For all of those of you who stayed at home, hunched over the computer, waiting for an update on the happenings in live music this weekend....well, we apologize. Dust yourself off, pick up the shaver and take a shower, today is a big day for music. Getting things started early, 4:30pm at 4Live, are Taiwan indie pop duo, Natural Q. Seems to be the season for indie pop, after performances last month by Carrchy and... more ›

Live Bar has always been open to different genres of music, and of late, seems to be the venue of choice for Chinese folk, metal and student bands. Friday night they will host one of China's most popular nu-metal bands, Twisted Machine. Any fan of metal should not miss this show, a great chance to see what Chinese metal has to offer. On the other side of town, up'n'coming indie rockers, Yuguo will play an... more ›

(Roots & Shoots video about Jane Goodall...and gnomes) more ›

Comments below don’t necessarily represent the Shanghaiist’s point of view or opinion regarding the Canadian government (we don't want them to hold a grudge and kick us out of Canada too!)… we just received it recently from the Busdriver promoter and thought it was kind of funny… shows are still on in Beijing and Shanghai…..and we are as giddy as a school boy in the girls locker room to see Busdriver play live! more ›

Even though today might be Friday, for many of us it isn't the start of the weekend. With the upcoming National Day vacation period approaching, many people are stuck in their offices over the weekend to make up for the extended break. This has carried over into the live music scene, with only a few note worthy shows before the craziness that starts next week. The Jazz it Up week of music continues with a performance tonight by the Shanghai Music Conservatory Jazz band. Out at I Love Shanghai, Didgeridoo lover, Didjelirium will perform, backed by DJ Michael Dean. Things start to pick up on Saturday with the 8th installment of the Back to the Roots party, a must see for any fan of hip-hop, soul or funk. CMCB those, Linkin' Park-esque, rappers from Beijing will be playing out at the Dream Factory. If watching and listening to a man blow on an object made out of brass (or maybe some other metal) is your thing, then don't miss Bob Mintzer and the All-star band who will be wrapping up the Jazz it Up festival on Saturday night. Mintzer is an astounding saxophonist and will be joined on stage by a multitude of Grammy award winners. more ›

For anyone still looking for something to do tonight (Thursday) a couple of options have poked their heads up in the nic' of time. Banana Monkey and Hard Queen, two good local bands are putting on a free concert at 4Live tonight, with things getting started at 8:30pm. After that head to the Antidote party out a C's where the music is always good and the drink freakin' cheap. If funk and jazz fusion is more your thing then Finnish Pekka Pylkkanen and his Tube Factory will headline tonight’s Jazz it Up held at the Shanghai Music Conservatory. more ›

For any one who missed it, Cold Fairyland and the Scoff both had concerts last night at the Shanghai Concert Hall and 4Live, respectively. Yesterday afternoon Shanghaiist had spent a solid 2 hours writing an exquisite piece of prose about these two shows... but alias, the evil internet goblin crashed our computer, causing us to lose forever that beautiful essay... well, at least you won't miss out on what is happening tonight. more ›

Before we get started on what is happening this weekend in music, gotta admit we accidentally put the wrong Yue Festival link in our last post. So here it is, for all you who want to keep abreast of festival news....www.yuefestival.com. We have also received word that the 1234 Beach Rock festival is being pushed back to October 21st. And now to what is happening this weekend in live music. more ›

Due to multiple requests (total of two, and one was me) here is more golden week festival news. The previously mention Hop Festival has gotten an official name...so....let it hence forth be referred to as the Yue Festival. Ticket prices are set at 140rmb for students, 280rmb advanced purchase and 360rmb at the gate. Rock-ing has also released their ticket prices and they range from 280-880 depending on how special you want to feel. For those who are worried about getting to Zhujiajiao and back to see the 1234 Beach Rock Festival, your sleepless nights are over! Promoters have promised to keep the complimentary shuttle buses running to Shanghai Stadium late into the night. Shanghai isn't the only Chinese city to catch festival fever. Modern Sky in Beijing will also be hosting a 3 day festival at Haidian Park that first week in October. Rumored headliners are the Yeah Yeah Yeah's and Mogwai. We will keep our ear to the underground and keep you updated on the freshest festival news (aren't we clever? we can string words that rhyme into sentences!). more ›

As the weekend starts Shanghaiist is giddy with excitement. Not because this weekend is overly exciting (though there are a few good shows out there), but because this weekend marks the unofficial end of the summer music drought. Next week Coolio and Avril Lavigne with both be in town (where are our media passes?), AK-47 along with Brain Failure and Top Floor Circus will hold a special pre-1234 Beach Rock party and the following week the SUBS will be back in town. September gets even better, though Shanghaiist will be in Beijing to catch the New York Dolls, NIN, Mando Diao, PE and Markey Ramone, Shanghai shouldn't feel left out....the Exploited will be playing at 4Live in September in what will be a shat (replace the a with an i) kicking good time. Ok, enough of what is coming in the near future, let’s get down to what is happening this weekend. more ›

It is time you got Carsick. more ›

Never able to keep a secret, Shanghaiist has gotten some fat little morsels of gossip on our plate that we are dying to share...but that will have to wait until next week.....for now you will have to be content with this weekends roundup of live events. more ›

"People say they love hip hop, but then they go to Guandii. To me, we’ve never had hip hop in China. We just took things from the States. It’s never been homegrown. And I really hope we can have a scene to call our own." more ›

Though only in its infancy, newly launched online portal NeoCha has already got its eyes on the big time. The web project purports to bring together Chinese creative clans and facilitate the discovery of original music, art, events and goods. more ›

With a few honourable exceptions, quality electronic music in Shanghai is hard to find. In such a commercial city, bars and clubs have high rents to pay. So obviously, events where there isn't anyone from the top 100 ranked DJ list playing are rubbish and not worth going to. more ›

Having just spent some time in Denmark ourselves, we were delighted to discover that some great Danish musicians would be arriving in Shanghai to play so soon after our return. These guys are quite well-known in Denmark and Europe, having recorded and toured around the world a bit. When we asked our Danish friends about these guys, they said that drummer Emil de Waal is famous as a player of every kind of music, not just jazz. It appears from the press release for the tour on the promoter’s website that he will be playing by himself with computer(s) acting as the rest of the band. Sounds interesting. We believe he’s the type of player who can hold up a show like this on his own, just judging from his reputation. more ›

We came across this store during a stroll on Jianguo Lu. Having recently bought an Astro Boy (60s Japanese anime) DVD, we were quick to notice an inflatable Atom Boy or two smiling blankly next to some flashing Christmas bulb lights in a display window, and we had no choice but to go and walk in. According to Jeff, the co-owner/manager (he wasn't that specific), while both he and the other guy had day jobs doing design and other such stuff, that they had collected a bunch of old toys and other kitschy items (transparent, inflatable Hitchcock pillow with the director's silhouette and some fake "bird shit" stains on them—a reference to a certain movie about creepy birds) and decided to sell them. The store is tiny, but strangely cozy—Jeff sat in a sofa chair, drawing some weird sci-fi type illustration while we perused the goods. We didn't ask much about the prices, but if you're interested, check out some of the photos we took of the place to get a sense of what they are selling. Also, check out their origami business cards—a piece of black paper with a map and their address folded into a black swan. more ›

Have all your friends abandoned you? Got a case of the holiday blues? What better pick-me-up could there be than Chinese Brit-pop? (Just play along, folks.) more ›

Shanghaiist is usually not one to promote bands... mainly because we just haven't seen any lately that we like... but we were in Beijing this weekend and caught a show by Beautiful Pharmacy, a folksy band consisting of two Chinese and two Kazakh musicians (insert Borat joke here... or not). We talked briefly with one of the members who mentioned they would be in Shanghai this weekend playing at 4Live. We immediately thought this show would be perfect for our readers; Shanghaiist was certainly put in a trance and found ourselves tapping our feet despite ourselves. Most of the songs we heard over the weekend were in Kazakh... or whatever language they speak over there. The crowd leaned heavily on the hippie side (this being Beijing) but their hypnotizing music should appeal to everyone. more ›

There is a catch of course, 40 RMB to get in to La Fabrique and drinks only stay cheap till 11 pm, but, that's a better deal than just about anywhere else for those not in the city on expense accounts, and, once you've sunk a few cheap ones, you can get on down and enjoy one of the few nights in Shanghai where the music being played is not the usual cover band guff, commercial hip-hop or other cheesy shite pervading the scene here. more ›

Born in Venezuala, raised in Chile, based in Berlin and now appearing in Shanghai -- that is the acclaimed pop/rock producer turned DJ, Argenis Brito. more ›

But it's not just the live music scene -- despite having an enormous number of nightclubs, there is no regular "big venue" supporting cutting-edge electronic music. A tour around the city's clubs mimics an endless procession of commercial hip hop, bland house and cheesy trance at venues where large groups of Shanghainese nouveaux riche sit around countless tables with bottles of Chivas Regal gazing at tiny dancefloors. more ›

Colonel Kurtz's nightmare might have been watching a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor, but ours is shopping. What an odious pursuit. Shanghaiist would rather have dental work done than get dragged through boutiques and malls -- particularly in this city, where the footpaths are clogged with touts, bargain hunters and middle-aged women selling tea eggs. more ›

Backyard Cafe on Jianguo Lu more ›