YACHT cancels beijing gig!

Bad news for us Beijing folks, but it’s just been announced that Jona Bechtolt will in fact NOT be performing this week at Yugon Yishan. The show was slated for Tuesday, October 2nd and apparently cancelled because Mr. Yacht mistakenly booked a flight into China that wouldn’t arrive until a few hours after his show was set to start. What? In any case, those pesky international date lines can be hard to decipher at times, so maybe we’ll have to be a bit more lenient about the mix up. In any case, the word on the street is that if you show up for the gig anyways, there’ll be a free Yacht CD waiting for your pretty little hands.

In Shanghai news, YACHT’s performance slated for October 5th at the Yue Festival is still very much happening, and there will possibly be a later show on the 6th at Logo. Keep your eyes peeled for imprompto Yacht shows around Shanghai, I’m sure something will come up!

modern sky festival schedule!

Praise the lords, the schedule for the Modern Sky Festival has finally been released! 120 bands, 4 stages and various themes throughout the four days of music. I’ve arranged the schedule of the festival by days and changed as many Chinese band names into English as I could (or at least I did as many as I could before wanting to die, anyways?).

Make sure to keep all the other awesome shows happening around the city in mind when planning your itinerary! For directions to the festival venue, click here and ignore the part that says MIDI Festival 2006. Yarrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

October 2nd, 2007
Main Stage
112:30-13:00 Banana Monkey
13:20-13:50 22Cats
14:10-14:40 My Little Airport
15:00-15:30 美好药店
15:50-16:20 窒息
16:40-17:10 声音玩具
17:30-18:00 陈楚生
18:20-19:20 Sandee Chen
19:40-20:20 P.K.14
20:40-21:20 King Lychee

ROCKR Stage: Day of New Faces
12:45-13:15 R.W.F.
13:25-13:55 午夜飞行
14:05-14:35 旅行团
14:45-15:15 HUSH
15:25-15:55 No Name
16:05-16:35 坏苹果效应
16:45-17:15 旋转的幻象
17:25-17:55 ZIYO
18:05-18:35 SCOFF
18:45-19:15 THE CASINO DEMON
19:25-19:55 小类和11乐队
20:05-20:35 SNAPLINE
20:45-21:15 Tookoo

Electronic Stage:
13:30 Eddie LV
14:30 Pancake Lee+ Xiao Linfeng
15:30 Elvis.T
16:30 Micrometropolice+Didjelirium
17:30 Mael+Didjelirium
18:30 Vvip
19:30 Chozie
20:30 Ben Huang

Fourth Stage: Hip-Hop Day
15:00-15:30 P.D.Doggy
15:40-16:20 YOUNG KIN
16:30-17:00 北京现场体验
17:10-17:40 COU
17:50-18:20 张楠
18:30-19:00 李俊驹
19:10-19:40 嘻哈公园
19:50-20:20 龙门阵团体
20:30-21:00 隐藏

October 3rd, 2007
Main Stage:
12:30-13:00 The Linga
13:20-13:50 波姬小丝
14:10-14:40 卡奇社
15:00-15:30 Hedgehog
15:50-16:20 零壹
16:40-17:10 C.I.R.
17:30-18:00 声音碎片
18:20-18:50 Chet Lam
19:10-19:40 彭坦
20:00-20:30 超级市场
20:50-21:30 新裤子

ROCKR Stage: Girl’s Day
14:30-15:00 GUAILI
15:10-15:40 Under the Leaf
15:50-16:20 SILENT G
16:30-17:00 咖啡因
17:10-17:40 塞宁
17:50-18:20 糖果怪兽
18:30-19:00 IC
19:10-19:40 吴卓玲
19:50-20:20 卡木堂
20:30-21:00 春树的过失

Electronic Stage:
13:30 Deysun
14:30 Antidote
15:30 G-Sound
16:30 Erwan
17:30 Blaise
18:30 @llen
19:30 T&T(DJ Tim Goldsworthy &DJ Tim Sweeney)

Fourth Stage:
13:00-13:40 From next in
13:45-14:30 蛋糕炸弹
14:35-15:10 癫狂收音机
15:15-15:55 坏梦想
16:00-16:40 跳猴
16:45-17:25 青年最后的机会
17:30-18:10 枫岚
18:15-18:55 再循环
19:00-19:40 意外惊喜
19:45-20:15 CMCB
20:20-21:00 AOK

October 4th, 2007
Main Stage:
12:00-12:30 Carsick Cars
12:50-13:20 Leung Piu Pak
13:40-14:10 Arms and Legs
14:30-15:00 胡吗个
15:20-15:50 冥界
16:10-16:40 Joyside
17:00-17:30 便利商店
17:50-18:20 Queen Sea Big Shark
18:40-19:10 Rebuilding the Rights of Statues
20:00-21:00 Yeah Yeah Yeahs

ROKR Stage: Heavy Metal Day
13:20-13:50 不复之血
14:10-14:40 锯
15:00-15:30 641
15:50-16:20 RAGING MOB
16:40-17:10 四五
17:30-18:00 左右
18:20-18:50 颠覆M
19:10-19:40 METAL SAFARI

Electronic Stage:
13:30 Huang Weiwei
14:30 Queen Club
15:10 iLoop
15:50 Dead J
16:30 Blackie
17:30 D-Rail
18:30 Elemental
19:30 Dave Kollection
20:30 Youdai

Fourth Stage: Folk Day
12:30-13:10 万能青年旅店
13:10-13:50 潜水艇
13:50-14:30 憬观：像同叠
14:30-15:10 青年小伙子
15:10-15:50 藏族原生态组合
15:50-16:30 杜昆
16:30-17:10 胡淼峪
17:10-17:50 大乔小乔
17:50-18:30 王娟
18:30-19:10 低苦艾
19:10-19:50 钟立风&博尔赫斯
19:50-20:30 布衣

rascist “drug bust” in sanlitun.

The international media is just starting to pick this story up, but here in Beijing, local blogs and web forums are blazing with reports of a racially motivated drug bust in Sanlitun on Friday night. About 20-30 men of African or Caribbean descent suspected of selling drugs were detained and beaten in the popular bar street area by Chinese parlimentary police, and there are various reports currently floating around the web by witnesses stating that the troops “targeted anyone on the street with black skin”.

A search of various online blogs finds no concrete photographic or video evidence of the bust, but a user on the popular Beijing web forum The Beijinger who was on site during the arrests posted on the thread relating to the incident, stating “It was a complete blanket arrest, the guys who knew they were not guilty of anything didn’t run away just stood around watching what was going on/chatting/having a drink and then bam, they get arrested.” Another user posted “A friend of mine was at Bar Blue when they went in on Friday. She was there on a date with a guy from Cameroon who was amongst the folks that were detained. She called from there all shook up because they came in with dogs and just dragged 5 people or so at random…. she’s still freaked out about the whole thing!”

While it is a common known fact that the Sanlitun area is a popular place of business for drug dealers of African descent, the arrests of Friday night seem to have been at random; many of the men picked up were tourists, or students and a few of the men were later released without charge. From the news source quoted on the forum thread: “Some of the men were later released without charge. The Grenadian ambassador’s son was sent to hospital with a concussion. “Obviously I’m very angry,” the ambassador said. “My son was arrested and beaten for no reason whatsoever. I will be taking this up with the authorities and looking into the matter.” A police officer at Sanlitun station said that the incident was part of an anti-drug operation.”

According to the story currently posted at Reuters Africa, The Ministry of Public Security and the Beijing police both declined immediate comment.

moon cakes and punk rock?

There’s so much happening during the upcoming October holiday that one hardly knows where to look, where to go, or how much to drink before puking up all over the place. A general rule of thumb is if you’re still hungover and the sun’s already gone down, it’s a good sign that you probably went too hard the night before. With two awesome festivals happening simultaenously in our capital city, plus all the rock shows you can shake a stick at, you’re going to have to plan everything very carefully so that you don’t miss a thing.

Starting off the holiday week is A Groove of Two Cities, which is the warm up party to the much awaited Modern Sky Music Festival set in Hadian Park. Come to ALFA on Monday, October 1st and listen to techno sets by DJ Dave K, John Yang, Gao Hu, Huang Weiwei, as well as a Drum ‘n Bass set with Nicole and Wolf Candy. There’s a dangerously awesome open vodka bar, and tickets are available at Alfa, Muse, Le Hugo and Ball House for 80rmb (100rmb at the door).

On Tuesday, there seems to be a million things happening all at once – namely the kick off of the Yue Festival, put on by the happy kids at Splitworks at The Star Live. Tuesday brings us the much anticipated Talib Kweli + Ozomatli and DJ V-Nutz and the next night will feature Faithless and DJ Youdai. As always, the Bacardi booths are ready to serve. If Talib isn’t your kind of thing, head to Hadian Park for the first night of the Modern Sky Festival, (also on October 2nd) with over 120 acts and four stages. While the big name this year is sure to be the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (October 4), I’m also pretty stoked to see DJ sets from Tim Goldsworthy and Tim Sweeney of DFA Records. Full list of artists can be seen at the website, along with ticket info and directions to the venue. Also of note are my favorite band in Beijing, Rebuilding the Rights of Statues, fresh from the studios who will be performing sometime during the festival. Strangely, the full schedule hasn’t been announced as of yet, and the website doesn’t give any concrete answers.

Also on Tuesday, definately please for sure make time to stop by the new Yugon Yishan and check out Portland Oregon’s wunderkid Jona Bechtolt of Yacht (and formerly one half of awesome pop duo The Blow with Khaela Maricich.)

Finally, on October 3rd, along with the Modern Sky and Yue Festival festivities finds everyone’s favorite drunkards and basic Doors coverband Joyside at D22 in Wudaokou. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Joyside onstage, and D22 is certainly one of the best places to see them.

Happy holidays!

yeah yeah yeahs prepare to hit beijing!

I’m so excited about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs coming to town that I could puke. The Grammy nominated, New York based threesome are set to play the Modern Sky Festival at Haidian Park this October holiday, and I’m re-posting my interview with the band here.

The original article will appear in next week’s edition of City Weekend Magazine. If you want to go and are tight on cash, the magazine is offering a contest for free tickets! Other notable bands performing at the festival will be local rockers Hedgehog, The Scoff, PK14, TooKoo, Snapline, Joyside and Casino Demon.

1.What is the motivation for Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ coming to China?

Karen O: Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been wanting to play China for a while. I’ve read several articles about the rock/punk scene in Beijing and Shanghai over the past few years and I’m eager to learn about the music and the culture first hand. I’ve wanted to visit China all my life, it is very fortunate that this opportunity arose. Not only do I get to visit, but I also get to share a piece of my heart with our music.

2. Are you listening to any Chinese bands now, and are there any acts you’re particularly excited about performing with at the Modern Sky Festival?

K: I have been exploring the Beijing rock scene over the internet on MySpace. My immediate attention was drawn to female fronted bands such as Hang On a Box, The Subs and Cosmic Shenggy. I’m eager to learn more about the “scene” in Beijing, I could be mistaken but it appears to be tight knit. I discovered some of the groups that we will be sharing festival stage with through the MySpace pages of the bands I mentioned earlier. Carsick Cars just played a few shows with our friends Sonic Youth in eastern Europe. I’m looking forward to seeing them and Snapline among many others!!

4. Is there a different dynamic at Yeah Yeah Yeahs performances for audiences outside the States? How?

Nick Zinner: Every audience is different, even night to night in the same city, so it’s hard to predict. Some audiences may have different tendencies, but we try to bring people together in what we are doing, wherever. Even when we played in Korea, kids seemed to know the words, and understand the spirit of the music, so I think ultimately, it doesn’t really matter where we play.

5. The “Is Is” tracks were written on the Fever tour a few years back. What was it like to go back and record these songs after completing Show Your Bones last year?

N: It was probably the healthiest thing we’ve done as a band. We always wanted to record these songs, but they didn’t fit in with our last record, and it was too stressful a situation last year while recording to try to jam them together with the new songs. To me, it really felt like the same freedom as when we recorded our very first EP- we really only made it for a fun project, and for our fans.

6. Does the “Is Is” EP mark a return to an older YYY sound, or is it more of a way of tie-ing up the loose ends of that period in YYY’s evolution?

N: It is both, by nature of when the songs were first written, but we were able to complete them using what we know now, and where we are as a band now. We’ve been playing a few of the songs on tour for the past few years, and songs slowly evolve the more you play them, so it feels like something that has elements of all our periods.

7. Speaking of evolution, how have the YYYs’ live shows evolved since the period in which the “Is Is” songs were written?

Brian Chase: When you’re an older musician and you listen to yourself when you were younger, you think, “it’s good, but, if I only knew then what I know now.” Now we are older. A few years from now we’ll look back at this current period and say the same thing. Although, each phase of a band’s life really stands on its own and speaks for itself; sometimes it’s helpful to approach it like that rather than looking for a linear development.

8. It seems that the conveniences of digital recording have led more and more bands to emphasize their studio work over their live work. YYYs, on the other hand, has released a great number of live tracks as well as a DVD of live performances. Why has YYYs made releasing live music and DVD performances a priority?

B: Live recordings and studio recordings can be ways of capturing two very different sides of the same band, as it is in our case. The live thing is really about capturing the dynamic energy between us and the audience. Live performance is about the Moment rather than Posterity. Studio recordings tend to be about presenting one version of an ideal representation of the Song. With dvds you can WATCH us and see what we look like and the visual element of our performance, which is also important. This was also the motivation for us releasing live performance night vision videos on YouTube to go with the songs on Is Is.

9. One of my favorite YYY live tracks is your cover of Sonic Youth’s “Diamond Sea”. How did the cover of “Diamond Sea” come about?

B: We had the opportunity to be in a really nice home studio in San Francisco to record tracks for an iTunes session. Karen said she always wanted to do a cover of “Diamond Sea” and we worked out a really beautiful acoustic version that is a nice contrast to Sonic Youth’s original.

10. What are you most looking forward to doing in Beijing?

B: We have high hopes for an amazing concert and we’re looking forward to connecting with our Chinese audience.

give me sports pubs or give me death!

Beijing London Pub & Restaurant
Shop 35-36 Floor 1, Block 15 Wanda Plaza, Hours: 11am-2am

If there’s just one thing that the Chinese don’t understand, it’s the English sports pub. Owned by a Hong Kong businessman and sports fanatic, the Beijing-London Pub has all the concepts in place to make for a decent drinking experience but still somehow manages to fall short in the end. Despite three sprawling floors, two bars, one dining area, three VIP rooms, full kitchen (the menu offers everything and all the athletic paraphernalia and televised sports you can shake a stick at, the whole place still gives off the stink of a bar on its last legs. Maybe it’s the over-attentive staff, or maybe it’s the lack of hustle and bustle or the shiny, uncomfortable bar stools and generally tacky furniture. On the bright side though, the coctail list is extensive and reasonably priced, with Boddingtons, Carlsberg, Newcastle and bottles of Guiness and Strongbow Cider available from 30rmb.

On the food front, the menu is doubtfully large, offering standard “American” pub food, as well as everything from rib eye steaks to escargots to prawns to curries and Borscht, plus the obligatory breakfast menu with pancakes and fried eggs.

i know you know the festival.

This Saturday September 15th from 11am-10pm, come down to Gulou’s Nanluoguxiang Hutong (See map) and get jostled in the crowd at their 1st annual International Street Festival. Set in one of my favorite neighbourhoods in town, there will be local bands, live food demonstrations, what I assume will be predictably awful “live graffiti”, kiddie games (in the good way), dj sets, international food stands, cheap duds and my favorite; a “100 Metre Dash” fashion show put on by the guys at Plastered. The show, “inspired by the fact that there is only one year to go until the Olympics”, will feature new t-shirt designs as models “dash” down the runway

Come around 6:30 and see a fan dancing team and fire dancers prance their way around the street, or come bright and early and immerse yourself in Beijing’s most awesome street. Seriously, this is going to be fun!!

(The after-party will be at SALUD, on the same street. I don’t think it’ll be fun, but I’m sure the drinks will be good?)

getting whiter and whiter.

While us lowly Beijingren aren’t going to be so lucky as to pay ludicrous prices to see Beyonce Knowles, Shanghai-ers sure will be, and at the ever impressive Shanghai Grand Stage, no less. The show is slated for Monday, November 5th, and tickets will be available online within the week and can be bought from 180rmb – 1880rmb. You can read all the dirty details with an exclusive interview given by Miss Fancy Pants herself in the City Weekend National Edition, out on stands the first week of November. Come on, I know you want it.

the final word.

 

The Beijing Pop Festival is winding down, and I’m hoping that this will be the final post on the tired subject.

If you were living in Beijing around this time last year and saw Sebastian Bach climb the scaffolding on stage whilst wearing traditional Chinese silk garb, and amidst young Chinese revellers shouting “Jump! Jump!”, but didn’t make it out this year to see the Pop Festival festivities kick off, you’ll be pleased to know that nothing happened yesterday that could even closely compare. Still, seeing Chuck D prance around in a Yao Ming jersey was pretty thrilling, and the two back up dancers in military gear shouting ‘Fight the Power’ in a land where the people do no such thing is an experience that will resonate in my mind for years to come. Reports on Day 2 of the festival will have to be given by someone else, as this blog writer is sitting at home in her apartment and not out in the tired smog.

Yesterday’s blazing hot sun bore down on the thousands of concert goers, and the 5rmb cups of warm water did nothing to quench the thirst, nor did the 40rmb watered down mohitos sold at the pizza stands outside the gates. While jacking up prices at outdoor festivals is nothing new to the world (450rmb for two days at the door though, does seem ludicrous to me), I do take issue with the fact that the bottles of water and cans of beer that were available for patrons to buy from vendours directly outside the stage entrances were not allowed to be taken inside, nor was water or any other beverages available for sale inside the festival grounds. On top of this, entrance in and out of the venue was a chaotic mess, the five metal detectors at each of the entrances in theory should have worked wonders, but the fact that nobody seemed to grap the concept of having exit and entrance lines (nevermind the general public being unable to grasp just how to exit and enter without causing general mayhem) proved all the more irritating. Like last year, the hoards of hapless guards scattered like weeds around the festival grounds did nothing to control the crowd or break up fights or stop litter being dumped, and instead they sat like useless lumps, holding onto glowsticks and generally looking misplaced.

Members of the media were treated with equal disdain, and those unlucky enough to be given media passes were regulated to one entrance situated miles away from civilasation and while you were allowed to exit at any of the given exit points, you were then made to walk twenty minutes around the venue to re-enter. More irritating, despite promises made to various media outlets that passes would be given for both days, journalists and photographers arrived at the park this afternoon only to find that the deal would not be honoured, with festival organizers unable to give solid reason as to the cause. For anyone who’s been harassed by over-zealous Rock For China organizers for the past two months over proper coverage of the event, it gives the clear cut impression that they’ll take your press and with smiles, but don’t bother actually trying to show up to the event because in that case, you’re on your own. As one listings magazine managing editor put it, “It gives us good reason to accidentally miss out on the obvious typo for next year; ‘Beijing Poop Festival kicks off. Does anyone really give a shit?’”

flava flav opts out.

 

After a completely uneventful press conference put on by Beijing Pop Festival promoters, it’s been confirmed that Flava Flav will not be peforming alongside Chuck D this Saturday. Jason Magnus, head of Rock for China, admitted that he had been notified of Flava Flav’s cancellation as early as last week, and stated that it made it “doubly irritating” that Flava Flav’s reason for being unable to perform was due to a previous obligation to appear on the reality television show ‘Flava of Love’. 

Also appearing at the press conference were the ridiculously dressed New York Dolls, looking surprisingly healthy, along with an amazingly pompous Brett Anderson of Suede, who stood outside the tent for an hour sans sunglasses and then walked in looking like Corey Hart. Viva Beijing!