Weekend Live Music Roundup: Free The Birds, Hit The Garage and Make Some Noise

So, we are back from the holiday, and it’s the same old faces on the stage. But that’s why live music in Beijing is exciting - it beats the sound of firecrackers and CCTV's Spring Festival Gala. I watched the entire four-hour show with my family and kept thinking about what would happen if Manchester United played against The Los Angeles Lakers in a curling game - and the winner turned out to be Maria Sharapova. Happy time.

Anyway, the important thing is musicians are back in town. On Friday, Afrokoko (probably the one and only Afrobeat group in Beijing) bring live beats with the DJ crew of funksters at Yugong Yishan. An alternative is available at Mao Livehouse where Acid Live put on their monthly jazz session of dynamite.

I’ve always been wondering why every bar in Wudaokou has graffiti on their walls, but the ones at D-22 and 13 Club are certainly cooler than the rest – Friday’s 13 Club brings together the darkest metal bands in town and Saturday’s D-22 witnesses the return of garage trio Ourself Beside Me and classic rock band The Molds. Lover of experimental work have to get up early on Saturday and travel to 798 Art District, where FM3 member Zhang Jian turns on minimal sound effects with fellow artists for an afternoon of improvisation. As for Sunday, indie rockers Ziyo will perform as Free The Birds for the very first time - should take us some time to get used to the new name, and probably new sound as well.

It's good to be back.

Friday (Feb 26)

Acid Live
Funky band of brothers make jazz wild with electro power. RMB 60. 9pm. MAO Livehouse (6402 5080)

Bother, Violence Pretender, Righteousness Person, Rampant, Final Message, Dein
The “Darknight Enchantment” monthly series brings thrash metal, nu-metal and emocore together. RMB 40. 9pm. 13 Club (8261 9267)

Chiren
Beijing folkies sing local tunes. RMB 40. 9.30pm. Jiang Hu Liveshow Bar (6401 4611)

Fanny, Me Too
Indie rock with electro power. RMB 30 (includes a drink). 9.30pm. What Bar (159 0123 6743)

Funk Fever, Afrokoko Roots
Live beat-maker and 15-piece international Afrobeat outfit go back-to-back-to-back for a night of the funk and Afrobeat. RMB 50. 9.30pm. Yugong Yishan (6404 2711)

Jakub Groos, Pierre Pradat, Pierre Billiard
Electro jazz supported by DJs. RMB 30. 9pm. Obiwan (8322 1231)

Jurat
Hard rock with Xinjing twist. Free. 9.30pm. Jiangjinjiu Bar (8405 0124)

Lao Ya
Grunge band make peace with hutongs of Beiluogu Xiang. Free. 9pm. Zuiyuefang Bar (6405 4482)

Me Guan Me, Urbis, Dirty Seed
Hard rockers meet dirty punksters, see who’re the tough ones. RMB 40, RMB 30 (students). 10pm. D-22 (6265 3177)

SAMA
A night of flamenco. RMB 20. 9pm. VA Cafe & Bar (5844 3638)

Xiao Bu Dian’er
Musician from Southwest China showcases ethnic music and art of sound. RMB 40. 8pm. Tiny Salt Coffee Club (5900 0969)

Saturday (Feb 27)

Dark Haze, Black Box, Fumian Xiaoxi, Flowers In Relic, Siren In Flame, The Final Message
From melodic to nu-metal. RMB 40. 9pm. 13 Club (8261 9267)

Hoochie Coochie Gentlemam
Beijing’s homegrown blues plants jam in the courtyard. RMB 40. 9.30pm. Jiang Hu Liveshow Bar (6401 4611)

Lei Zi
Beijing champ sings folk songs in Beiluogu Xiang. Free. 9pm. Zuiyuefang Bar (6405 4482)

Long Jing, DJ Tattoo, Eugane, Tao Ran
Hip-hop takes nothing serious here. RMB 60, RMB 50 (students). 9pm. MAO Livehouse (6402 5080)

Mademoiselle et son Orchestre, Joris
Marie-Claude & friends play funky jazz blues with a Quebecois twist, supported by singer-guitarist Joris. RMB 30 (includes a drink), free (before 9.30pm). 9.30pm. Ginkgo Restaurant & Bar (6402 7532)

Mandala
Storytelling folk rock. RMB 40. 9.30pm. Jiangjinjiu Bar (8405 0124)

Ourself Beside Me, The Molds, B-Side Lovers, Fat City
Garage rock, rockabilly, indie rock and experimental musicians shake the neighborhood. RMB 40, RMB 30 (students). 10pm. D-22 (6265 3177)

Pierre Brahin Trio
French jazz trio greet the new bar at Wudaoying Hutong. RMB 20. 9pm. VA Cafe & Bar (5844 3638)

Pilot & MM, La Loupe
Pop rock on Saturday night. RMB 30 (includes a drink). 9.30pm. What Bar (159 0123 6743)

Section 6
Beijing’s monthly hip-hop party. RMB 30. 9pm. Yugong Yishan (6404 2711)

Zhang Jian, Wu Na
Sub Jam collective does noise experiments and creates peace of minimalism. RMB 30, RMB 20 (students). 2pm. UCCA (8459 9269)

Sunday (Feb 28)

Velvet Highway, The Flower Child Band, Shallow Sea
Solo, sweat and screaming out loud – metal never dies. RMB 40. 9pm. 13 Club (8261 9267)

Chris Corbett
Country rock with blues in acoustic form. RMB 30, RMB 20 (students). 9pm. D-22 (6265 3177)

La Loupe
Indie pop band sing Chinese poem. Free. 9.30pm. Jiangjinjiu Bar (8405 0124)

New Perfume, Toyhead, Early Bus, Urbis, Absolution
Indie pop make peace with Thursday night. RMB 60, RMB 50 (students). 8.30pm. MAO Livehouse (6402 5080)

Free The Birds, Steely Heart, Caffeine
Indie rockers celebrate the Lantern Festival with a smash hit, while the fifteen-day long Chinese New Year comes to an end, finally. RMB 50. 9pm. Yugong Yishan (6404 2711)

Check the Beijinger Directory for venue details