Fans of the disbanded Beijing punk group Hang On The Box (HOTB) should be glad to hear that lead vocal Wang Yue (aka Gia) will release her solo debut this Saturday (November 21) at Mao Livehouse. But before you get all excited, diehard punk fans, weep your tears - the one-time punk-girl-of-the-nation has turned bossa nova in her upcoming album The Brilliant Gia. Chanting gently with lighthearted melodies and soft guitar riffs - it’s hard to imagine this is the same person who trashed the stage while shouting shabi and caodan to the streets.

Who's the best Swedish drummer in Beijing? Jonathan (Tan Tan) from P.K.-14 must be popping into many of your heads. But, there's a girl I like better than him. Last year, I saw her at this random gig at MAO, it was so powerful and energetic, and I was totally shocked that all this was from a doesn't-seem-strong-at-all girl behind the drum kit. I didn’t even remember the name of the band, while I somehow remembered her nationality. A year later, morning while I was on my way to work, I noticed this girl in standard professional outfit: white shirt, skirt, heels, was walking in front of me, and it was this awesome chick-drummer. I talked to her a little bit and told her that I think her drumming skill is amazing. She looked so happy and surprised... I think that made her day. That was when I found out that the band’s name is Nakoma, who will be playing at 13 Club Saturday night (Aug. 21) and MAO Livehouse on Sunday night (Aug. 22).

Ten years of being in a metal band isn't that easy, think about all the mocking you'd received - "metal is dead, and it's not as hip as the indie kids". Around this time last month, I saw the legendary Finnish band Stratovarius in Shanghai, and I was totally blown away - the songs might be cheesy to today's standards, but man what a loyalty from the fans! Not being one myself, I have the deepest respect for those guys - at least they know what they want. Months earlier at the Strawberry Festival, another metal set from Tang Dynasty caught me into nostalgia, realizing I could still sing along with all the lyrics and guitar solos. Then I thought, Kaiser Kuo was a founding member of that band. Now Ding Wu (lead singer of Tang Dynasty) is having difficulty hitting high notes, whereas Kaiser's other project Spring Autumn are still growing strong, celebrating their ten years' anniversary tonight at Mako Live House. After all, time can't be the excuse for everything.

Ever since being ended up with Denmark at an in-office World Cup sweepstake, I've been trying to remember how great the Laudrup brothers were and how Nicklas Bendtner has even come close to their highness. Conclusion is that since Serbia is participating this time, the Danes have zero chance of winning the champion (but they can probably give Netherlands a heart attack in the same way as they did to Brazil in France twelve years ago). Despite still thinking about the World Cup at this moment, I'll try my best to list the music shows going on over this working weekend, plus Dragon Boat holidays.

Usher's in town at Wukesong Arena on July 11, but for this weekend we've got Michael Bolton on Saturday ("Why does everyone dislike Michael Bolton? He's a legend," said one of my colleagues yesterday.), enjoy. Sichuanese ska boys The Trouble pay a visit, Bluegrass/country troupe The Redbucks release their debut, Bad Mamasan and Last Chance of Youth show metal pride in Wudaokou, Acid Live move their funky jazz party to Sihui at The One. Plus, new music venue opens in 798 Art District (with support from Zhang Tie, Wang Juan and Zhang Si'an). Considering all art galleries and museums are free of entry this weekend, it's definitely musicians' turn to collect some money.