Beijing folk, do you hear the water filling your radiators as we speak? Central heating has arrived not a day too soon, considering the temperature on this rainy night is dipping toward freezing.
Led by Ben Ben, formerly of Freckle, BOYZ&GIRL and Carsick Cars (as its drummer), Beijing-based Skip Skip Benben will be playing at XP tomorrow starting at 9 pm. It's a good bet that some people will be in costume.
I might've mentioned I'm in Hong Kong this weekend, so it's only fitting that we feature one of Hong Kong's most influential and fondly remembered bands, Beyond. On June 24, 1993, just a month after the release of "Boundless Oceans Vast Skies" (海闊天空), lead singer and founder Wong Ka-kui died in a horrific accident in Tokyo when the three-meter-high stage he was on collapsed under his feet. Out of this tragedy, the other band members solidified their place in the musical mainstream, and continued to record and tour until 2005.
The seminal Wuhan punk rock band SMZB (生命之饼) is playing at Yugongyishan tomorrow night as part of its 15+1 tour. Would you believe these guys have been around since 1996? Like 'em or not, you have to respect their staying power, and the fact that they've been known to use bagpipes and tin whistles in their sets, making them, as our music contributor puts it, "China's first (and only, to my knowledge) Celtic punk band."
The five-member outfit M.I.C. released its second full-length album, Color, on August 8, on which you'll find this track. Wikipedia calls M.I.C. a "boy band," but we prefer this endorsement by cfensi: "What set this album apart from the last self composed album by MIC is that not only are the members penning their own lyrics and compositions but they are also in full control of the production process in the making of this album.
Happy holidays to all those in China. Go safely, whatever your travel plans. Perhaps the Vietnamese-Chinese-Copenhagener-led Danish band Linkoban can inspire you to do some running of towns.
