live talk:
Hot Tickets

2010-10

16 October The Fever Machine and Friends

If you like your music rough, with a touch of rock and a pinch of roll, tattoo this event onto your forehead. The Fever Machine are teaming up with Duck Fight Goose, Rainbow Danger Club and The Instigation to produce an evening of head-banging riffs and guaranteed air guitar. Stoners will unite for this face-melting evening of raw music at the intimate Yuyintang.

RMB 40. 9pm.Yuyintang, 851 Kaixuan Lu, near Yan'an Xi Lu.

17 October John Lennon Song Book by R.L.P.O.

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra will be bringing the John Lennon Song Book to the Shanghai Concert Hall this October. Buy your ‘Ticket to Ride’ and ‘Come Together’ with fellow fans for this Lennon inspired evening. No need to sit at home being a ‘Jealous Guy’ thinking ‘I Should Have Known Better’. ‘Yes It Is’ the event of the year, showcasing the Liverpudlian’s classic songs conducted by John Wilson with singers Mark Mcgann, Curtis Stigers and Claire Martin. Just ‘Imagine’.

RMB 80-1,380. 7.30pm. Shanghai Concert Hall, 523 Yan'an Dong Lu. Tel: 400 810 3721

23 October East Asia All Stars

They might not be football stars, but they do know how to put on one hell of a show. Hongkou Stadium is ground zero for the Asian Invasion as the East Asia All Stars are coming to town to celebrate the success of the Expo, and they’re gonna dazzle guests with their half of the continent’s finest moves and pipes. Crowds can worship at the feet of not one, but two of Hong Kong’s heavenly kings (Andy Lau, pictured, and Leon Lai), and Cantopop queens Miriam Yeung and Sammi Cheng will also be there, sceptres in hand.

RMB 280-1,280. 7.30pm. Hongkou Stadium, 444 Jiangwan Dong Lu. Tel: 400 810 3721

Festival TALK

Zebra Music Festival

image-left Three days of tree-hugging combined with an organised music event during the October Holiday? Sign me up. The Zebra Music Festival leaves its digs in Chengdu this year, heading to greener pastures in Hangzhou to spread their message of ‘Change for Easy Life’ to the residents of West Lake. The event will promote environmental action and encourage festival-goers to partake in healthy and sustainable lifestyles. An on-site exchange of goods that fit the festival’s theme will be on hand, to make that eco-friendly transition even easier. And if green isn’t your colour and you’re just in it for the music, Zebra has a great line-up for you too, including: Hedgehog (pictured), Monkey Pilot, Deserts Chang, Kelly Cha and Yu Fei Men, just to name a few.

RMB 120/single day, RMB 240/three-day pass (advance), RMB 150/single day, RMB 300/three-day pass. 2-4 October. Hangzhou Phoenix International Design Gardens. Tel: 400 818 3333. Web: http://hz.piaowutong.com

NO+CH

image-left Tall leggy blondes and Chinese folk will mingle at NO+CH, the Nordic and Chinese festival celebrating its fifth anniversary this month. The 2010 theme is ‘RE:PUBLIC’, a gentle encouragement for the two vastly different regions to come together and redefine the public space in fast-paced China. The event celebrates Chinese and Scandanavian musicians, designers and artists, so you can kill three birds with one stone. Expect workshops, symposiums and concerts that feature NO+CH’s futuristic audio visual theme alongside a soundtrack of Chinese indie dance pop and Finnish psychedelic electronic rock. Events will be held simultaneously in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.