With the tagline "Does for rock and roll what The Sound of Music did for hills", we wonder if you can possibly refuse this week´s SubCinema screening. The film in question is This Is Spinal Tap, a mockumentary about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap. That is, a fake documentary about a fake band - that became real in the process. Well, kind of real anyway. more ›

Our friends over at Split Works tipped us off to their Yue Festival website, on which you can vote for the artists you'd most like to see at the second annual event this fall. Lots of big names on the list — how many of them are realistic, and how big of a role voter opinion will play in the signing process, remain to be seen. But we have been told that all but perhaps one band mentioned on the list are possibilities, although some are much more expensive than others (yes, we're looking at you Mr. West). more ›

At the risk of damning all that is cool and underground with our pro-whiteboy Midas touch, we're going to tell you how much we enjoyed watching the soul, funk, R&B and sometimes classic rock band LX play at Logo on Wednesday. This band is headed by Lucius Clark (whom we are told is from New York), and the other players include the very talented Vladimir on guitar (sorry we don't know your last name), whom we've seen play gypsy jazz on Fridays past with Etienne at La Bella. There are also some other band members from Mauritius who also rock but sorry, we don't know their names. more ›

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

SEE UPDATES BELOW more ›

Their 2 albums (to date) are sub-par. Their songs are not very original, with unintelligible lyrics. Yet, they are one of the few, must see, melt your face good, bands in China. They are the Subs. more ›

Slow weekend for music, lucky for us the bands that are playing (Live Earth is the exception) are worth seeing. This is the weekend for concerts dedicated to raising environmental awareness, accomplished by plugging in watt hungry amps and singing about sex and beer. On Friday Recycle a pop punk band, less pop more punk, will be joined by old school punkers Loudspeaker and garage rock favorites Banana Monkey at 4Live. On Saturday PK-14 (Public Kingdom for Teens) an amazing post-punk band from Beijing marks their return to Shanghai for the first time in over 1 1/2 years with two shows. Celebrating their launch of environmentally-inspired tees (proceeds of which will go to charity) the clothing shop ENO gets things rocking at 4pm with July 16th a garage rock band from Nanjing, Boojii the Shanghai Shoegazer band and the cat's meaow....PK-14. For those who can't get enough of them at the afternoon show (that should be everyone!), PK-14 will also be playing Saturday night at the Dream Factory. If great post-punk music isn't your thing then plenty of cheesy pop music will be available at the official Live Earth concert being held under the Oriental Pearl Tower (not exactly the most environmentally friendly of buildings). more ›

When it comes to live music, Shanghai's long had an inferiority complex when comparing ourselves to Beijing, and often drowned out that lack of music with plenty of beer. But after taking a glimpse of what is happening in June, we're starting to feel a real glimmer of hope. This week kicks it all off with a number of talented bands taking the stage. more ›

We don't want to say we're starved for good live rock music in Shanghai ... but we are starved for good live rock music in Shanghai. Live here long enough and you gradually forget exactly how good it feels to stand up near the stage and get lost in a rock band that knows exactly what they are doing, a band you would pay to see even if you weren't living in China, a band that has actually released original and relevant material this millennium. Well, last night at Shanghai Concert Hall, for two feedback infused hours, Sonic Youth reminded us how sublime an experience that can be. And now we want more. We need more. more ›

There are a lot of tempting events coming up this weekend. But please don't invite us, we're saving up for Kenny G. more ›

We biked to Live Bar on Saturday night to check out J-rock band Ghod, playing their second show in Shanghai on their China tour. We liked their music quite a bit — stylistically, it wasn't anything particularly new, but they were polished, melodic, and energetic, and that's pretty much all you can ask for on a Saturday night. We don't know how famous they are in Japan or in Asia, but they did have a van full of groupies (and the odd school teacher or two), and that seems like a good sign. more ›

Seattle indie rock band Pretty Girls Make Graves are touring China before returning to the US for a few shows in May—their last, together, as a band. They are doing Beijing and Hong Kong before wrapping up their China tour in Shanghai, at 4Live on April 28, though the venue's event calendar doesn't extend beyond mid-March as of now. 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 ›

We're sure glad we left Southern Barbarian* when we did. We were told that the Maxïmo Park gig would start at 9 pm and that there would be an opening band. So someone brought up on Western rock concert tradition would assume the very earliest Maxïmo Park would take the stage would be 10 pm. But we figured it would be more like 11 pm or midnight — that way the bar sells more drinks. But when we arrived at 4 Live (or Fabrique ... or whatever we are supposed to call it) at around 9:45 pm we were shocked to find the headliners already on the stage and even more shocked when a friend told us they had already been playing for 20 minutes and that the opening act started at 8:15 pm. What kind of a punk (or post-punk) show was this? Oh — that's right — one in Shanghai. more ›

GigShanghai: I-GO, Jewish rock and the F-word more ›

You may recall a few days ago we told you about about the female jaywalker who went all Sean Penn on the cop who was ticketing her (but not the camera crew who was filming it all). Well, the Shanghai Daily today offers us a jaywalking-in-Shanghai update. The highlights: more ›

Tim Kao, musician more ›

The Rolling Stones arrived in Shanghai yesterday and the media noticed. We read a couple of these stories before we got bored. more ›

For a city notoriously lacking in live music, last night Shanghai rocked. While we (along with headliners Another Kind of Light) weren't able to make it to the opening of Yuyintang's Music Warehouse, we did manage to catch local rock-with-Chinese-characteristics band Three Yellow Chicken at Shuffle before heading to Tang Hui's pre-re-opening party, Electro Town. more ›

Michael Ohlsson, underground DJ more ›

We hate to sound like we're shilling for Live Bar, but with ten shows in the five weeks since they officially opened, the Yangpu dive is fast becoming the number one venue for live rock music in Shanghai. Three consecutive concerts this past weekend meant six long cab rides, 13 bands, and innumerable (20-kuai!) pitchers of beer. more ›