Noise Pollution: Spit-Tunes, Carsick Cars, Killa P, The Rad Trads, Liu Donghong, Hutong Rap Battle

The music scene says farewell to the Year of the Dog with a bang. Well in actuality, this weekend's lineup is a bit shorter than most but don’t let the numbers fool you. There are some serious heavy hitters here, with many of the venues front-loading their Saturday with true crowd pleasers. So take your pick, cause it’s slim pickings from here on out until mid-February.
 

Friday, Jan 25

Spit-Tunes feat. Rainbow Machine, The Great Buffalo Blues, Liane Halton, Matthew Byrne, David Bond at DDC
Spit Tunes returns with their latest poetry and music collaboration and it looks like they’re kicking it up a notch, matching some of the scene’s most ferocious prolific musicians and bands with some killer spoken wordsmiths including Spit-Tunes ringleader Matthew Byrne and pianist David Bond joining Jamie Santirso, Anthony Tao pairing off with Liane Halton (of Boss Cuts), The Great Buffalo Blues with Zuo Fei, and Oliver Torres (of Struggle Session) joining Rainbow Machine. Hell yeah. RMB 60

C-Jam, Phidaway, Aleeyo.P, 141, Qianz at School
Come out for one final hip-hop show before the Year of the Dog! Featuring C-Jam from the Dungeon Beijing crew, 141 from A.T.L, as well as Phidaway, Aleeyo.P, and Qianz – as always with hip-hop gigs these days expect the place to be packed with plenty of swagger. RMB 60

Killa P (UK) at Dada
Renowned MC in the grime world, Killa P makes his way over to Dada this evening to celebrate electronic label S!LK’s three-year anniversary. Hailing from Brixton, he's acclaimed for his unique patois style and hard lyrics. Killa P became known as one of the UK's most prolific MCs while he was a member of one of the UK's founding grime crews, Roll Deep. Support from an array of Beijing’s electronic crew including PuzzyStack, Negative 808, Radiax, and much more. RMB 80

Radio Mars at Yue Space
Veteran producer duo Radio Mars, consisting of Yu Zeng & Huang Shaofeng, who has been working non stop behind the scenes of various record companies and film productions since 2001, have slowly become a bonafide electro-rock live act over the past few years - constantly exploring the boundaries of their art, bringing audiences with them on a musical adventure. Catch them tonight at Yue Space. RMB 150

The Rad Trads (US) at Blue Note
Currently touring in anticipation of their second full-length album On Tap, New York City’s The Rad Trads are winning over audiences, gaining loyal fans, and defying classification. They’ve been described as “Wilco at the Circus,” “The Band meets Miles Davis," and “the greatest band you’ve never heard of. "Few can pin down their unique blend of indie rock, Americana, and sSoul, but everyone agrees, “it’s a damn good time!” RMB 80-320

Jinsfake, Natural Doc, RapaciouzC, Strawberry Papa, 1999, Trius, Vertigob at fRUITYSPACE
Several of Beijing's beatmakers and rhyme enthusiasts will congregate in the fRUITYSPACE basement this Friday for one big head-nodding session. Underground hip-hop at its purest, expect live sets from Jinsfake, Natural Doc, RapaciouzC, Strawberry Papa, 1999, Trius, and Vertigob. RMB 100

King & MaxWell C, Swamp Pussy, Saso, L-Force at Soi Baochao
Up and coming noise rock band Swamp Pussy, dedicated to drowning out the post-rock swooners, join duo King & Maxwell C as well as Uganda singer Saso and rapper and frequent Soi Baochao performer and promoter L-Force. FREE

Ember Swift at Modernista
Known for her unique, jazz-influenced guitar playing and elastic vocals, the Canadian born Beijing based singer-songwriter Ember Swift has been a fixture of the Beijing music scene for years releasing an array of LPs and melding Mandarin, English, and French into one intoxicating package. FREE

Stevie Mac and The Mac Daddies at Temple
The ever-expanding (ten members deep at the moment) jazz-pop trope Stevie Mac and The Mac Daddies bring their vintage approach to contemporary music to Temple for some good times before the Year of the Pig. FREE

Dooder, Max Sleigh at Caravan
Seasoned Burundi musician and singer Dooder, currently the percussionist, guitarist, and vocalist for The Great Buffalo Blues goes solo this evening for Caravan’s singer-songwriter Friday night series which will also feature independent musician Max Sleigh who writes, performs and produces original Chinese and English songs. RMB 60

Sleepy Sponge at Mogu Space
Up and coming Beijing band by the name of Sleepy Sponge – which looks to combine Britrock, city-pop, instrumental rock and their love for Kings of Convenience over at Mogu Space. RMB 60

Eric Allen Woodshed at AR Art Space
Eric Allen and his band Woodshed bring the sounds of Americana to Wudaokou’s AR Art Space, combining a rocky style with authentic American Chicago, Texas, and Mississippi Delta blues. FREE

The Hunters at The Bricks
One of the city's hottest crowd-pleasing outfit and one of Beijing’s best foreign cover bands The Hunters combine old school funk, soul, and rock classics with intoxicating delivery. FREE

Gao Jin Li at Pink Moon
Folk singer-songwriter Gao Jinli gives an acoustic performance tonight at Pink Moon. RMB 66
 

Saturday, Jan 26

Carsick Cars, Holy Shit!, LST at School
School Bar’s throw it’s annual ‘drink all of our stock left and listen to some music while you’re at it’ extravaganza and good gracious does is it mighty tempting. For only RMB 180, you get full access to the bar. However, if that doesn’t tickle your fancy then how about veteran indie rock favorites Carsick Cars giving a rare performance at School Bar alongside rock and roll superband Holy Shit! and LST. Did I mention… FREE

Macondo, Swarrm, No Trace, Dawei & The Social Poetry, Acid Accident at DDC
DDC closes up shop (don't worry, just for the holidays) the only way he knows how – with a stacked line-up featuring the venue’s top-ranking performers including post-rock groovers Acid Accident, offbeat psychedelic art rock group No Trace, prog-metal slayers Swarrm, funk rap troupe Dawei & The Social Poetry, and powerhouse instrumental rock favorites Macondo. Going out with a bang indeed. RMB 100

The Flyx, D-Crash, Hang Nail, The Bad News, Teddy, Discord, Labour Glory at Yue Space
It’s a punk rock buffet and volume one of China Ultra Party with a swarm of the city’s finest punk bands including punk legends themselves Discord, Anti-Flag flag waving The Flyx, street punks Hang Nail, fresh of their debut EP, d-beat torch holders D-Crash, ultra punk outfit Labor Glory, Tianjin’s The Bad News and Teddy – pace yourself kids. RMB 100

Cui Xudong at Jianghu Bar
Dusty infamous folk rocker – a prominent musician from Shijiazhuang – whose time included playing with bands such as Nico, Ruins, Soundtoy and most recently, the much-praised Planet & Tree gives a special solo unplugged performance this evening. RMB 100

Joker’s Belief, Hugh Reed & The Electric Shadows, Showhand at Temple
Funk rock outfit Joker’s Belief, whose infectious blend of upbeat funk tunes and rollicking rock and roll get down and dirty over at Temple with the help of the ranchy and ever dandy Hugh Reed and his Electric Shadows, as well as up and coming punk ruffians Showhand. FREE

Wireless Puppet, Colliding Century, Defecate Indiscriminately, Yueshan at Mao Livehouse
Wukesong gets nice and ruddy with a punk-filled evening of riotous noise as Wireless Puppet joins fellow up and comers Colliding Century, Yueshan and hardcore punks Defecate Indiscriminately, who win on name basis alone. RMB 88

Lawrence (US) at Blue Note
Siblings and singers Clyde Lawrence and Gracie Lawrence lead the eight-piece soul-pop band comprised of powerhouse musicians fresh off their sophomore release full of R&B/funk feel-good pop songs to soulful and cinematic ballads, head over to Blue Note for some bubbly fun. RMB 120-360

Hutong Rap Battle Vol.13 at Soi Baochao
Head to Soi Baochao and lay down your best rhymes as an array of rappers compete and jam to their heart's content. Let host L-Force and Dojo Shaolin get the good times rolling. FREE

Liu Donghong at Mogu Space
Liu Donghong, dusty blues singer of Sand, China’s first ‘cold rock’ band, and a scene player for over 20 years gives an intimate performance in Xizhimen. RMB 80

Li Eryang, Licy Jones at AR Art Space
'70s-evoking guitar finger-picker and story-teller Li Eryang joins Licy Jones this evening at Wudaokou’s AR Art Space. FREE

Eric Allen Woodshed at Modernista
Eric Allen and his band Woodshed bring the sounds of Americana to Modernista, combining a rocky style with authentic American Chicago, Texas, and Mississippi Delta blues. FREE

Sunday, Jan 27

Mojo Hand at Jianghu Bar
Blues supergroup Mojo Hand, made up of some of the skilled rockers of the Beijing scene, including OOC frontman Cheng Chen, bassist Wang Zheng, and guitarist Wei Wei, bring their richly flavored Chicago blues to Jianghu Bar for a special CNY blow-out jam alongside some special guests. FREE

Cherry Mor, Malnutrition, Titan, Bright Blade at Laifu Livehouse
Rock out one last time before the Shuangjing mainstay Laifu Livehouse settles in for Spring Festival with a rowdy, youthful and rocking good time with a lineup that features pop-rock outfit Cherry Mor, punk renegades Malnutrition and more. RMB 60

Lawrence (US) at Blue Note
Siblings and singers Clyde Lawrence and Gracie Lawrence lead the eight-piece soul-pop band comprised of powerhouse musicians fresh off their sophomore release full of R&B/funk feel-good pop songs to soulful and cinematic ballads, head over to Blue Note for some bubbly fun. RMB 120-360

Xing Yi Fan Jazz Quartet at Modernista
A member of the CMA Big Band and Ah-Q Jazz Ensemble and an active member of the Beijing jazz scene, cello bassist Xing Yi Fan is one of the best in the scene. Catch him and others tonight at Modernista. FREE

Cheng Yufeng, Zhou Caodi, Lang Tianyi at Mogu Space
Lang Tianyi, who studied at the Pop Singing Department at Beijing Modern Music Institute joins fellow singer-songwriters Cheng Yufeng and Zhou Caodi this evening. RMB 60

Want to cut a rug instead? Check out this weekend's nightlife offerings here.

Images: Will Griffith, courtesy of the promoters