Weekend Gig Guide, Sep 30-Oct 2: Cui Jian, Shanghai Invades Beijing, Devilish Impressions, Orchid Eyed Women

We here at the Beijinger are pleased to present Live Beijing Music's weekend gig guide, written by head honcho Mr. Will Griffith. Will has been running around Beijing for over four years, documenting the city's shows and the requisite onlooking drunkards with various cameras/sound recorder setups, losing plenty of equipment along the away in his attempt to capture Beijing's aural spirit. You'll occasionally catch him pogoing like a madman when he's not got a camera in hand. Take it away, Will ...

One last gasp of autumn as we enter the National Holiday. As you’ve probably already guessed, traveling is gonna be a hellish nightmare. So instead of cursing the high heavens as you sludge your way toward that tourist honeytrap, why not sit back, relax, and hit up some stellar gigs this weekend before you make any rash decisions. Mix it up – throw down with some punks, take it easy with some acoustic melodies, or catch China’s ‘Godfather of Rock’ himself. Why not? Enjoy the holidays and stay tuned for another holiday gig guide edition early next week.

Friday, September 30

Cui Jian at Workers’ Stadium
China’s ‘Godfather of Rock’ Cui Jian looks back at a rousing, influential, and even controversial (in the government’s eyes at least) 30-year career since his rise to fame in the late 1980s with such hits as ‘Nothing to my Name’ and ‘A Piece of Red Cloth’. Opening duties with rising topical rapper MC Dawei. Read more about the gig and Cui Jian's recent world record making antics here. RMB 360-1,600

Dirty Fingers, Split Pants, december3am at Temple
Shanghai gets down and dirty at ‘down and dirty central’ Temple as the unhinged rock em sock em punk quartet Dirty Fingers (a must-see act in my opinion) join new acoustic deathpop duo Split Pants, as well as post post krautrock duo december3am, one of the best new bands in town. Expect to have your senses taken for a whirlwind ride. Free

Tonstartssbandht (USA), Chui Wan, 工工工 at Yugong Yishan
Florida brotherly guitar drum duo, whose animated affection for boogie, psychedelic rock and choral pop has brought their sound across the world and won them acclaim along the way, finish off their Asia tour alongside Beijing’s own工工工 (Gong Gong Gong) – the guitar/bass duo consisting of Tom Ng (Offset:Spectacles) and Josh Frank (Hot & Cold). Opening duties to psych faves Chui Wan. RMB 120

Sick Times (Germany), The Flyx, Dress Code, Quick Shot at School
Third times the charm! DIY Germanic punks return to Beijing with their inebriated 80s hardcore inspired tunes with a riotous, bawdy evening at none other than School alongside one of Beijing’s most underrated punk outfits The Flix as well as the female fronted Quick Shot, and hardcore hog wildin’ Dress Code. RMB 60

Early Bus, DJ DizzyDi at Yue Space
Yue Space celebrates the holiday as well as becoming a new player on the scene with none other than a righteous ska party featuring Beijing’s premier ska band, Early Bus. They’ll be joined by DJ DizzyDi for a festive evening that’ll no doubt involve dancing. Free

Wusuozai, Macondo, Joker’s Belief at DDC
Kick off the golden week with a spicy lineup of the city’s new local talent including the soulful indietronica of Wusuozai, the balls-to-the-wall instrumental power rock of Macondo, and funk-inspired indie rock of Joker’s Belief. RMB 60

Devilish Impressions (POL), Evil Thorn at Mao Livehouse
Considered as one of Poland’s leading and most innovative modern black/death metal acts, Devilish Impressions bring their offbeat brand of metal to Mao Livehouse with the help of Evil Thorn and more. RMB 140

Starcardigan (RUS), Feeling at Hot Cat Club
Russian electro rock outfit Starcardigan are back, and ready to take their new disco to Fangjia Hutong for some dance-worthy antics. Free

J Crew at Modernista
US raised, Beijing based producer and artist Jay Dub rounds up his rotating crew of talented artist, including sometimes the much loved DJ Soulspeak and vocalist Nacny J Brown, among others, for a hip hop and funk night of good vibes. Free

Tsering Norb at Snail Club
Tibetan singer-songwriter gives an intimate performance at the cozy acoustic heaven Snail Club. RMB 50

Nick Parsons, Nathan Borofka at Mogu Space
Regular folk scenesters Nick and Nathan hit up 69 Café’s new Xizhimen digs. Free

Orchid Eyed Women at Jianghu Bar
All female country rock outfit, who ‘combine monotonous old country music and fresh modern music elements together’ debut at Jianghu Bar. RMB 80
 

Saturday, October 1

蛐灯儿, Dan Taylor, Split Pants, A. Borealis (AUS), Starcardigan (RUS) at DDC
Celebrate National Day with a rocking evening of solo artists and visiting acts, including Russian electro rock groovers Starcardignan, returning after a successful jaunt in July, Shanghai heavy folk prog duo Split Pants, Australian folk act A. Borealis, as well as Dan Taylor and蛐灯儿of Hanggai and Zulu. A nice array of styles and sounds. RMB 50

Candy Monster, Me Guan Me, The Paper Tigers, Goldwater at School
Start the Golden Week holiday off with back-to-back days of wild rock n' roll courtesy of School Bar's "Bad Education" series! Day one brings back doo-wop indie rock heroes Candy Monster, the indie rock stylings of Me Guan Me, emo-laced indie outfit The Paper Tigers, and the debut show of new Beijing band Goldwater. RMB 60 (ladies free)

Nick Parsons, RengRan, XuMing, Liu Tianxu, Elvis Fux at Hot Cat Club
Four respected blues and folk acts converge on the Hot Cat Club including the new psycho blues project form Nathan Borofka, Elvis Fux. Free

Death Narcissist, Quick Shot at Temple
Stoner punk genre smashers bring their gritty fun sound to Temple alongside female fronted punk outfit Quick Shot. Free

Mr. Honey, Time Capsule, Football Hooligans, The Jungle Fever, S.A.W, Painted Skin at Mao Livehouse
First off – what is going on with this poster! Don’t even want to get into it beyond that. A mixed bag of styles and genres converge on the Gulou mainstay – from the big band brassy goodness of Mr. Honey, to the hard rock metalling of S.A.W, to the indie pop swooning of Time Capsule – there’s something for everyone.  But seriously – that poster. RMB 100

GOOD4NOTHING (JAP) at Yugong Yishan
Japan’s most popular pop punk bands, with eleven albums under their belt, and a legion of fans across the globe bring their West Coast inspired pop punk sound to Yugong Yishan. RMB 160

Naughty Boy$, 1043, Jiaojin at Blessing Livehouse
Up and coming Beijing rap team collective bring their trap infused R&B flavored hip hop to the Shaungjing livehouse alongside notable rap groups 1043 and Jiaojin. RMB 100

Chiren, Without Iron, The Three-Quarters Dead at Ao Club
Qianmen space bringing the noise to Tiananmen Square with a trio of metal bands looking to wreck havoc upon the newly resurrected venue. RMB 100

Chen Xiaoming & Zhang Binxiang at Jianghu Bar
Shandong folk singer-songwriters join forces for their nation-wide tour. Catch their seasoned story telling ways at the cozy hutong spot. RMB 60

Source Code, Skyfire, Eternal Power, Kepler, Black Lotus at 798 Livehouse
The art district venue gets nice and loud this holiday afternoon with a metal-filled lineup featuring just about every subgenre of metal known to man. RMB 80

Liu Donghong at 69 Cafe
Blues breathing folk-turned renegade Liu Donghong brings his popular homegrown style to the petite 69 Cafe. RMB 50

Sunday, October 2

The Twenties, Heat Mark, Football Hooligans, The Diagon Alley at School
Day Two of School Bar's "Bad Education" celebration hosts much loved 90s alt rockers The Twenties, female fronted dance rock outfit Heat Mark, Britpop group The Diagon Alley, and folk rockers Football Hooligans. RMB 60 (ladies free)

Silt & Lotus, Drunkard, CA, Bamboo Star, Lithium, Inferior Tobacco, Fangu at Mao Livehouse
It’s a grunge fest at Mao Livehouse as grunge veterans, who’ll be here long after Beijing sinks into the Earth, play their charcoaled hearts out. If you can’t beat them, join them kids. Kicks off early so be sure to bring your game face. RMB 100

Los Crasher, Hard Candy Revolution at Temple
Tight jeans and glam rock jams as veteran hard rock cockrockers Los Crasher join female fronted Hard Candy Revolution for some fun. Free

Adept (Sweden) at Yugong Yishan
Post hardcore outfit, Adept, from Sweden, continue their reign of terror, with a tour of China that promises to blow your socks off as the band presents their latest album Sleepless. RMB 160

Raymond, Nick Parsons, Clancy & Scott, Jordan Darling, Nathan Borofka at 69 Café
Head back to 1969’s Woodstock with this folk and rock outing with as a handful of local musicians pay tribute to the groundbreaking (and mud-loving) festival between October 2 and 4. RMB 50

Phew! Still hungry for more? For events, videos, and photos from Beijing's thriving music scene, head over to Live Beijing Music or check out all of our live music listings here.

Images: Live Beijing Music, courtesy of the organizers