This November, the Beijinger took it upon ourselves to attempt a world record or two. Our valiant efforts (read all about them here on issuu.com) sadly fell short - but then again, we never tried enlisting the assistance of Akon. Last night (Nov 4) at Mastercard Arena, Akon proved just how easily he could rock a stadium and set a number of somewhat kooky world records*.

World Record #1: number of Chinese people simultaneously screaming "ghetto"

 

Standing before me is the founder of Guitar China, China’s most comprehensive guitar music website, and all I can focus on is his goatee – perhaps the longest I’ve ever seen on a Chinese man. The man goes by two names: Jiang Wei, christened by his parents, and Mel Gibson, christened by co-workers who thought they were clever (and the result of a surplus of Gibson films in the pirated market). In this interview, we talked about the birth of Guitar China, the upcoming charity concert on July 3 and a band’s penchant for singing about Beijing Duck.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve no doubt heard that the big show this weekend is Usher at Wukesong Sunday night – his first-ever show in Mainland China. But if mainstream R&B just ‘aint your thang, there are, as always, a host of other live gigs this weekend.

The one-and-only Abigail Washburn brings her sweet bluegrass stylings to The One tonight, and D-22 hosts a night of noisy indie-rock featuring Birdstriking from Taiwan, Boyz & Girl and local Canadian-born experimental duo Hot & Cold on Saturday night.

Meanwhile The Star Live gets back on track with new management an interesting gig – singer/songwriter Natti Vogel from New York, Long Shen Dao plays reggae, Chinese style, at Jiang Hu tonight and Canadian rock quintet Jets Overhead play 2 Kolegas on Saturday. Read on for many more options:

 

True to form and predictably enough, Bob Dylan's April 4 concert in Beijing has been nixed by the Ministry of Culture, according to The Guardian, The Telegraph and The New York Times. Wary of Dylan's counterculture past, authorities are once again trying to prevent a repeat of "The Bjork finale" in Shanghai two years ago.

China Music Valley Festival 2012 ended on Sunday with a sparse crowd staying to catch the headline act. UK pop diva Joss Stone looked decidedly less than impressed that revelers left in their droves as she gave the final performance of the three-day extravaganza in Pinggu district’s Yuyang International Ski Resort on Sunday night.