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!

Remember the End of the World in December? Conrank last month? Halloween at Moon? The Toga Party last September? In case you're oblivious enough not to have noticed, they were all Heavy Flow parties!

That's right.

Hard drinking, hard dancing, hardly remembering. That's what Chongqing's only recurring dance party has to offer and this Saturday should be no exception, despite the rough weekend awaiting everyone needing to make up for the Labor Day holiday...

But let's overlook the lapse in logic requiring people to give up their day off to make up for another day off and let's turn up to work hungover on Sunday, ready to screw up every task and maybe throw up in a garbage can.
Let's get retro, people, with DJ's Mr Weed and Mr Fitz spinning 70's and 80's disco, hip hop, dance, rock, new wave and one-hit wonders wonders wonders! Tickets are only 20元, 10元 if you get dressed up 70's and 80's style!

This Saturday April 27th 21:00
At Nuts Club: Shazhong Lu (near the corner of Hanyu Lu), 300m down from the South Gate of Chongqing University in Shapingba district.
沙坪坝沙中路重大A区南门下行300米（汉渝路交叉口）

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.

Teacher, student, slacker or expat-package bigshot, everyone is given a couple of days every week where they let themselves believe they’re in control. You call those the weekend (even on mondays) and on the weekend you should have fun, right ?

Now we’ve already made it clear how much contempt we have for the Jiefangbei lifestyle : clubs clubs clubs, the outside bar, get laid, repeat. Unfortunately, this lack of imagination seems all too common, as if five days of work in a row were enough to stifle the inquisitive spirit and desire to explore that brought you all here (supposedly)… 

Meet Keith Gardiner and Kevin Kreitz, longtime residents of Jiefangbei and, as you can imagine, pretty much over the whole club scene. A few years ago, they decided to actually get in touch with their surroundings. The stories of the outings that ensued are sure to summon back some of that adventurous spirit you had at first, long since castrated by fake Chivas and neon lights.

Last Tuesday, CQScene followed them on a boat trip down the river. Jolly Roger to the wind, bandanas on our heads and slingshot ready to inflict minimal damage, Jialing Pirates we…

"We bought the raft on a whim, about 4 years ago, from an outdoor store in JFB that has since been converted into a baby clothing store. If i had to buy one these days I'd just buy it on taobao." says Keith to explain the origins of this wild ride. Kevin continues : “We tried to get to that island on the Chang Jiang but our paddles broke halfway, we panicked and rushed back to shore. We hadn’t really used the boat since…”    

Three weeks ago, however, they decided to haul it up to Shuangbei station, on the newly finished section of the red line that now goes all the way to University City, and float down slowly to… uh… wherever.

That day, they drifted for five hours. That’s the time it takes to make it from the back end of Ciqikou (yeah the taxi driver that took them to the shore didn’t know a closer spot) to Huanghuayuan bridge in Yuzhong district. They had caught the boating bug.

Last week, they took me to Dazhulin station on line 6 (the new pink line), where there’s absolutely nothing to see. We hopped on a taxi and asked a guy with a dog (no one would bring a dog there if they didn’t live in the area) how to get to the river. An eight kuai ride took us through the Jingke construction site and almost to the shore. We inflated the boat and were on our way.

An hour or so into the journey, we realized how quickly our resources, a 24-pack of Shancheng, garlic peanuts and some guazi, would get depleted. This “journalist”, not knowing any better, had only brought a bottle of jingjiu and one miserable mixer to the party. “You don’t go on a five-hour boat ride with one bottle of jingjiu !” Keith berated me, so sure enough, we had to stop somewhere to fill up.    

A weird twist of fate occured as we approached the shore. Two weeks before, the Pirates had twice run into an english speaking middle-aged man whilst exploring abandonned factories in Shuangbei. He had worked on cargo ships, been around the world and was now down to his underwear, getting ready to go for a swim right where we had chosen to stop…

Knowing there was a trustworthy dude around to watch the boat, we went up to Lahongzui Yuzhuang (辣红嘴鱼庄), the two-floor restaurant with a wide terrace we had spotted from upriver. Was it the shock of seeing three foreigners come up for jingjiu or was it simply the generous nature of the boss, we’ll never know, but we managed to get a massive discount on the three bottles we bought without even trying to haggle. Mission accomplished, so with a reinflated raft, the trip continued.    

Quickly after that, we almost met our doom under a Shuangbei bridge nearing completion, when a giant steel pole fell from above and landed at least twenty meters away from us. Nevermind.

Next we ended up in Ciqikou, where we boarded a restaurant ship, commandeered their bathroom and sailed back out, our bellies full of liangmian. With the river currents dramatically slowing down after that, it took us at least two more hours to reach Shimen bridge but boring it was not.

Danger reared its head one last time as we drifted under Gaojiahuayuan bridge. The river police approached, slowed down and… just sorta waved at us, gave the boat a little shake and kept going. Pleasant.

As the Pirates put it, it’s kind of like sitting on a couch drinking beer all day, it's just that the scenery keeps evolving…

Couch flotilla anyone ?    

Pro tips for a fulfilling city life in Chongqing…

1-Be the first to find stuff

Keith : “Back when we first found out about Cici Park, we didn’t want anyone else to know, because we were certain it would go downhill if they did, and sure enough, it’s not what it used to be.”

While Kevin doesn’t agree with that last statement, one must admit any place is better when it’s fresh. Keep your discoveries for yourself (at least for a while) and you can always say you did something before it was cool. Sound familiar ?

2-Take a bus/train/subway to nowhere

The Pirates used to take a bus to wherever every Monday, this tradition took them whitewater rafting in Pengshui, bungee jumping in Tongjing and blacking out in numerous locations, among other things. Now, with the ever-expanding subway network, they pinpoint a station and explore the area. It’s a gamble and you might end up in a shitty technopark (hint : don’t go to Guangdianyuan on the pink line), but the more you try, the better your chance of finding the next Gongrencun…

3-Don’t drink where everyone else drinks

We get it, you like people and you want to be where other laowai are. But you’re in China, mix in a little ! No city is quite like Chongqing when it comes to nooks and crannies. Find your own and really choose who you drink with.

4-“Be the change you want to see in the world” –Kevin (or Gandhi)

If the rafting story isn’t proof enough, think barbecue parties on isolated Yangtze river islands, camping on Nanshan, construction site bonfires downhill from the ‘Bei or kickass block parties all around the city…

It's that time of year again! If Mother Nature is on our side, we'll be throwing the same kickass block party we threw last year: burgers, carne asada, beer, music and RUSTY NAILS a drink proposed by our friends at the Whisky Society meant to rival the ubiquitous Turbo Shandy this summer!
Bring your friends, musical instruments and best manners (no, maybe not that) and come down to the Chicken Lady corner, right downstairs from Helen's in Gongrencun (Shapingba district), Monday April 8th starting at 4:00PM!

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!

If you’re like us, you can’t get enough of Chinese indie music and you want to know more, find out when the good shows are and sample songs before spending 40 kuai on bands you’ver never heard…

Now you may not have been here long enough to read chinese and you don’t have Google Chrome to give you instant translation. How the hell, then, are you going to gather the patience and courage to navigate through pages and pages of incomprehensible characters for a lone miserable sample song ? You could quit your whining, for one thing, realize where you are and learn some chinese.

But you’re not going to do that that.

That’s fine, let’s just get on with it.

Douban is the website you need for all things music in China. Venues and bands mostly, but there’s also movie pages, individuals, clubs… it goes on and on. We thought it would be useful for you to get a few pointers on how to use it. Dig.

Venue pages :

This is the main page for Nuts Club (site.douban.com/nutsclub), likely to be the one you’ll visit the most. To get to its calendar, simply click on the tab circled right here. Other venues, like Bystreet 16 (site.douban.com/bystreet16), have their events on the main page.

From there, you can access the individual event page, which always has a few links at the bottom. Find the artist page and go to the next step…

Artist page :

To sample the music, find something that looks like this :

If it’s not on the main page, browse through the tabs at the top, it should be there somewhere...

We know this guide might not be very useful to you, since you've already worked it out using that brilliant logical mind of yours, but if it gets you on douban, sampling music and keeping up to date with the artists coming to Chongqing, our job is done…

Hey Chongqing, we're going through some changes here at CQScene and we're ready to unveil a small one for you today! In an effort to make all the cool bars, restaurants and events we post here more accessible to you, we started working on a small listings section. It's not much, but the essentials are there and we will be updating daily. If you have any location you want us to put up, let us know in the comments. We'll be glad to oblige!
For now, all you have to do is type a few keywords in the search bar on the main page. Examples: bar, restaurant, cafe or the name of the place you're looking for. You can also put in the name of your district and search from there...

The results will appear as if you were searching for articles, look for the ones marked “Location”. They all contain directions, a dropoff point for your taxi driver and a short review if you don't know what to expect... Simply open the link and copy everything on your smartphone, you rich bastard.

The European Championship is upon us, and with a number of places to watch it CQSCENE took it upon ourselves to highlight a few good spots to take in all the action.  

1. Li Dan Bar(not real name) on Hanyu Lu(just up the hill a bit from the traffic light) in Shapingba.  With good AC, comfortable seating, and plenty of TVs and a projector, this lesser known spot is a great place to watch England lose to France! 

2.  Just down the road from Li Dan, Da Rasta will be showing all matches live on a projector, and replays of the previous night's matches starting at 19:00

3.  The JW Marriot in Jefangbei is offering ¥98 for free-flow beer during all live matches.

4.  If you're made fo gold, then The Harp Irish pub in HongYaDong will gladly take your first-born for a beer.  And they might even show the football.

5.  And for a less traditional route, True Color club will be showing the matches too a soundtrack of blaring electro-house!