Noise Pollution: Dough Boy, The Beijing Dead, Higher Brothers, Nick Parsons, Jasmine Monk, Gate to Otherside

Almost halfway through the year folks – phase two right around the corner. And it’s looking swell in my opinion. June in particular always brings a throng of activity to the capital, whether it is bands getting in their tour dates, new releases hoping to become the album of the summer, or eager audience goers capitalizing on the fine weather, it’s a buyer’s market out there. So why not get off that couch and venture forth into Beijing’s fruitful panorama of gigs.
 

Friday, June 2

Little Wizard, SNSOS at Yugong Yishan
Shaoxing instrumental rock trio Little Wizard, return with their sophomore release, simply titled, Little Wizard II - a ramped-up freight train of thundering drums, rip roaring guitars, and jaded bass lines that keeps the dial turned up to eleven. A blistering blend of math and post rock highs that keeps the pace tight and the thrills coming, do not miss the band on their nation wide tour. Support from Beijing’s own SNSOS. 80 RMB

Debuted Hunter, D. Cortisol, Classes People of Song Dynasty at School
Kick off June with this ‘wild weekend’ of a showcase as metal heads Debuted Hunters (making their debut?) join southern-fried rockers D.Cortisol, and the ‘no-wave comedy post-grunge’ outfit Classes People of Song Dynasty – which is a pretty awesome logline for a band. Color me intrigued. 50 RMB

Dough Boy (HK), TOY at Yue Space
D.T in the house!! One of the most talented hip-hop musicians in Hong Kong, Dough-Boy who has worked with giants like MC Hotdog, MJ 116, Justin Lo and Sammi Cheng, will bring his mix of ‘oriental aesthetics and hip-hop’ and join up and coming Changsha hip hop artist Toy for some madness. 120 RMB 

December3am at Mogu Space
December3am has a style that can be described as post rock and experimental krautrock. The duo is made up of members of the Inner Mongolian folk rock outfit Horse Radio, and their music is dark, hauntingly beautiful, and unpredictable and frankly, unlike anything you’ve heard before. 66 RMB

Tenzin Draga, Qi Ming, Gaoge at 69 Café
69 Cafe brings some of the best female voices in folk to the stage including Tibetan folk artist Tenzin Draga, Leonard Cohen-influenced singer-songwriter Qi Ming and Gaoge, a classical guitarist from the China Conservatory of Music and lead singer of Whistle. 66 RMB

Nadishana (Siberia) at DDC
Nadishana is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and sound designer from Siberia, who creates his own unique and innovative approach to world fusion music - the creative synthesis of different musical traditions of the world on the basis of contemporary technologies. He has played over two hundred ethnic instruments and will give a special showcase tonight. 150 RMB

Djang San at Temple
East-meets-West fusionist and veteran Beijing musician Djang San – a jack of trades including ‘zhongruan player, philosopher, poet, composer, guitar hero, DJ, one man orchestra, and explorer of new sounds’ performs with his stellar band for a wild night at Temple. Free

Rope, Empty Eyes, Rupture and Call at Mars Club
Gaobeidian venue Mars Club, keeps things punk and metal with an electric lineup of metalcore, death metal, and electronic core – with Rope, Empty Eyes, and Rupture and Call providing the soundtrack for the evening. 50 RMB 

The Beijing Dead at Caravan
Beijing's own Grateful Dead tribute band makes a rare appearance (their last show was a year ago) at the tasty Moroccan staple. ‘Expect to dance, yodel, sing along and get surprisingly funky.’ Free

Zhu Guangyu at Snail Hostel
Music manger and promoter Zhu Guangyu goes back to his singer-songwriter roots for this rare live performance where’ll he perform his 70’s inflected ballads. 60 RMB

Better Off Alive, Horse Feather at Hot Cat Club
Alt rock funksters Horse Feather join Better Off Alive for an evening of rocking covers and originals at the Fangjia mainstay. Free

The Tasty at Jianghu Bar
The cross-national band The Tasty brings the rebellious classic rock sounds of the seventies and the eighties (and plenty of nods to the Rolling Stones) to Jianghu Bar. 60 RMB

Star Band at Modernista
Multi-national indie poppers Star Band bring their stylistically unique brand of world music in the goal to ‘inspire hope, love, and celebration of diversity through music.’ Free

Saturday, June 3

TOW, The Molds, Last Goodbye, The DICE at Modernsky Lab
Modernsky Lab presents Legal Vitamin – the first noise, shoegaze, and psychedelic rock festival. Pretty broad strokes there but I love it nevertheless especially with the stellar two-day lineup they’ve cooked up – chock full of the city’s finest up and comers (and a few oldies thrown in for good measure). Night one features psychedelic and surf rock melders The Molds, psychedelic freak folk duo TOW, space rock twofer The Dice and shoegaze act The Last Goodbye. 80 RMB (100 RMB for two days)

Joy Ginger, Bloodz Boi, TrueTrue, Visudy, Lil Akin, Radiax, Lofimaker, MiraiSenshi, Zean at Yugong Yishan
One of the newest labels to make their mark on the electronic scene Babel Records release their latest sonically delicious compilation Tour Guide To The World – with a bash at Yugong Yishan as an array of artists including grime, trap and future beat artist Joy Ginger, rap, r&b and trap producer Visudy, Bloodz Boi, who mixes highly spiritual lyrics with British bass, and producer-singer duo TrueTrue – put a modern day futuristic spin to the pop songs that saturated the music scene in the 80s and 90s in China. 120 RMB

Yaksa, Ego Fall, Five Four, Scare The Children, S.A.W at Yue Space
Praise the dark lord cause Yue Space is going all in with for ROOTFEST, the metal festival launched by legendary mu metal group Yaksa, who’ll be performing at the Beixinqiao join alongside Inner Mongolian metal giants Ego Fall, melodic metalcore group Five Four, as well as Scare The Children and S.A.W – good lord that’s a hefty lineup, one that’ll have Yue Space converted into a MIDI Festival stage for one evening. Get your tickets fast for this one. 180 RMB

Tulegur at School
World music duo Tulegur descend upon School Bar for a special showcase show – singer Gangzi and guitarist Wang Zongcan who ‘play nuanced, earthy folk that incorporates elements of grunge rock, with a sober outlook’ recently had one of their singles appear on the German music charts and have already started plotting their next international excursion. 80 RMB

Sothiac (GR), Noise Aracde at fRUITYSPACE
From the horse’s mouth: ‘Nasty Wizard Recordings is proud to present Sothiac on this stop of their China tour. Sothiac is an experimental duo based in Berlin that has an eclectic arrangement of instruments that includes percussion, synths, guitar, and vocals. Apparently, they are really into craft beer which works perfectly with Fruityspace’s assortment of delicious brews. Basically, they are nasty enough for the Nasty Wizards to share 20 pints with them and make another NWR event be just like the movie The Hangover yet again. It’s going to be a night to try to remember. Support will be given by Noise Arcade.’ Yup. 40 RMB

Higher Brothers at Omni Space
One of China’s most promising rap acts, Higher Brothers, from Chengdu, make their way to Beijing as apart of their tour for their debut release Black Cab. The quartet of Chengdu emcees—Masiwei, DZ, Psy.P, and Melo who rap primarily in Sichuanese, have been receiving killer press from just about everyone for their dexterous flows and topical pointed lyrics and have put Chinese trap music on the map. See if the hype is true over at Omni Space. 200 RMB

Retrace the Lines, guest at Temple
Local promotion team Hot Pot Music celebrate nine years of bringing artists over with Spanish post-hardcore/metalcore band Retrace The Lines who’ll be finishing up their tour with a red hot head banger at Temple alongside some of Beijing’s curb stomppers. Free

Sangre de Muerdago (Spain) at DDC
Equally romantic and sorrowful, neo folk outfit Sangre de Muerdago from Galicia, Spain bring their forest intoned folk songs, featuring classical guitar, flute and harp to DDC – ‘songs to heal and roam, to dance and love’ expect an ethereal showcase. 80 RMB

TOSS, Sick Fungo, Jungle Fever, Hind Brain, CA, Drunkard, Wacky Tobacco at Mao Livehouse
The grunge movement is alive and well in China (particularly at Mao Livehouse) so dig in with this hefty grunge-filled evening with an array of bands, both old and new, who fall under the grunge umbrella including veterans Drunkard, schizoid scrappers TOSS, and visiting Qingdao outfit Sick Fungo, who are something of underground legends. 120 RMB

Yang Chen, Gong Tiu Zhou Ma at La Plantation
Look the promo for this: ‘Tibetan singing bowls are not only souvenirs or nice sound musical items - they are a very important part of the Tibetan medicine and psychology. Their vibrations are used to make some vital reactions thru body and soul. Come and experience those amazing sensations thru an interactive musical showcase with Mantras and healing master, Yang Chen.’ Dope. 200 RMB

Jasmine Monk, Liangzi at Snail Hostel
Jasmine Monk, whose melancholy indie folk, has won win acclaim and numerous awards over the years joins fellow veteran folk artist Liangzi, former guitarist for Hacker and Frog and a prominent figure and session guitarist in the folk scene. They appear at Snail Hostel as part of their Riding the Train To Tomorrow tour. 100 RMB

Haozi, Ma Xiao at Jianghu Bar
Prominent indie folk scene performers Haozi, who creates a moody and transfixing atmosphere which he layers with his lyrics, and Ma Xiao, who incorporates elements from folk dance, and fingerpicked guitar in his music, hit up Jianghu. 80 RMB

Orion, Oceanic, Hummingbird, Baihezu, Wild Fish, Block Truck at 13 Club
Whip up some happy memories with rock-filled good time as a host of pop rock bands and young up and comers including Orion and Oceanic take the stage at Wudaoku’s sole venue. 50 RMB 

Uighur Sama at Modernista
A mixture of traditional Arabic songs and lively Spanish rumba classics, with lyrics both in English and Uyghur, Uighur Sama continue bringing the energetic sounds of Xinjiang to China´s capital. Free

Wu Gui, Nick Parsons at 69 Café
Folk singer Wu Gui and indie singer-songwriter Li Eryang aka Nick Parsons play the music of Bob Dylan and Neil Young, two of folk’s most important musicians. 60 RMB

Sunday, June 4

Gate to Otherside, Default, Future Orients, Backspace at Modernsky Lab
Modernsky Lab presents Legal Vitamin – the first noise, shoegaze, and psychedelic rock festival. Pretty board strokes there but I love it nevertheless especially with the stellar two day lineup they’ve cooked up – chock full of the city’s finest up and comers (and a few oldies thrown in for good measure). Night two gives the stage to psychedelic garage rockers Gate to the Otherside, dance punk outfit The Future Orients, indie rockers Backspace and shoegaze up and comers Default. 80 RMB (100 RMB for two days)

Joker Jam with Kango Slim (US), Jay Jones (US), Element Live, Kollross, Onni Abmum, Jay Barz at Hot Cat Club
WeiLaugh Comedy Club celebrate their one year anniversary with Joker Jam -– one righteous evening of comedy and music with some amazing local comedians and hip hop artists, including longstanding New Orleans rappers Jay Jones and Kango Slim, who’ll join local hip hop outfit Element Live and local MCs Kollross, Inno Pablo AKA Onni Abmum and Jay Barz all bringing the heat. Fangjia’s about to get lit! 100 RMB

Sothiac (GR), Liquid Palace at DDC
Round two for Berlin-based experimental duo Sothiac, whose music is described as ‘psychedelic-doom in the castle of avant-drone’ – they’re paired this time with experimental electronic noise collective Liquid Palace.

Ma Yuyang, Yang Meng, Chen Hongyu, Ni Jian, Han Luo at Yugong Yishan
Folk heavyweights celebrate the release of their folk compilation album including Beijing singer-songwriters Mu Yuyang, Yang Meng, and more. Expect an evening of heart-breaking ballads. 150 RMB

Hunter, AI MU at Temple
Hunter finish off their tour rocking hard and loud, with a unique style mixing hard rock and aggressive metal at Temple alongside up and comers AI MU. Free

Ambulance of Love, ShengJiao, PON, Kepler at School
Shed off the weekend hangover with this platter of bands including rising punks Ambulance of Love, metal heads ShengJiao, punk rockers PON, and the folk outfit of Kepler. 40 RMB 

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