by Will Griffith, LiveBeijingMusic.com

It’s heating up round these parts. Just give in I say. Screw that AC nonsense – bask in the sizzler that is summer and get out there. Sweat up a storm at one of these gigs and thank me later. Here ya go…

FRIDAY JULY 17th

Some of hip hip’s most acclaimed characters join forces for a hip-hop free style extravaganza. Serious talent on display tonight at Yugong Yishan including j-fever, itsogoo, Nasty Ray, and Jinzi & Dirtymoss. A who’s who of the hip hop scene. Converse shoes throw their hands into the pie again showcasing some of Beijing’s hottest talent at School including electronica outfit white +, psych poppers Gate to Otherside, and folk minstrel prog rockers The Harridans. Gonna be a rowdy one. Burn a pair of Converse and show your love. It’s a hardcore hoedown at Mao Livehouse with these up and coming hardcore hybrids including Chaos Kills The Pain, Last Resort, Return the Truth, Laisee, Tainjin transplants 641, and South Korean outfit Teddy Boys. Best do some cardio beforehand. Grunge, glam rock – it’s all rock n roll to Temple as they present Car Car Cars and Los Crasher for some mischievous fun. Ambient experimental artist Pare Ohm out of Aussieland hops into town for some gigs – he’ll be joined tonight at the chill literal ‘hole in wall’ Old What? by other offbeat soundsmiths three (trio with Wenliang, Dongxu, and Hadi) and Guijian. Let’s get weird with it!  A intriguing mix of hard rock, Mongolian folk rock, and blues at Mako Livehouse as Golden Melody Blues Artist of the Year Mizang joins up and coming Mongolain folk rock outfit Oska and acclaimed hard rock outfit OOC.  Get your fix of old-timey American finger picking blues with Zhanren at the cozy Jianghu Bar.

SATURDAY JULY 18th

New Maybe Mars rising stars Birdstriking and Chui Wan celebrate their first American tours with a special showcase at Yugong Yishan that also doubles as the vinyl rerelease of Birdstrking’s debut. They’ve had a good year you could say. They’re joined by one of this year’s best newcomers, melodic indie rockers The Eat. Better late than never. Dance punk trio Heat Mark celebrate the physical release of their debut EP at School with a little help of their friends, indie rockers Elenore and L-Gentlemen. Youthful rocking we’ll be doing. Blues revisonists rock outfit Hoochie Coochie Gentlemen, veterans of the scene, celebrate the release of their latest album with a special Jianghu Bar showcase. Cold Neo brings the show on the road for a two day fest across Beijing and Tianjin — catch a slew of up and coming post rockers tonight at Mako Livehouse including SNSOS, Spin Axis, Cat’s Jest, The Grinding Ear, and The 16 Floor. Powerful melodic alternative rock trio 16 mins, fresh off the release of their debut hit up Caravan for some late night saucy fun. Long standing psych blues jazz rockers Wu & The Side Effects, fronted by the ever charismatic Wu hit up Temple like it ain’t no thing. Metal! Metal Get down and grimy with the metal kids at Mao Livehouse as Dream Spirit, N & Y, Dark Haze, Ephemerality, Nouerman, and Renegade look to keep the floor shaking, and the heads banging. Australian ambient experimental artist Pare Ohm joins folk punk duo Little Punk and t6 (the awesome combo of thruoutin and Noise666) at fRUITYSHOP. Tap your feet to the gypsy jazz stylings of the Hot Club of Beijing at the ever cool as a cucumber DDC.

SUNDAY JULY 19th

For the weekend, Cold Neo promoters team up with vintage fair Kill Shop for some good ol’ shop frenzy and live music holiday at Mako Livehouse. Music kicks off at 3pm each day with sets from The Twenties, Hulu Boyz, Los Crasher, Foggy Notions, L-Gentlemen, Rosewood Bullet, and Sofa. Indie rock outfit Jiubei swings through School on its nation wide tour. Get loud this Sunday evening with a metal showcase at Mao Livehouse featuring Dengel, Ready To Die, Bloody Woods, and Summon Soul.