Are the music maniacs really becoming more and more active in Beijing? Is it just their reaction to a cold winter? It was only midweek, but celebrations started yesterday. Australian metal-core band Parkway Drive and British electro newbie Chad Valley went to Gulou Dongdajie, rocking MAO Livehouse and Temple bar real good. We hope you still have energy left because there’s no time to rest, not even for one night.

The third annual Midi Awards will be held at Tango on December 10. (Keep an eye on the site and our newsletter for ticket giveaways). It's no doubt one of the biggest events of the year in China's rock scene. The committee for the Midi Awards revealed the nominations a few days ago. While this year's list has some of the same names as last year's, it is probably a little more interesting. It is starting to show a slight hint of PR workings, but also has a lot of affection towards avant-garde works. Folk music has started to mark its territory - this year marks the first award for "Folk Musician of the Year," while metal bands still remain the big brothers.

Zuoxiao Zuzhou's four nominations make him the favorite of this year, alongside Longshendao. Midi's events' regulars like Miserable Faith and Yaksa are, of course, all considered. Omnipotent Youth Society has become a real hit ever since they released their debut album last year, and their song "Kill That Shijiazhuanger" made it into the nominations for "Song of the Year" for a second time. Read on to see who the Chinese music people love and click on the links to see if you agree.

Yaksa won “Best Metal Performance” last week at the Midi Awards 2010.  It's nice to see some validation for this band that has struggled on the underground scene for 15 years, venturing from grunge to nu-metal via heavy metal to define their sound. With more competition in rock than ever, it’s becoming harder for them to defend their position, but nothing hides the fact that they’ve always been one of the “niubi-est” bands in town. Here’s how they see it.

It’s fascinating how time flows. Exactly this time a year ago, there was a rumor that folk bar Jiangjinjiu, near the Drum Tower, was getting torn down; folk rockers Buyi thought they'd be playing their beloved bar for the last time. No one can guarantee that the bar will be there forever, but it's definitely still standing. You can catch Buyi there this Friday night.

There are always too many shows for one weekend. We can not catch them all but sharing our memories is the least we can do. If you felt bad that you couldn’t get a ticket to Omnipotent Youth Society’s show last week or hesitated in going to New Pants' concert because of the price then read on. Find out if you actually saved yourself some time and money or if you really missed out.