Autobots, Deploy!

Last night my friends' band, Autobots, Deploy! (or have they dropped the exclamation mark?), played a show at Jiangjinjiu Bar next to the Drum and Bell Tower. Clip below.



And here they are at:

• Tun (open mic... band's debut of Squarepusher's "Iambic 9 Poetry")
  
  
  
  
• What Bar
• D-22
• Mao Livehouse

Also see: Hao Yunyu Band at Jiangjinjiu.

Punk music in Beijing, and introducing Autobots, Deploy!

What Bar, located just northwest of Tiananmen and whose name has induced more than a few Abbott and Costello acts, doesn't get lots of press, so like many small bars trying to lure in an extra customer or two, it turns to live music. A couple weeks ago, another one of my friends' bands, Autobots, Deploy!, played at What Bar to a crowd of friends.



What made the night really cool, however, were the punk acts that went on before and after Autobots (most definitely not a punk band). The music was loud, furious and expressive, something you don't often get in China. Video below.



For more about punk in China, see here and here.

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Open mic at Tun Bar in Sanlitun

I'm not the biggest fan of Tun Bar, nestled deep in an alley off Sanlitun South St. -- the servers are a bit pushy, lingering next to your side to get you to buy buy buy, and the sound quality ranges from bad to unbearable -- but my musician friends seem to like playing there, so occasionally I go. Kevin Reitz and Jeff Orcutt, two guys who have their own labels on this blog, were there this past Tuesday (open mic night) and did a sweet rendition of Squarepusher's Iambic 9 Poetry. Here they are:


And the original: