2010 Sep 30 Holiday Live Music Roundup: Blonde Redhead, Brett Anderson
We've had a music festival explosion in 2010. In the old days we would be lucky to have one music festival per holiday – this year we've had several to choose from almost every break.
Then again, history has taught be to be wary of everything: Midi Music Festival 2008 - cancelled; Modern Sky Music Festival 2009 – All foreign bands cancelled; The Killers Concert 2010, cancelled; etc. Foreign bands still have to go through a complex procedure to get approved to play in China. Besides providing information such as passport numbers, they have to send the government mp3s and lyrics of 5 songs. I think the officers just want free mp3s.
Anyway, let's be happy for the ones who have been approved: Blonde Redhead, Brett Anderson (ex-Suede front man) will play at Modern Sky Music Festival (see complete lineup here). Il Nino, Rooney and more will join the Inter City Music Festival. The Vasco Era takes over Beijing's coolest punk base after performing at Midi Music festival in Zhenjiang.
Check out the listing for many more acts:
October 1 (Friday)
13 Band, 88 Balaz
Sound from Taiwan. RMB 60, RMB 50 (advance, mobile number starts with 138), RMB 30 (mobile number starts with 1388). 9.30pm. MAO Livehouse
Low Wormwood and friends
Have a dreamy night with the folk band at D22. RMB 50, RMB 40 (students). 10pm. D-22
Mademoiselle et son Orchestre
Mademoiselle et son Orchestre is a six peice Beijing based gypsy jazz band. The musicians perform their own tunes and also some old french master peices for the love of "boumchick ", swing and "choubidou wah!" RMB 30. 9.45pm. V.A Bar
Soul Doctors, Dumplings
Funky and Brit-pop. Free. 9pm. Hot Cat Club
October 2 (Saturday)
Burket
Flamenco night. Free. 9pm. Hot Cat Club
Glorious Brandenburg-Concerto Koln Concert
RMB 50-880. 7.30pm. Forbidden City Music Hall
Multi-Ego, Any More, Nakoma, Bad Mamasan
Hardcore and metal bands try out 2 Kolegas' new equipment. 9.30pm. RMB 30. 2 Kolegas
The Beijing Beatles Band
Amped series at The Bookworm, sing along and bring your lighter to wave.
Free. 8pm. The Bookworm
Not There
Electric night right in the center of the city. RMB 30 (includes a draft beer). 9.30pm. What Bar
Snapline, AV Okubo, Duck Fight Goose, Birdstriking
Indie band Snapline with Carsick Car’s Li Qing and Li Weisi; electric Duck Fight Goose from Shanghai worth checking out. RMB 50, RMB 40 (students). 10pm. D-22
Zbigniew Karkowski, Yan Jun, Mei Zhi Yong, Li Yangyang (Mafeisan)
A bunch of noisemakers gather. It’s going to be loud in Tongzhou. RMB 50. 8pm. Raying Temple
October 3 (Sunday)
Boojii, The Fallacy
Shanghai band Boojii plays illusionary music joined by post-punks Fallacy from Henan. RMB 50, RMB 40 (students). 10pm. D-22
Erez Eisenman
The folky blues-rocker jams in Dongmianhua Hutong. RMB 30. 9pm. Jiang Hu Liveshow Bar
Reggae Party
Band Sunflower and DJ Greed Monkey. Free. 9pm. Hot Cat Club
October 4 (Monday)
Cao Qin
Folk night. RMB 30 (includes a free drink). 9pm. Hot Cat Club
Soul Doctors
To entertain the audience of Beijing with funk and soul music. RMB 30. 9.45pm. V.A Bar
The Vasco Era
Blues-rock band from Down Under rocks out Wudaokou's hottest punk base. RMB 40, RMB 30 (students). 10pm. D-22
October 5 (Tuesday)
Erez Eisenman
Original Rock Folk and Blues. RMB 30. 9.30pm. Jiangjinjiu Bar
Fat City, Pairs, Soviet Pop
Shanghai pop-punk band Pairs jam with Beijing’s avantgarde musicians. RMB 30, RMB 20 (students). 10pm. D-22
The No Name Trio
An international group, based in Beijing, China, specializing in swinging French sounds from long ago. RMB 30. 9.45pm. V.A Bar
Night of Xiyangyang
Lineup includes Hoochie Coochie Gentleman, Today Is Autumn, Mix Market from Japan and Summer Tribe. RMB 50. 8.30pm MAO Livehouse
October 6 (Wednesday)
Erez Eisenman, Christmas
Eisenman plays rock, folk and blues with his guitar and harp. Followed by "Beijing's most retarded band" (their words) playing original Chinese pop songs from the future. RMB 30.
9pm. Yugong Yishan
Echo (回声)
Folk night. RMB 30. 9.30pm. Jiangjinjiu Bar
He Li, Zhang Jing, Huang Wei, Jiang Shan, Wang Hao
MAO goes folk for the Songzhuang Art Festival, which kicked off last month in Tongzhou. RMB 60/50 (students). 9pm. MAO Livehouse
Mickael Dallin Project
Mellow rock. Free. 9pm. Salud
October 7 (Thursday)
Chaos, Beetle Bastion, Fox Ride Tiger
Bedroom guys coming out to play some electric sound. RMB 30, RMB 20 (students). 10pm. D-22
Liu Yue Guitar Trio
Jazz lines read by classic guitar. Free. 9.30pm. East Shore Live Jazz Café
Zhang Si’an and band
Folk and folk. RMB 40, 9.30pm. Jiangjinjiu Bar
September 30 - October 1
Metal Festival
Beijing's finest underground metal bands gather. RMB 50 (per day). 9pm. 13 Club
October 2-4
Inter City Music Festival
Music from around the world wants to keep you in the city. Spring Autumn, Qi Qin, Reflector and many more local voices joined by bands from the US, Japan, UK and France. Tickets at 400 810 1887. RMB 120 (per day), RMB 100 (advance). Chaoyang Park (6591 5258)
Modern Sky Music Festival
While Midi heads south to Zhenjiang, Modern Sky takes over its backyard. The international lineup includes Brett Anderson, Blonde Redhead, Big Pink, Camera Obscura and Free Energy. Let’s go catch the last warmth of summer and hope nothing will get cancelled. RMB 90-150 (one day), RMB 220-350 (three days).
Haidian Park (6285 0569)
You might also be interested in :
Festival Fight: Strawberry VS. Midi - Round 3
If the first round of our Festival Fight was just a warm up, and Midi played its big cards in the second stage what will happen in this final round?
Legendary might be one of the most over used words in music related articles. But it’s a word that has to be used to describe Strawberry’s final day lineup. There’s bold folk musician Zhou Yunpeng, the unique Second Hand Rose and the leaders of China’s metal scene, Yaksa. Who’d imagine, the final surprise comes from the festival’s Taiwan Stage, after three days of youngsters, it’s Hu Defu to play last. He may be called Bob Dylan of Taiwan, but even that is not enough to describe his contribution to China’s modern music industry … I’ll just have to skip those one thousand words.
How Did Midi Festival Turn Into Strawberry Festival? Midi Speaks Out
With its 12-year history, Midi Music Festival is the granddaddy of China’s music festivals – highly respected and influential. In 2011, they originally planned to hold four music festivals– Beijing and Shanghai in May, Rizhao (Shandong) in August and Zhenjiang (Jiangsu) in October – and had been promoting all of them since the beginning of the year. Last month, though, rumors began to spread that Strawberry Music Festival (organized by Modern Sky Records) would be taking place in Zhenjiang in October instead of Midi. Organizers of both festivals eventually confirmed the rumors via the Internet. Midi fans reacted with great confusion and anger, and Midi Festival held a press conference on August 22 to explain exactly what happened.
Weekend Live Music Roundup: Twisted Machine, Hedgehog, Shanren
It seems that 80 percent news about music or bands in Beijing are about music festivals these days. There are really so many of them. One thing that agitated the whole scene was actually one music festival in another city: Midi Festival announced a while ago that they were forced to cancel the their event in Zhenjiang, despite the ten-year contract they signed with Zhenjiang government. One day after that, Modern Sky Records announced that they are going to organize a Strawberry Festival in Zhenjiang upon invitation from the local government. Earlier this week, Midi sent out a broadcast message stating that they will reveal what actually happened at a press conference on Aug 22 and take legal action against Zhenjiang side afterwards.
Weekend Live Music Roundup: Suede, Punk Festival, Taylor Momsen
Blue Midi Festival just started today in Rizhao, a coastal city near Qingdao; and people are getting wild on the beach while you’re reading this article, all the coolest Beijing bands are gathered at the seaside; and I've heard that bands are a lot crazier at festivals out of Beijing. If you still feel like going, it's not too late to hop on a train or a friend's car or hitchhike to Rizhao right now (or you can take a train to Qingdao and then a bus to Rizhao) and have a weekend that you will never remember. The Blue Midi Festival goes on from today till Sunday.
Festival Fashion Tips: What (Not) to Wear to Midi, Strawberry and Music Valley
For once, we’re aiming to spend the entire long weekend in Beijing. Why, you ask? See here, here, here and here – need we say more?
Our Music Editor has been doing a fine job prepping us on what to expect from the music festivals. This year we can choose from Midi, Strawberry or Music Valley – or hit up all three, since they each take place over the span of three days (April 30-May 2).
Once you've settled on the lineups of your liking, however, you still face another dilemma: finding the perfect outfit.
