Midweek Music Preview is our weekly rundown of everything happening on stages across the city. On the docket this week: Klaxons and Two Gallants schlep it out east, Illumin8tors get freaky, Rom and Boys Climbing Ropes/X is Y drop their new albums, plus Japanese psychobilly, Moscow post-punk, and Beijing hardcore! Read on for all the details, or check out our calendar for more. more ›

One of our favorite local bands is playing a CD release concert tonight at Yuyintang and we think you should go check them out. Summer Sweat is Pairs' second album in as many years, and they've earned themselves a reputation for DIY methodology and audience-centric ethic. The duo, made up of Australian native Xiao Zhong on drums/vocals and his Chinese counterpart F on guitar, can get absolutely maniacal on stage and it really doesn't matter if you like their music or not - you'll have a great time anyway. more ›

If you're thinking of staying home this weekend, hopefully these shots will convince you otherwise. Saturday night at Yuyintang featured rock acts that varied in style and sound, with hardcore punk, garage punk and outright screaming all making an appearance during the evening. more ›

So, Mr Big didn't make it after all to Shanghai's Midi Festival due to a visa boo-boo but nothing has stopped the show from going on over the weekend at Century Park. Since it began in 1997, the Midi Festival has grown to become China's largest rock music festival. Midi's Shanghai debut this year is, as Morgan Short of SmartShanghai notes, "historically significant", as it's the first multiple day rock festival ever to be held in Shanghai. more ›

Things are piling up this Friday and Saturday. Bob Dylan is at long last playing Shanghai, but he's up against synth-pop up-and-comers French Horn Rebellion, who are fresh off a Hong Kong show with MGMT. And if that's not enough, Yuyintang's cooking up an entire day of music on Saturday, where like a bazillion people are playing and Break for Borneo is releasing their first album! Read on, or head over to our calendar for more! more ›

Once again, the week is utterly jam packed with live music. JUE Festival is still chugging along, and they're in it to win it this Friday with some Yunnan-ese rock at the MAO Livehouse grand reopening! Finally, the city's venues are all back in action. Save yourself some energy, though, because we've also got Mongolian rockers Hanggai, local band Moon Tyrant's CD release, and some indie rock form Holland! Read on for all of our top pics, or check out our calendar for everything else! more ›

Local blog InsideGFW has posted a series of interviews with Chinese people who attended the Zhenjiang Midi Music Festival last October. The questions focus largely on internet censorship, the government and "the on-going sexual revolution in China." Some of the answers are fascinating, and definitely reveal a wide spectrum of opinion among such a similar demographic. more ›

Danish garage rock duo The Raveonettes will be popping by Mao Livehouse in Shanghai on Sunday, followed by a trip to Beijing on Tuesday. Austinist described them as "one of Quentin Tarantino's soundtracks in a blender. Fifties and sixties riffs are coupled with bursts of noise, hypnotic drum beats, Everly Brothers-inspired harmonies, and guitar lines that range from the surf rock sublime to riotous solos straight off an early Dinosaur Jr. record." more ›

The Midi Music Festival (迷笛音乐节) is back and this year is its 12th birthday! China’s longest running music festival is crashing down in Zhenjiang City (镇江) for four action packed days of aural relief this Golden Holiday. more ›

As you can tell by the title, the big news this week is international superstars Panic! At the Disco's first ever performance in Shanghai this Saturday. Panic! At the Disco is an American band from Las Vegas famous for their stylish outfits and odd use of exclamation points. Shows in the States have included circus performers and crazy goth outfits - it'll be interesting to see what they bring to Mao Livehouse this Saturday. more ›

Indie is In this week with the TransmitCHINA conference coming to Shanghai. Plenty of FREE rock concerts out there as well with a dash of mellow music for good measure. Warning further reading may produce shockingly good musical results. more ›

Tucker is a DJ/musician well known for his use of a wide range of instruments, including an electone. more ›

So much has been written about the contemporary Beijing music scene, but don't misunderstand us: we're talking purely about volume, not about quality content. Unless you've spent time in Beijing delving into the depths of an increasingly robust community of young kids in bands or following bands, your concept of the music scene is pretty much restricted to the Carsick Cars (they played with Sonic Youth, you know!). more ›

These Are Powers, an American collaboration between ex-Liars bassist Pat Noecker, singer Anna Barie and drummer/producer Bill Salas will be hitting Zhijiang Dream Factory as part of a Maybe Mars lineup with P.K.14 and Carsick Cars on Saturday. more ›

Last week was so packed with great live music that this weekend looks pretty tame by comparison. Not that the city's music venues are resting on their laurels for long. Once punk legends Sham 69 have finished up their set, you'll be just a few short days away from visits by AV Okubo in support of the excellent Ratatat, Gay Fish favourites Carsick Cars (who'll be bringing The Gar back to town too), and Casino Demon as they release their new album. Not bad. But first thing's first - this weekend: more ›

Life Journey, a Modern Sky band hailing from Liuzhou, Guangxi, will play at the Yuyintang bar on Friday night. The band released their first self-titled CD last year, followed by a new four-song EP, “Waiting For You For Dinner.” more ›

Danwei recently wrote an excellent post an on a new graphic novel we would love to get a peek at called Tibetan Rock Dog by rock star, Zheng Jun. Zheng Jun, combines his interest in animals, cartoons and music to create a graphic novel that he hopes will "give ourselves the decent childhood we missed, a deluxe childhood that a healthy, happy individual ought to have." Zheng Jun sees the graphic novel as a medium for adults to "enjoy the storied benefits of childhood." more ›

The Young Knives — all the way from Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire — with support from local bands Boys Climbing Ropes and The Sonnet at Shanghai's Zhijiang Dream Factory on Friday, March 6. Thanks to Split for another great night of live music! more ›

If you had plans to go traveling for the May Labor Holiday, you ought to think about canceling them now. Midi Festival, China's longest running music extravaganza could be hitting Shanghai. more ›

The last time we heard about Yu Zhenhuan (于震环), he was aiming to be part of the torch relay for the Beijing Olympics but it looks like he didn't get in. While a pair of Mexican brothers may have taken over him as the world's hairiest, Yu continues to reign as China's hairiest man. Today, he's touring around China with his rock band and hopes to record an album soon. Watch him sing and dance here and do a talk show on ABC on his trip to the US last year.
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While rock is currently experiencing a revival all over this country, the spirit of revolution inherent in the first generation of Chinese alternative music is noticeably absent. more ›

Yesterday, we learned that our friend (and ex-Shanghaiist contributor) Brad Ferguson had been fired from his role as manager of Windows Underground. We asked him some questions about the recent developments and he agreed to let us publish them "as long as it doesn't make me look like an asshole. I still don't think I did anything wrong, but maybe it looks different to other people." more ›

If any of you have been in Shanghai for over 3 years you might remember a time when Ark Livehouse in Xintiandi was one of the few bastions of live music. Slowly disappearing from the scene and limping along for the past 3 years with the rare live show, Ark is finally calling it quits. Saturday they will hold one last show featuring some of Shanghai's oldest bands, including The Honeys, Blue Garden and Crystal Butterfly. If you haven't been to Ark this is your last chance so get off your ass and see what the Shanghai rock scene was like way back in 2004. more ›

We told you the other week about the CD shop down at Yu Yin Tang now being open and a quick scan of the shelves (well, shelf) tells us we're going to be in there a lot. The shop's size reflects the size of the independent music scene in China but it's quality not quantity that counts and you can find pretty much all the main releases that have come out from the bands at the forefront of Chinese rock in the past few years — saving you from trawling the internet for them or waiting for those bands to tour. Records from Carsick Cars, Hedgehog, Snapline, Cold Fairyland, and the new one from The Honeys were all there along with Beijing Midi festival and PK14 DVDs amongst others. more ›

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By Jake Newby more ›

For those who weren't able to make it to Yuyintang last Saturday, here's a glimpse of the action. HedgeHog is amazing to watch live, and the crowd went crazy (literally, as in jumping dancing when there was already almost zero sardine-packed standing space). more ›

On the left there is Matrix, who along with Futurebound rocked the hell out of Club Bonbon with some crazy drum and bass on Friday. More pictures, including a review of the "Punk from Xi'an" show at the Live Bar, after the jump. more ›

What's up this weekend? Plenty of things, but Shanghaiist plans to attend these two events for sure. Friday night, Phreaktion and DJ Siesta bring you Matrix & Futurebound at Club Bonbon. MC Stride does the vocals. From their site: more ›

Shanghaiist was back at Yu Yin Tang after the extended New Year's break. Gigs have been slow to restart after Spring Festival due to announced renovations of their space over by Tianshan Park. Alter-Ego played on Friday and we went down to Saturday's 0093 Rock Showcase. more ›