Big in Beijing: Nick Frisch Reports

Want proof that your club is hot? How about a surprise show from a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer. That’s just what happened at Beijing’s D-22 (242 Chengfu Lu, Beijing; +86 6265 3177) this Friday night. And it’s just another sign that the city’s up-and-coming music scene is starting to be taken seriously (no, make that super-seriously) on the international level.
 
Museyon Guide Nick Frish writes in with the scoop from the Beijing Music Festival — full of surprise shows and super-cool lineups. Genre-bending New Yorkers Bang on a Can were in town for an official booking at the festival, but showed up at D-22 for a surprise show. Then Hometown Hero Xiao He took the stage, ditching his guitar for a laptop and keeping the crowd rapt, reports Frisch.

 

Want to hear it for yourself? You’ll soon be able to catch Xiao He Stateside. He’s playing a series of NYC shows from November 3-8 — starting with a performance with fellow Museyon favorites Carsick Cars at powerHouse Arena (37 Main St., Brooklyn; 718-666-3049) — before embarking on a U.S. tour with stops in D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago and more. For more info check out myspace.com/pekingxiaohe. For more on Bang on a Can visit bangonacan.org/events/upcoming, for updates on their current international tour, which stops in Shanghai, Scotland, Portugal and more.

 

 
photos by Nick Frisch