting swirling around the city that the world's finest derriere was coming to town, and it belonged to a forty-year-old woman, who, by the way, could sing too. I could find no one, man or woman, who contested the fact that Kylie was hot as hell, and I also could find no one who could give me a better explanation than, “Kylie…she’s just…hot. Mmmmm.” Who was this infamous she-temptress, and how had she cast the world under her spell?

Review: Beijing Calling Vol. 3 at Star Live

thebeijinger — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:00:44 +0800

Beijing Calling Vol. 3
RMB 50, RMB 40 (advance).
8.30pm. Star Live (6425 5677)

There were a lot of shows to choose from the Saturday before last. What to do, what to do? ReTROS/Subs? Been there, done that. D-22? Please…again? It seems that the Beijing rock scene is doomed to repeat itself … well, not exactly. I made it to Star Live to catch the 3rd installment of the “Beijing Calling” series. The audience, although pitifully small (especially when considering how large the venue is), at least was given a more intimate peek at some newer and lesser-known bands emerging on the scene.