The snow on Monday, I don’t know what’s that all about, it’s March already. Don't know how it's been affecting the festival season (which is spring, in case you haven't seen it's coming), but the Beijing leg of JUE Festival is well under its way. Presented by Split Works, the festival consists of art, cinema and music events across Beijing and Shanghai (see our interview with the organizers here and full event schedule here). On Friday night, JUE sees the appearances of American indie singer/instrumentalist St. Vincent at Yugong Yishan and Danish rockabilly group Dead Elvis & His One Man Grave at D-22. On the local side, things get more hardcore at Mao Livehouse, where TOOKOO, Bigger Bang! and The Reason rock on the northern end of Nanluogu Xiang - maybe you can hear them in YGYS, since St. Vincent's music is relatively quiet, maybe.

This week we've got some visitors: AV Okubo (www.douban.com/artist/avokubo) are in town on Saturday (Mar 6) at Yugong Yishan. Coming with their debut album The Greed of Man (大时代), these disco punk heads from Wuhan will share the stage with P.K.14, Carsick Cars, Xiao He and White. After that, the gang of hipsters are leaving Beijing for South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, followed by another Maybe Mars US tour. Look at them (pictured above), they are obviously ready for the cold weather and street noise in Beijing.

So, we are back from the holiday, and it’s the same old faces on the stage. But that’s why live music in Beijing is exciting - it beats the sound of firecrackers and CCTV's Spring Festival Gala. I watched the entire four-hour show with my family and kept thinking about what would happen if Manchester United played against The Los Angeles Lakers in a curling game - and the winner turned out to be Maria Sharapova. Happy time.

Anyway, the important thing is musicians are back in town. On Friday, Afrokoko (probably the one and only Afrobeat group in Beijing) bring live beats with the DJ crew of funksters at Yugong Yishan. An alternative is available at Mao Livehouse where Acid Live put on their monthly jazz session of dynamite.

As we all know, the city will be empty during the Spring Festival holiday - bands are leaving Beijing for home, organizers are taking breaks, and groupies will have to wake up with someone else...this would be the last weekend for live music before everything goes wrong. Hard rockers Misandao, Gum Bleed and Hell City make noises at Mao Livehouse on February 5 before firecrackers burn down the city; For Saturday night, Ourself Beside Me and The Molds make their return at Obiwan, Beijing rap group In3'er swear on Bob Marley's Day (hold me...), while Wu Fei plays guzheng and creates her version of the mysterious east with Taiwanese American singer Jen Shyu.

Go out, have fun - you might be married after the holiday, then who knows what's gonna happen...

After The Killers canceled on Beijing, it should take a while for us to recover - lying, life goes on. Before we start to look forward to the next imaginary gig, the real Andrew Bird is coming to the concrete Yugong Yishan exactly on Jan 30 (see our interview with Mr. Bird here). For other worth-seeing acts: On Jan 29, funk-jazz-electronica big band Acid Live turn on their broadcast, punksters Unsafe calm with acoustic; On Jan 30, Mao Livehouse wraps the year with bands of various genres, Xiao He plays at both 798 and Beiluogu Xiang, Sambasia Beijing jam at the demolishing Gulou area, The Offset: Spectacles play their alt rock. On Jan 31, folk songstress Wang Juan is back with us after months of absence, while French trio Peppermoon finish the week with peaceful and dreamy sound.