Weekend Update (31.07-01.08)

If I haven’t already bombarded you enough with my personal (and definitely biased) pick of the week then let me clarify one more time — Summer Blaze Fest —- six bands, meatball subs, confetti (?), fancy hobos, and the friendliest bunch of kids this side of town. Alright, now that’s that out of the way – here’s the rest of your weekend roundup.

FRIDAY JULY 31^st

Everyone’s favorite knee-slapping, genre-twisting, Yunnan folk rock outfit Shanren deck out cozy Jianghu Bar for a festive evening. Girls take the throne for this evening’s set of rock and rolling at School including sets from art punk trio Girl Kill Girls, power punks Hard Candy Revolution, emo kids The Prozax, as well as Cake Bomb and Noise Jelly. It’s that time of the year again – WHAI doing what they do best, turning Temple into a madhouse of electronic rock and roll. They’re joined by electro-folk pop duo Duan Pian. Acclaimed southern Chinese folk singer-songwriter Jiang Ming breaks out the band for a summer tour, including a stop at Shuangjing’s Mako Livehouse. Purely Imaginative with this wondrous lineup of post rock, indie pop and more at Mao Livehouse including indie Britpop rockers Elenore, Hot Line, Self Portrait, Secret Club, as well as post rock outfit The Grinding Ear. Pop, emo, and then some at DDC with The Prozax and Xue Feng Che. An evening of country blues Americana at Old What? with a slew of skilled musicians who perform in a heck ton of country bands including Randy Abel, Su Zixu, Heike Kagler, Peter Murchison, Travis Klingberg, and Xin Xin. Folk songstress Zhang Qianqian brings her veteran voice to the cozy 69 Café. Tibetan sing-songwriter Tsering blends folk, rock, and reggae into an appetizing blend tonight at Snail Hostel.

SATURDAY AUGUST 1^st

Music, food, good vibes — that’s the goal with Summer Blaze Fest, the second seasonal festival hosted by Live Beijing Music and DDC. On the menu: grunge, post rock, no wave hip hop, 90s alt, psych-indie rock, electro rock, and much more – with Deadly Cradle Death, She Never Sings Our Songs, Cassette, Gate to Otherside, The Twenties, and Jajatone. Plus, food from the Meatball Company. Expect a hell of a night. The Riot! series returns with another free showcase at School of loud, in-your-face music that will surely get your heart racing including sets from punks Dr. Liu & The Human Centipede, Laisee, Hell City, The Grindstone, and Tinnie Whollie. Indie pop duo Joe & CC present their latest album of cute folk pop to bring home to the misses at Mako Livehouse. Feel the happy rhythms of the Lanzhou dialect with Ga Jin, the latest folk outfit to pump fresh cheerful air into the folk genre, at Jainghu Bar. Up and coming indie pop outfit SuZixu & The Paramecia performs at the cozy 69 Café. Indie pop star Wang Fan Rui performs tonight at Mao Livehouse. Four seasons of folk artists at Snail Hostel including Xiao Pu, Coroline, Ou Yang, and Suyu.