Weekend Gig Guide Mar 30-Apr 4: Spring Relapse Festival, Chui Niu and Alpine Decline, Pillow Fight Nights

We here at the Beijinger are happy 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 ...

Out of the pot and into the frying pan. Or something along those lines. Whatever timely phrase you’ve got on hand, all I know is that the cherry blossoms are out and it’s spring. And what timing! Qingming Festival is upon us and with that extra day there are a slew of upcoming, top-notch gigs to attend to this weekend, including a two-day festival I’ll be hosting at DDC. It’s gonna be a blast so please come and support us. Just to treat ya I’ve included a mixtape below. So let’s dip into the weekend update already.

Friday, April 1

Hedgehog, The Big Wave, Glow Curve, Lone, Spin Axis at Mao Livehouse
Local promotion juggernauts Cold Neo ain’t fooling for their two year anniversary with this killer lineup at ‘the venue that refuses to die’ Mao Livehouse, featuring indie noise rock veterans Hedgehog alongside Modern Sky’s favorites The Big Wave, Glow Curve, Lone, and out of town post-rock up-and-comers Spin Axis. RMB 150

Dirty Fingers, Gum Bleed, Day Dream, The Diders at Temple
It’s gonna get riotous at Temple as Shanghai punk renegades Dirty Fingers, one of the city’s freshest, wildest new acts joins some of the old guard including Gum Bleed and The Diders for an evening of destruction. Free

‘Nothing Will Happen’ at fRUITYSPACE
I mean – just look at the poster. Enough said. The mastermind behind this one is one of Beijing’s most colorful characters so expect only shenanigans of the highest order. Free

Steely Heart, Bye Bye Noise, Pacalolo, Candy Monster at School
Converse doesn’t wanna play it cool – they just wanna have some fun over at School and they’ve rounded up some of the scene’s most danceworthy, unpretentious outfits, including the surly electro rock of Steely Heart, the doo-wop pop of Candy Monster, and more. Free

Longjin, Magic World at DDC
It’s a reggae battle at DDC as two reggae outfits bring the good vibes and face off against one another, though my guess is they’ll all be friends by the end of the night. RMB 60

Zhang Xia Hao at Yugong Yishan
Known to his buddies as SeanZ, the Warner Music pop singer, who had a string of hits in 2015, unleashes his latest upon the big stage at Yugong Yishan to kick off his China tour. RMB 120

Liu Donghong at Chen Livehouse
The new 798 folk livehouse hosts local prolific bluesy folk singer-songwriter Liu Donghong. RMB 50

Wu & The Side Effects, Blue Devil Dogs at Jianghu Bar
Blues and rock and roll – there’s nothing more you need when your sipping on a beer in the comfort of hutong space Jianghu Bar. RMB 80

The Leaves, Camellia at 69 Café
Folk sensibilities and acoustic sets from The Leaves and Camellia at the NLGX hangout 69 Café. RMB 50

Ren Dog at Snail Club
Folk singer-songwriter gives an intimate performance at Snail Club. RMB 50

Violette & The Hunters at Hot Cat Club
Soulful covers and old-school funk make their way to Fangjia Hutong with this five-piece outfit. Free
 

Saturday, April 2

Boiled Hippo, Cassette, Streets Kill Strange Animals, Social Boar, Inxu at DDC
Live Beijing Music (yours truly) and Four Seasons Market are teaming up this holiday weekend for a two-day extravaganza of music, food, and a handful of hard-go-lucky entrepreneurs who will be bringing their love. Kicking off at 4pm, DDC's inside and outside terrace will be converted into a bazaar featuring a host of young entrepreneurs selling design and vintage goods, prints, food and snacks, and various other treasures. Afterwards, Live Beijing Music will host two riotous evenings of music – evening one gets heavy and righteous as ethereal electro rock outfit CAssette, instrumental heavyweights INXU (raised from the ashes of Illness Sickness), post-punk veterans Streets Kill Strange Animals, shoegaze noise rockers Boiled Hippo, before the emo-tainted math rock trope Social Boar hit the stage for their last show EVER. RMB 60

Casino Demon at ModernSky Lab
Casino Demon, one of indie label’s Modern Sky’s bigger catches, release their highly anticipated sophomore LP titled Purple Haze from the Orient. Catchy melodies and indie rock goodness all around – expect a packed house for those boys before they hit the road. RMB 100

Collision Dreamer, The Sweet Escape at School
It was only a matter of time but School has now joined the ranks of other venues swayed the promise and prospect of an epic pillow fight whilst listening to indie pop tunes. Grab your feathered pillows and pummel some faces with the help of Collision Dreamer and The Sweet Escape. RMB 130

S.A.W, Tarot Saint at Mao Livehouse
Meanwhile, Mao Livehouse’s pillow fight (seriously need to check this out sometime) helps you put some actual meat behind your wallops with metal veterans S.A.W and Tarot Saint providing the crowd with a pillow-smacking soundtrack. RMB 130

Chui Wan, Alpine Decline at Yugong Yishan
After a six-month hiatus following the release of their acclaimed sophomore album and subsequent North American tour, psychedelic indie rock outfit Chui Wan return to the joined by fellow Maybe Mars labelmates Alpine Decline, who are on the brink of releasing their next album, Life’s A Gasp. Expect diehard fans aplenty. RMB 80

Tavey Lean & The Solid Gold Dream Machine at Temple
Feel the funk! Feel the groove! Feel the soul as Tavey Lean & The Solid Gold Machine break out the hits with a R&B flavor. Free

Suzi & The Paramecia at 69 Café
It’s an afterparty at 69 Café as rising folk, funk, and rock and roll singer-songwriter Suzi and his band The Paramecia take the small stage. RMB 70

Steve Blaque, Josh Storm at Hot Cat Club
Electric guitar blues for the modern age. Free

Morbid Goats, Shangyuqi, Mr. Nice Guy at Jianghu Bar
Fresh-faced rockers and folk artists, some just out of high school even, take the stage at Jianghu Bar to prove their worth. RMB 40

Kora Fish at Zhang Café
Self-made folk singer-songwriter continues his epic trek across China with a show at Zhang Café, right off of Guloudong Dajie. Free

Sunday, April 3

Elenore, Children’s Cinema, SNSOS, Me Guan Me, Wusuozai at DDC
Day two of Live Beijing Music’s two-day extravaganza of music, food, and hard-go-lucky entrepreneurs at DDC continues with the delicious treats and hosts some of indie rock’s finest, including Brit-pop sensations Elenore, seminal indie poppers Children’s Cinema, visceral trip hop rock outfit Wusuozai, Me Guan Me, and post-rock serenades SNSOS (She Never Sings Our Songs). RMB 60

Beijing Jungle Big Band at Yugong Yishan
Beijing Jungle Big Band (formerly Beijing Jazz Orchestra) is China’s first real professional big band consisting of a staggering 17 members. The band that has been involved with various projects including the hit 2014 film Gone with the Bullet, hit up Yugong Yishan alongside Swing Beijing for some treats. 150 RMB

Bad Mamasan, Never Before, The Diders, Ghost Mask, D-Crash at School
Let School Bar implore some bad education on ya with this rock-hard lineup of metal’s most mischievous characters, including Bad Mamasan, Never Before, and more. RMB 50 (ladies free)

The Sound Sculpture, Comp Collider at Temple
Live ambient sound weavers The Sound Sculpture hit up Temple alongside post-rock improv noise duo Comp Collider. Free

T6, Not in Catalog, SOS Collective at fRUITYSPACE
It’s an experimental hoedown at the new fRUITYSPACE as various performers including Zhu Wenbo, Noise666, thruoutin, jojo, and Abing raid the place with their respective spontaneous collectives. RMB 30

One Drop Band at Mako Livehouse
Catch the essence of reggae with this evening of Bob Marley tributes as One Drop Band take the stage in Sanlitun. RMB 80

Goodbye Sunset, Last Resort, Lost in Space, Logic Lab, Valentine’s Day at 13 Club
The coalition core bring its group of heavies for an evening of hardcore, straight edge, and other knee swinging worthy bands including Last Resort and Lost in Space. RMB 70

Tsering at Snail Club
Tibetan singer Tsering swings through Snail Club to show audiences a modern take on traditional Tibetan folk music. RMB 50

Lattice, Smog, The Beauty, Broozers at Mao Livehouse
The first of surely many Kurt Cobain tributes gets as you may imagine all grunge up in Mao Livehouse with a bill of some familiar names as well as some new faces. RMB 80

Monday, April 4

Frosty Eve, Songs of Chu, Never Before, Bloody Woods, Cvinger, Narakam at Mao Livehouse
It’s a Qingming Tomb Sweeping Festival extravaganza of metal as melodic metal favorites Frosty Eve celebrates with their friends the only way they know how – black metal and mosh pits! RMB 150

Hangnail, Funky Monkey, Endless Square, Maoxuewan, Golden Rum at School
Hard rock, funky breakdowns, and punk anthems all this holiday season at School as a horde of eager young bands take stage. RMB 40 (ladies free)

Phew! Still hungry for more? For events, videos, and photos from Beijing's thriving music scene, head over to Live Beijing Music.

Images courtesy of the organizers, Live Beijing Music