(from the band's douban page)

I always seem to end up missing the first band at Mao, they’re one of the few venues that start before 9pm, and they pretty much always start on time. This time we managed to get there in time to catch the last couple of songs of 啮齿先生 (Mr Rodent …. or Mr Wisdom Teeth?) I’m not an indie girl, so these guys weren’t really my thing. And they definitely didn’t seem like they fit the hard rockers label that had been given to the night!

The Amazing Insurance Salesmen were due to come on second, but due to a missing bass player, they let 声源乐队 (Sound Source) jump on stage early. I have to say I was impressed by these boys, great Brit rock sound from an up and coming group. Sadly they were playing to an almost empty room due to it being so early. I got to chat with guitarist Tang Xiaoyu afterward the show and managed to score one of the band’s badges. Will definitely be keeping an eye out for these guys and hopefully catching them again sometime soon!

The bands were moving fast, short sets and quick swaps. Mao is like a sauna even when it’s empty, but we barely had time to grab a beer and head out for some fresh air before the next band started! D.A.D. (Ducks and Drakes) up third and played for maybe only 30 mins. I’ve heard their name around before, but had never seen them. These guys were little heavier than the earlier bands and sounded pretty tight for a supposedly new band.

Finally Maikel arrived, so The Amazing Insurance Salesmen took the stage. Of course, this was who I had come to see and they didn’t disappoint giving the crowd a crazy, loud, high energy set. I love the connection Jean Sebastien and Maikel have on stage just playing off each other’s vibe and Mao Mao just always looks like he’s having so much more fun behind the drums playing with the Salesmen. The guys mentioned afterwards they were cut short by 3 songs, but I think they did play longer than most of the other bands anyway!

Kick Ass were the last band on the line up and they totally lived up to their name … and possibly giving Ruby a new rock crush! These guys are old-hands on the local scene and they showed they know how to work the crowd. Lead by singer Xiao Han, complete with a bull horn (as if he didn’t have every girl’s attention in the room already!) and with a guitarist who looks like Slash after been attacked with a hair straightener, they stole the show for me. Good loud hard rock, the way it should be! Unfortunately they only got to play 3 songs, but wow, if you see these guys on a line up I would recommend checking them out!

The night seemed to be over way to quickly. Soul releasing? Not quite. Hard rockers? Well, maybe some of them. But still an great midweek show to keep us music fans satisfied until the weekend hits!

A strange weekend this shall be in Beijing with actually quite a few events around town in the next 4 days that are worth checking out. Of course this will also mark the second to last performance from Daisy Sweetgrass with The Redbucks before she goes stateside.

Thursday September 2:

Blackwater @ Jianghu:
Traditional Irish Folk music from this mostly expat outfit that includes Des ( of Black Cat Bone fame) and members of the No Name trio. Note that it’s taking place at Jianghu and they’ve had a few issues with shows being shut down by the local jingcha. Hope this one goes through.

Cappeira @ Gongti:
The Capoeira Madinga group is parcticing tonight from 7:30 to 9:30 at the worker’s stadium. Get in from gate # 3 and follow the music. The classes are free for a limited amount of time and it’s a lot of fun!

Friday September 3:

The Redbucks @ JiangjinJiu:
I’ve written at length already about Daisy leaving Beijing and this is most likely where I will be hanging out early friday. It’s a good opportunity to get a little homedown bluegrass before moving on to much heavier/weirder settings.

Emil de Waal + Spejderrobot + Xiao He @ 2 Kolegas:
This was my original show of the night before the sad news hit. I love me a good drumming session and Emil is one of the better ones in the world. Hebei’s terrible child and often misunderstood genius, Xiao He, opens up the festivities. caveat imperator: if Xiao He brings out his laptop, run run run!

Saturday September 4:

Ember Swift @ Jianghu:
yes, one of my new favorite Canadians is out and about with her band! I’m hoping to go catch this show and see her first hand for a full set as opposed to the songwriter thingy when I first saw her.

Roaring Metal @ Mao:
Now this is one hell of a lineup with AK-47, CMCB, Left-Right Band and Suffocated. Definitely the symmetrical opposite of the other gig mentioned above with some of Beijing’s finest metal bands, especially suffocated who’s been getting a lot of praise as of late. CMCB is the odd one out as they’re labeled as hip hop so something is weird in that setup.

Sunday September 5:

Hot & Cold Album launch @ The Old What Bar:
The good folks at pangbianr.com who have shown up on the beijing scene with a bang are behind this little one. I’m really digging JOsh’s style and their approach to everything indie/artsy in Beijing right now and they deserve all the support they can get. It’s also a good opportunity to check out Nakoma and Birdstriking if you haven’t.

ah! Helen Feng… A favorite ‘daze crush and one of Beijing’s premier musical personalities winning multiple awards and accolades from the likes of Time Out and MIDI. I’ve been closely following her over the past year ( I swear it’s not stalking) and enjoying every opportunity to see her perform. Plenty of rumors have been going around the city since her disappearance from stage a few months ago following a foot injury at Strawberry Music Festival. I’ve heard from plenty of close associates that she was through with Pet Conspiracy for a while now but I have too much respect for her as an artist to fuel rumors!

Last Friday, following the Free the Birds performance at Zippo Hot List, I had the chance and the pleasure to have an extended conversation with Helen about music, life, leaving Pet Conspiracy, losing an original Free the Birds member etc… She confirmed the split with Pet Conspiracy and gave her OK to make it public after months of sitting on the info. She also took the time to sit down and answer a few questions about it all for my and your pleasure. Here is Helen Feng in her own words for not 10 but 11 questions!

1- What’s going on in your world? This is your chance to plug your stuff:

Working on a Free the Birds album coming hopefully early next year. It’s ambitious and we want it to be more mature than our work in the past and explore some new sonic territories.

I also have a company called Fake Music Media. The idea is that we do what management, promotions, and record labels do for their artists, a long term development strategy in one market (mainly China for now) and we do it as a service where the artists signs us, not the other way around. It’s kind of a new concept. We’re also hoping to do more projects to educate music professional on what the international standards and techniques are. A lot of things in China are fucked, especially for the artists, and I think for the first time, the underground music scene finally figuring out how to get organized, how to take control of their own destinies. It’s a really good sign and we want to do something to help.

2- “Free the Birds (formely ZIYO) ” is how you guys appear on flyers where ever you’re playing these days. You’ve gone on the record saying that the name change was a chance for the band to reinvent itself… is it working? or are you still feeling the shadow of ZIYO hovering over you?

Absolutely, it has to be a gradual process because we still have old songs. We have a name now which is hard to translate to Chinese. We have to stay play quite a bit because this is what we live off of, so even through disappearing for months writing an album in villa in the countryside is an interesting idea, it’s more of pipe dream.

But we just do it, little by little, and we stick to it, and maybe people will eventually start to recognize us again but as something new. Changes are difficult but necessary. I guess we just out grew it.

3- Why “Free the Birds”? I was there at 2 Kolegas for the christmas chindig last year when you were asking the audience about possible names! I don’t recall this one coming up.

Yeah I asked a lot of people. . . the ideas were funny but not that great. I guess I got inspired by the old man with the pigeons outside my window. I just liked watching him fly his pigeons 3 times a day everyday winter summer spring. There was something about that act that was like an act of love, repetative, committed, and genuine. And it was beautiful to watch.

4- You’re no longer in Pet Conspiracy and Mao Mao, one of the original members of Free the Birds, just played his last show with the band. how are all these changes affecting you?

Sometimes we don’t change until we are forced to change, but these changes only make you stronger if you chose not to let self-pity and negativity drag you down. And sometimes they give you new opportunities. I think for me, I have to believe in what I’m doing. If I don’t believe in it, if there’s something about it that makes me feel like I’m lying to myself, or I’m betraying my own nature, then I have to leave. I think many of the people around me are the same.

I think you have to go with your gut. You just know sometimes, that somethings not right but you keep doing it. Eventually it hurts your body or your soul. Either way, it’s better just to follow the compass you have inside you.

5- You’ve spent quite some time in Louisiana.. do you think that influenced your musical tastes in any way, shape or form? Can we expect maybe a Free the Birds version of “Jambalaya on the Bayou” ?

I used to go to New Orleans with my parents on the weekend when I was nine. I couldn’t get into the bars, and I used to hang out on the street just outside so I could here the bands inside but there was always so much music there. Its ground was singing with living breathing music like a stream that ran under the entire city. I miss Louisiana. There were a lot of racism and ignorance, but there was also a lot of warmth and just differentness. There was voodoo, and craw fish broils, and the most amazing scenery in the world. And the Jazz there was just different. I can’t stand most forms of jazz the way it’s played everywhere else in the world now, all technique and form. It’s so taken out of context and soulless. I think if you haven’t lived in the American South, you just don’t know what Jazz is. You’ll never know why the muffled trumpet drags and bends that note if you’ve never cast a fishing hook into a bayou and dragged out a length of spanish moss.

Being in Louisiana is something that helped me realize later in life that music is context. It’s a way for individuals to express what languages and visuals cannot. It’s a level of emotion and expression that’s much bigger deeper and harder to define than anything else out there and that’s why people are so devoted to it, like a religeon. When I get on stage, I sometimes feel like I’m chaneling a Voodoo priestess.

6- You mentioned that we should expect a Free the Birds record at some point next year. How is that coming along? Are you releasing it with a major label again or going the independent route like The Subs and so many other bands have done recently?

I don’t know yet. I spent the last ten years obsessing about the career side of my music, but for this album, it’s more about just getting what’s been eating away inside me down in recorded form. What happens to it after that, I frankly don’t know yet. I get to that when it’s done I guess. I know it’s not the smartest thing in the world, especially considering I’ve always been really keen on self-management stuff, but I have a feeling that the music inside me right now has it’s own path it needs to take, and I’m just a facilitator for it’s birth.

7- I’ve seen your name come up a few times and next to it the label “electro pop” is that a fair assessment of your musical direction/taste?

For Pet Conspiracy yes, but from the electro-side, I’ve always personally more into bands like LCD Soundsystem, or the Faint. I’m into Disco right now, but it’s kind of the taste of late kind of thing. Not a big techno or minimal techno or whatever fan, so for me Disco is kind of this very melodically based fun genre that’s just fun to dance to. Especially the new Super Soul Recordings label which has just some killer tracks that I’m completely devoted to. And just people like Moderat which create amazing tracks that are really cinematic and creates images in your head. I long term loves include Nina Simone, Nick Cave, Debussy, Gershwin, pre-late 90’s U2, Le Tigre, LCD Soundsystem, Fleet Foxes.

8- Word association: write the first word that comes to your mind.

* Beijing: Square

*Shanghai: Money

* Baijiu: Headache

* Yeah Yeah Yeah: Karen 0

* Punk: Mohawk

* Bourbon Street: Ironwork

* Polka dots: Housewife

9- What is the biggest misconception about Helen Feng?

That I’m cool. I am definitely not cool. Cool people terrify me.

10- You’ve been around for a few years around the music scene in Beijing/China. How has it changed since you arrived and what artists do you think deserve more recognition than they get?

It’s hopeful. I think Retros deserve some recognition for toughing it out and getting crazy with the sound colors. Zi Yue for amazing songwriting, Queen Sea for daring to change after all that success, the Subs for just being spectacular, Gouzi for being a live venue guru, MAO for being the first to set the standard for production, Cui Jian for being the godfather, and MIDI for starting it all.

11 – On the “gourmandise” side of things, what are some of your favorite Chinese restaurants in Beijing?

Pho Pho. . . yeah I’m Chinese but I love Vietnamese food. It’s also run by a friend who’s quite possibly one of the coolest chefs in Beijing.

There you go folks! Straight from the horse’s mouth!
Big props to Helen for being open about it all and allowing the story to come out officially on BeijingDaze. I’ve come out of the past few days even for fascinated by her and taken by her personality! She’s so bloody articulate and well spoken, on top of being talented and charming… with just an edge of danger!
One thing that was not covered in the interview is that Helen will be in Europe with Pet Conspiracy for their upcoming tour as her last commitment with the band… lucky Europeans get to see the last hurrah

Goodbye Miss Daisy

wow.. I still remember roughly about two years ago or so, hanging out at TUN on a tuesday night for open mic night with Beijing Rob and Johnny Boy, taking in the music coming from the stage but mostly having some sort of conversation when this angelic voice came out of the speakers, putting any and all conversations to a halt!

We looked up and say this new girl on stage, wearing green kakhi pants and dark top singing like it was he mission and purpose in life! I remember distinctly M turning to me and saying: ” wow.. look at that girl singing and smiling with her eyes” and that was the first time i was exposed to one Daisy Sweetgrass!
She kept coming back for a few weeks and so did we, to watch her and what would become The Redbucks after a little while. I remember joining them on stage at some point along with Rob and Johnny for a cover of the Grateful Dead’s Friend of the Devil just to get a closer look!

fast forward a few months/years, Daisy Sweetgrass is part of Beijing’s music personalities on her own merit as well as that of The Redbucks. She’s one of the sweetest, most charming and talented musicians in town that can melt anyone’s heart with her soothing sounds! I’m a huge fanboy and completely unashamed of it!

And now she’s leaving!

I got an email from the ‘bucks yesterday informing me of her upcoming departure for greener pastures and her last two shows in town, one of which I will unfortunately miss on account of a Silk Road trip… If you haven’t see Miss Daisy perform, do yourself a favor and catch her while you can! And after you enjoy the show, have a conversation with Christine, her alter-ego, to get a taste of those smiling eyes!

Catch her w/ The Redbucks this friday September 3rd at Jiangjin jiuba and Saturday September 11th at VA bar. It’s worth mentioning that as she is leaving, Daisy can’t take all her toys with her and will be auctioning her guitar after the VA performance!!!! Gonna have to work out a proxy bidding strategy on this one!

man I’m bummed!!! man I’m bummed!!!

you can read all about it in Daisy’s own words here:
http://www.theredbucks.com/2010/08/daisy-sweetgrass-bids-beijing-a-dulcet-a-dieu/

and here is the interview she did with ‘daze a while back:
http://beijingdaze.com/tunes/2009/09/30/interview-daisy-sweetgrass/

did I mention i was bummed? This the day the music died….

I figured in true Beijing fashion, the gig would start a bit late but when Ruby and I finally made it there around 10, we had missed rustic! Shame as I haven’t seen the boys perform in a while. The guys at Panbianr have more details about that on their review of the gig. We did however get to see 诱导社 Lure for the first time!

I can’t say i know much about them but according to Pete demola ( who is finally back in Beijing), they’ve been around for a while but don’t play much. The lead singer sported a great mohawk but the music flew right over my head… Their douban page describes their style as Funk Grunge… whatever! didn’t seem to inspired to me.

Hang on the Box came out next with a new lineup that includes Gia, two girls and a guy.. all new additions to the band from what i could tell which made it even more intriguing. I definitely do not like Gia’s solo stuff, especially not the bossanova experimental thingy she did last year. Girl Kill Girl was a bit better but she is no guitar player. I had no idea what to expect but i was hoping for the Gia i saw back in 2005/2006…. and, ladies and gentlemen, I can tell you we got her back! I have not seen her enjoy herself or perform with this much energy in any of the shows she did last year, not even her birthday extravaganza.

Sure, HOTB material is no Mozart but it’s fun innocent punk that is reasonably silly and definitely not serious… and that’s what their performance on saturday was like. The band still has to work out some chemistry issues but they played their way through HOTB classics like Foxy Lady, Bitch and No Sexy without missing a beat with Gia being her old self, just slightly older! She even looked dangerous at times.

That said, Ruby has a point when she says:

The Dancers came on last but I didn’t stick around for the whole performance as i had previous engagements to attend to. They kicked things off with the heavy, high octane punkers then started mellowing down as i headed out. I don’t think that was their finest performance but it might have gotten better afterwards!

How about Hot Cat Club? The jury is still out! it looked and felt like the bastard lovechild of The Old What Bar and 2 Kolegas and i’m not sure it got it right! The vibe was OK but you couldn’t really get a feel for the performance or see the stage once the front 3 rows were full.

I was surprised at the size of the turnout considering the number of big scale music events around town with Tanglewood festival and the Gongti show but there must have been a good 350 people at YGYS.. however, about 1/2 the audience had managed to score tickets for free somehow.

Chasing Stars 追星族 opened up the festivities with a full lineup including drummer Wang Yun who’s been mostly with Bad Apples over the past few years! Singer Guo Keyu looked visibly nervous as it’s been a long time since she’s been on stage singing due to her movie obligation! There was a noticeable hesitation and self doubt in her demeanor during the first few songs but she picked herself up eventually and performed like i remembered. Her voice is just incredible..

Most of the sounds/songs remain the same and those that did not received a big Keyboards/synth treatment with a bit of trip-hop feeling that i really do not care for. My favorite song of theirs since 2006, wenti zai nali, has been slaughtered to the point of me rather listening to Xiao He instead! I mentioned this during a quick conversation with Ou Yang after the gig and he said they were considering bringing back the original!.. yay!

Bigger Bang was up next! This is the third time i see them in such a short span of time and they’re growing on me! Pupi is even starting to look quite attractive with her new sense of fashion which include dresses and mini skirts!

She’s is many ways reminiscent of Kang Mao with less screaming! The bands played their classic gigs like Shanghai Love and threw in a few curve balls such as a punked up cover of Joan Jett’s “I hate myself for loving you” that had the crowd jumping up and down!

Free the Birds drops a line on it

To my general surprise, Free the Birds was up next! I expected them to be the Headliner. This was going to be the first time in 3 months that Helen Feng would be on stage and I was really curious. How would her foot hold, how would Mao Mao last show with the band be, how would the audience react etc….

Let me tell you folks, it was all freaking good! it was goddamn amazing and the band delivered! They came out covered in blueish paint and proceeded to to just tear things apart! Guitars were on the spot, drums on the spot, bass thundering… not to mention the voice and stage presence of one Helen Feng! At this particular moment in Beijing, I am ready to crown her “The Queen of Live”!

Their set lasted about an hour and reached a climax with the sensual and provocative “free the birds” where every male ( and even female) in the audience would have given anything to be that microphone stand, the high octane cover of “Helter Skelter” and finally the crowd favorite “take it off”. Helen, we missed ya babe! please please don’t hurt yourself again! oh.. I those red panties were hot…

One last hurrah with the original members

There was rousing applause for Free the Birds from an audience that throughly enjoyed their performance… and for good reasons!

Last but no least was The Face, veteran metal band that’s been around for quite some time now! They share Ou Yang as bass player with Chasing Stars and they’re solid. The crowd was substantially thinner with about 100 or so remaining in the pit for what turned out to be a decent metal performance! The Face don’t do anything special but what they do, they do right! we had loads of headbanging, some pretty sweet riffs, semblance of a power ballad and back to some blistering riffs. Seemed that at least a few audience members were familiar with their songs and were able to song along! I gotta get me some of those tracks!

Overall, yet another good installment of the Zippo series which are fast becoming one of my favorite regular series of events in Beijing. They’re picking decent lineup that seem to mesh and work well together! Ruby made a remark about how the best band always plays 3rd at Zippo events while another one comes on to close the show for them… that certainly was the case last friday! An added bonus to making it to this particular gig was an impromptu hour long conversation with none other than Helen Feng herself after all the songs were over! Folks, she’s all that and more! One hell of a well spoken and articulate individual that oozes personality and energy!

Na Jia Xiao Guan 那家小馆 is a one of the biggest reasons for this particular line of thought because of their consistent quality, service level, atmosphere. My original post about that place was a little over a year ago and I’ve gone back a few times since then without taking the time to write about it. I figured they’re overdue for a revisit and that’s what this is!

- The place is still amazingly busy with no way for reservations unless you’re getting a private room 3 days ahead of time.
- The service is still friendlier than most chinese restaurants ( and a few western ones too) with a lot of staff members going out of their way to say Hello and smile which is a big plus.

- The food is just as good as a remembered it from previous visits:
We ordered double portions of the glazed shrimps which was barely enough as everyone wants more. The venison stew didn’t feel as special this time around though; it was just as tender but it was lacking a little extra edge. The roast venison leg was juicy and tasty, the duck delish and most dishes just hit the spot!
we tried a couple of different veggies this time around just so that we don’t end up with the same dishes on every go and it was all exceptional.

Yup folks, one year later, this is still one of my top 5 restaurants of Beijing… may it be for chinese or non-chinese food! The 100’s of people that lineup on their doorsteps and wait their turns are definitely aware of it… Are you?

Do yourself a favor, skip that RMB30 fake plastic burger in sanlitun and get yours taste buds excited about something new. You could end up with a feast worthy of the Manchurian kings of old… like we did:

Na Jia Xiao Guan contacts and maps on:
Cityweekend | Thebeijinger | LocalNoodles | Dianping

Beijing Daze Previous Visit:
http://beijingdaze.com/food/2009/05/22/na-jia-xiao-guan/

东城区建国门外永安里新华保险大厦南侧
Dōngchéngqū Jiànguó Ménwài Yǒng ān Lǐ Xīnhuá Bǎoxiǎn Dàshà Nán Cè
+86 10 6567 3663, 6568 6553

I wasn’t at Jianghu last Thursday, but I was getting reports during the night from friends who were. Three songs into their set Jean-Sébastien and Ubuul put down their instruments and called off the show. Apparently the neighbours thought it was too loud and asked the police to pay Jianghu a visit. Really, too loud? They have done something to the sound system at Jianghu, it’s significantly louder than it used to be, but this is Zhang Si’an after all, it’s folk! I’ve seen GAWTMY with 7+ people on that stage, yet a hand drum and guitar is too loud?

Photo from HeathMarshal.com

I made it to Jianghu a little early last night, so I was able to catch Heath Marshall’s sound check. No problems checking the guitar, but when he started the drums (yes, he plays guitar and drums at the same time, the guy is an octopus!) suddenly there was a lot of discussion and the call came from Tianxiao (BD note: the owner) – no drums, too loud. And not only no drums, but turn down the vocals and guitar. It seems that Thursday wasn’t a once off, the police have been round a few times this week. Everyone was a little on edge about the noise levels, there was even mention of the bar being shut down ….

I hung around for about 45mins of the set, Heath was quite vocally annoyed at not being able to play the drums and the volume was getting lower and lower with each song. Unfortunately it wasn’t really my kind of thing, started off promising with a couple of original blues tunes, but then slipped into random covers … Sweet about Me, Gimme One Reason, a medley of Self Esteem & Save Tonight and Ring of Fire … sorry Heath, but I think you lost me at the Gabrielle Cilmi cover!

I decided to pop round the corner to Salud and see what was happening there. Getting in around 10, the band were still setting up, not even sound checking yet! MAX BoB, a strange name for some fresh faced boys from Xinjiang, with Ubuul on hand drums (his name keeps coming up, I think he’s challenging Mao Mao to be Beijing’s drumming whore!) They finally started just before 11, but three songs in I looked over my shoulder and saw the local jǐngchá trying to get past me to the bar. And so the music was stopped. Nico waited until the police were safely gone and told the boys to start up again. Nothing outstanding, but some nice latin covers like La Bamba and My Way (in Spanish) had the crowd dancing. Nico didn’t seem to concerned about the police visit, writing it off as just part of having a bar in the hutongs … you have neighbours and occasionally they complain. Interestingly while the band was outside smoking we were listening to Highway to Hell – which was even louder than the band had been!

The police seem to be making their presence felt around the area right now, I’m hoping it’s just a temporary thing, maybe something happening now that has them a little on edge, but will be forgotten in a few weeks. Or maybe just some new neighbours who haven’t realized what area they’ve moved in to. I spend a lot of time hanging round these bars, would hate to see them closed down, or not allowed to have live music! (Strange co-incidence that Ubuul was playing in both bands …maybe he can borrow BD’s blond wig for the next show?)

This week’s shows:

Ok.. No real quickslants this week in music as all the good gigs seem to be happening on friday with one or two exceptions: Back to Basic at the worker’s stadium with the old guard that is uniting for the first time ever on the same bill with Cui Jian, Tang Dynasty, Black Panther etc..) or Zippo Hot List at Yugong yishan bringing one of the better lineups so far with Free The Birds ( ZIYO), The Face, Chasing Stars and Bigger Bang.
gongti is mighty appealing and it’s a once in a lifetime lineup but the seating arrangements and security might just be too mafan to risk it. Zippo should be one hell of a show with high octane bands but I can always see them again!

On Saturday, we might witness a rise from the ashes of none other than Hang on the Box… yes folks, Hang on the Box is “back” meaning Gia found a bunch of new girls to jump in with her and rock the boat. I hated her solo stuff but liked her Girl Kill Girl material.. let’s see what this incarnation brings. They’ll have help from non other than RUSTIC and The Dancers on saturday night at the Hot Cat Club…

Random News

Well, you see it up above, HOTB is back meaning Gia and a bunch of new hired guns! I don’t know the story but I’m sure we’ll find out soon. They band’s Douban page is updated with the new lineup and mentions the band reformed July 20th this year

ZIYO ( Free the Birds) uploaded a bunch of new songs to their douban page, mostly accoutsic demos but they’re sounding good. Their show this friday might be the only chance we’ll get to see Helen Feng on stage this summer before she heads off to Germany with Pet Conspiracy. This might also be Mao Mao’s last gig with Free The Birds before he get replaced by Ubuul ( Zhang Si’An’s solo stuff).

Wu & The Side Effects have a new bass player who happens to also play bass for the new band “Purple Smog”, a Hendrix cover band. I saw him this past saturday at 2 Kolegas and I’m curious to see how he’s gonna be able to walk in the gigantic shoes left empty by one Checo Maldito.

Chasing Stars is one song short of completing their long long awaited album ( since 2006) according to bass player, Ou Yang. This one might be out sooner than later! Their old page is gone but they managed to get a myspace page up with studio versions of their songs! I’m not sure I like what they sound like now… Wenti Zai Na Li was a great live song and i can’t stomach the new keyboards on it.

Interesting weekend ahead folks… get some music and careful with those weird camping adventures out of town.

I got tired of waiting and made it over to Ditan park for day 6 of Max Star music festival just in time to catch NanCheng Er Ge ( Nancheng Brother) whom I had never seen before. It was pretty quick to get tickets and the little sales girls assured me that they would not stop the show unless there was thunder.
The stage was set inside Ditan Temple itself which I thought was pretty cool.. the whole worshiping the sun thing and how it relates to idolizing rock stars… almost a romantic concept! Security was lax and would let you bring your own drinks in as long as you put them in a paper cup which was a cool thing. However, there wasn’t much available inside in terms of food or merchandise: just 2 stands selling beer and soft drinks which was still more than what Strawberry had (I’ll stop picking on them one day.. promise)

There was a little drizzle as i went in for Nancheng but the 1000+ audience didn’t seem to mind. The bands was a weird mix of crosstalk, comedy and music doing sketches about computers, Mercedes and other brands.. at some point, they had a ball making fun of football in China which had most of the audience laughing. They talked more than they sang.. not my thing but to be fair, that’s probably because i didn’t get most of their jokes.

Brain Failure was up next and they did manage to get the crowd rowdy. Sure, by now, the guys are mostly going through the motions and routines but it still seems effective enough. They managed to get the crowd nice and rowdy almost to the point where they were a bit too much to handle. With rain pouring as the band played their classic “Anarchy in the City”, security got involved to stop audience members from trying to get on the metal fence and stage dive!

Next up was carsick cars and there’s not really much I can say about them that I haven’t said before! I’m still not impressed and I’m not a fan of their performance style which pretty much involved ignoring the audience completely. That said, apparently, their latest album is musically interesting so i might have to check it out. They played one song that definitely had some oumf to it but the rest was the same. I did feel bad for them because as they started capturing the audience’s attention, they were shut down. It looked like someone just walked up and said : you’re done now… the band and the audience were equally confused as they had not even played their biggest song: Zhongnanhai.

Twisted Machine took the stage as the rain hardened a bit and it was the complete opposite of the previous act: The band was up front, in your face, looking and talking to the audience and delivered punishing blistering riffs much to the delight of the audience. To be fair, these guys are not the most original band or the most musically gifted and they also exude a bit of PK 14 flavor but that said, they freaking rocked! I’m not sure if i felt that way because they came after the shy-subdued carsick cars. Good fashioned heavy metal! They closed things off with a bit of a mellow track of their latest record but they get a B on the night.

Finally, it was time for Xie Tian Xiao to take the stage and let me tell you folks, he did not disappoint! The music was classic XTX with full on screams, screeching, shouting, big guitars and guzheng… none of that reggae stuff that he’s been on recently. His music and showmanship speak for themselves and i don’t need to say how good he played.. I’m gonna focus on his professionalism and the respect he gets: As the band started, we could notice he was having sound and guitar problems. despite the frustrations, he soldiered on and managed to get a tech to swap his jack without missing a step or stopping the show. Moreover, despite playing under the heaviest rain of the evening, there wasn’t a single freaking umbrella out unlike when Brain Failure and the others played. It’s always amazing how and audience and a band can feed off each other’s energy and that’s what some of today’s new bands just do not understand.

A couple of special things about Max Star festival from my brief stop there:

- Ditan park is a cool venue for this type of small scale festival. It looks nice and crowded with a crowd of 1000 or so.
- speaking of the crowd, they were amazing on saturday! Standing for hours under the rain, singing along with the bands and having a good time.
- The price was right for event and the lineups made sense in how bands were grouped: folk day, rock days, techno day, etc..
- The bathroom issue needs to be sorted out. Having to walk out and then walk back in is not the most practical way of doing things.
- Security was cool… other than a small incident where they rushed to the front to stop people from hurting themselves, they did not interfere with the show. There were two security guards behind me at some point singing along to Twisted Machine