Japanese Duo The Devils & Libido Return to Beijing With Their Own Brand of Noise Rock, Jun 1-3

After scorching their way through School Bar and Temple in August of last year, Japanese noise rockers The Devils & Libido return to Beijing with a triple-threat run of gigs, Jun 1-3.

This time, bassist Kuniomi Taira and drummer Ken will hit up DDC on Jun 1 (RMB 80/60), Temple or Kirin Place (unconfirmed at time of publication) on Jun 2 (free), and School on Jun 3 (RMB 60), which mark the end of an eight-day tour around China.

Thanks to an infectious, high-energy drum and bass pairing, The Devils' 2017 shows immediately grabbed the attention of many a Beijing gig-goer, with a sizeable portion attending the shows back-to-back (a taster of their Temple night can be seen here). With Beijing's run of canceled Japanese acts, here was a band that not only made it through the capricious Chinese visa office but put on a show that left the room jumping.

As Live Beijing Music described the gigs at the time, "[The Devils & Libido are] a bass drum noise core duo (very much in the vein of Lightning Bolt) that set Temple ablaze with their assault of technical mind-blowing two piece waltz of musical mayhem."

The excitement that is derived from Tokyo band's instrumentals is largely the effect of Ken's precision drumming, laying a foundation for Taira to riff and play with his arsenal of pedals, swinging between crazed feedback and dabblings with 8-bit-tinged solos. It's a combination that holds listeners' attention, distracting from the fact that someone's probably just poured a beer down their back. For that, it's a welcome return and the perfect show(s) to kick off the summer proper.

Catch The Devils & Libido at one of their Beijing stops between Jun 1-3 and will be joined by several Beijing-based acts.

Images courtesy of Borderless