That's right, it's out! Go get it at all the usual cool places! Here's the breakdown real quick: Cold Cave is playing Nuts this Friday (May 3rd), with The Maples to support. If you can't go on Friday, check out party punk band The On Fires the day before, supporting band's the same... Trivia Night is now on Tuesdays and it's at Cliff's! Fans of Da Rasta's Pub Quiz will hopefully flock to this one from now on... The Flea Market is back this month (May 20th - location to be determined), so bring your old crap and see if anyone wants it. If you need some old crap to redecorate, then you should come too! Mr. Chelonian (海龟先生) is our featured band this month, come check out their rock and reggae stylings at Nuts on the 25th! Top party this month: JCC from Guangzhou is doing her farewell tour, stopping by Nuts on the 31st! Add Comment  Get to Sigongli on the blue line, take a taxi up to Youdian Daxue (Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications) and that’s it. Yeah it sounds easy but most people wouldn’t bother. And that’s a shame. Youdian seems to be something of a rock college, with a crazy amount of bands and the groupies who love them all living in close quarters, isolated in the mountains. If you get dropped in front of the main gate of the university, dining and drinking options abound. From nice teahouses to shoddy street food, everything is within walking distance. And as soon as you venture too far away, sweet fuckall. In a back alley across from the gate, you’ll find Hitle Pub, which we are told has nothing to do with the famous Austrian painter and orator, Steve Hitler. Perfect for an ironic night out. Better yet, if you walk down the small street lined with food stalls, fruit merchants and hotpots (on the left hand side of the giant sculpture fronting the school), you’ll be rewarded with what may be the coolest, indiest place to be in the city. WWPW, is a name that doesn’t roll on your tongue, but try to remember it. The first floor is but a simple bar with three tables while the second floor has a full drum set, a few amps and barely enough space for 20 concertgoers to stand. Top that with an intimate lounge on the third floor and you get three different vibes for the price of one. We had a chance to experience the Youdian Daxue rock n’ roll living as The Maples, whom we’ve been following with great interest lately, were playing with four other bands on a Friday some two weeks ago. A free show, mind you, these Nanshan guys don’t believe in tickets. We got to see some familiar acts, like Disorder, Number 2 Story and their spinoff project Doctor D, as well as young unknowns like Amelyz Diamond and The Day Shift. Had the music sucked, the young’uns in the house would’ve still enjoyed themselves, but suck it did not. When some of the most promising musicians in town exchange banter and crude chongqinghua taunts with a sdown-as-fuck crowd between songs, you know you’ve stumbled into a real good show. Don’t expect WWPW to give you too much of a heads up for events, just turn up on a weekend and hope for the best… And hey, there’s always Hitle.  That's right, big week indeed and it starts today! Monday the 15th is the beginning of the end for Da Rasta and they're putting together a flea market of sorts, with folks coming to buy and sell their stuff. It will also be a chance for you to leave with some Rasta history, as the owners are letting go of everything, breathing a sigh of relief and moving on to other adventures... Da Rasta was the first foreign-owned dive bar in Chongqing and will be closing after more than two years of operation. To leave y'all with good memories, they'll be doing one last Movie Night on Tuesday (we're told Sexy & Wacky will be the theme), one last Trivia Night on Thursday and one last blowout on Saturday the 20th, starting a few minutes after 4pm. BBQ as usual, big kegs of beer and a buttload of baijiu, come say bye in style to the little bar that could... Now if we say “big week”, we can't be just talking about Rasta right? Right you are! Thursday is also the Chongqing station of Russian reggae star Steppa Style's China tour. We are told by people in the know that Steppa's not only a singer but also a kickass reggae DJ, he will be bringing stuff like this to Nuts Club. Check it. Other than the lack of advertising savvyness of the promoters, we know very little about the Water Rouge show that's opening on Thursday at Hongyadong's Bayu Theater, but it will be around long enough for us to have a look later. Nevertheless, if you're into the high arts rather than the arts high, check out this all-European troupe perform “water dancing”... Shanghai DJ/producer NiChiFanLeMei on Friday, read here. And some rock-infused hip hop on saturday with CMCB, more details later... Lazy entry over. Big week yo.  That's right, our april calendar is out! Our recommendations for this month are: Queen Sea Big Shark at Nuts on Friday the 5th, 20:30. Check out the CQFC battle it out with the CQ Lifan for the Chongqing Derby, Saturday the 6th, 15:30 at the Yuanjiagang stadium. Monday the 8th starting in the late afternoon is the Annual Gongrencun Block Party, bring your instruments and come chill with us downstairs from Helen's, at the shaokao area. Burgers and Meizijiu punch on offer! Nuts is having a Punk Fest Saturday the 13th at 12:30 with a skate competition and eight bands, local and from out of town. A Flea Market is going down at Rasta on Monday the 15th in the afternoon, come buy and sell stuff, cold beer in your hand! Russian reggae star Stepa Style is hitting Nuts on Thursday the 18th at 20:30, but if you're more the highbrow type, “water dancing” show Water Rouge is opening on the same night at Hongyadong's Bayu Theater. Thursday the 25th is a Whisky Society open tasting at Easigar on Beibin Lu. 150元, 250元 if you want your whisky with a cigar... and... On Saturday the 27th check out the latest edition of HEAVY FLOW!!! This time, we're doing a 70's/80's throwback for the annual RETRO PARTY with DJs Afanti and Goodweed. Tickets 20元, only 10元 if you show up wearing 70's and 80's style clothes! The calendar will be available at every bar, café or venue that's cool enough to have it. Start looking!  indie/noise-pop band Hedgehog I've been planning on writing this since early March when I first saw this month's event calendar at Nuts Club. It is rare that I get genuinely excited for shows(concerts) since moving to Chongqing, and a weekend full of excitable performances is near unheard of. For over a month I've been thinking about what to say, and how to convince the faithful few of you to get off your asses and check out some of the best bands China has to offer. And for over a month I have put it off, knowing that more often than not, my words fall on empty ears, and yet another night(or in this case 3) will pass, and great talents will go unheard. Until now, roughly 3 hours before the weekend's live music extravaganza kicks off, and the guilt of not sharing my knowledge of said talents is settling in. I know that regardless of what I say, it doesn't really matter. You may read this, and think, "oh cool, there actually is something exciting happening on Chongqing for once. Maybe I'll go see what this 'Nuts Club' is all about." But chances are, you won't. Despite the fact that China's most revered indie-pop band, and participants in last fall's prestigious CMJ music week in New York CIty, Hedgehog will be playing tonight, you'll probably stick to the same old song and dance, be it Cotton club, The Harp, KTV, 88, or any of a number of the monotonous nightlife options this cits has to offer. And Hedgehog, is just the tip of the iceberg, for Saturday and Sunday's bands are easily the most popular of China's indie contingency.  garage/dance rock band QSBS Saturday brings the hottest ticket in the country to our fog filled city, in the form of Queen Sea Big Shark. Playing to sold out crowds of foreigners and locals alike, and fresh off a showing at Austin's South by Southwest(SXSW) music festival, this garage/dance rock outfit's reputation for high-energy, charismatic live performances has been on the up and up for the past couple of years, and is showing no signs of slowing up. Being that this is their first showing in Chongqing, I expect the heads to be out in full force, dancing from the first note on through the encore.  Mongolian folk-rockers Hanggai And though QSBS is the hottest thing this side of the pacific, Sunday's act, Mogolian folk-rockers Hanggai, are no slouch. Their blend of traditional Mongolian music, including the infamous throat singing, played in a rock & roll(dare I say punk?) structure, has gained them praise around the world. Pitchfork.com, the website responsible for making Rolling Stone magazine all but obsolete, gave their album a rating of 8.0, better than both Radiohead's latest album and Jay-Z's greatest hits. Granted, live music is not for everyone, and even if it is your thing, maybe the styles of the three bands presented aren't up your alley. That being said, I've heard the ole, "there's nothing interesting going on in Chongqing," and "this city is soooo boring," more times than I'd care to, and if you're one of those people, and you fail to give these up and coming bands the slightest of chances, consider this a back handed bitch slap in your face.  tomorrow night all across the western world, children of all ages will take to the streets as alter egos on a quest for fun, fright, and of course, candy. Tomorrow night in China, chances are most children will be at home and the alter egos assumed by the adults. And as opposed to taking to the streets, chances are we'll take to a bar. China's 20-30 somethings have taken to Halloween, and turned it to to nothing more than a reason to party in costume, and we have evidence of this tomorrow in a night filled with options in this last weekend of "opt-tober." though every bar from Rong Chang to Jeifengbei will boast hosting a 'Halloween Party," there are three that are guaranteed to be a good time. At "The Singapore," in Shapingba, they're offering a set menu and all you can drink from 6 - 11 for as low as 135RMB(advanced purchase). At the Nuts Club(also in Shapingba) Fresh World Promotions presents some of CQ's best indie bands(no joke), as well as The after party with DJ Good Weed and DJ Nana. And at CiCi Park things will be a bit more kicked up with Chengdu's DJ Andy Mack, and co. | 
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