Noise Pollution: Default, Purgatory, Clover, Xi Festival, Shanghai Qiutian, Zhou Yunpeng, Division Control, 6501

It’s Mayday boys and girls! Five straight days of no-frills entertainment courtesy of our fine capital city, so best make some time for a bit of live music. If you managed to snag a ticket for Strawberry Festival, good on you. For the rest of us, there’s still plenty to dig your teeth into, from heartfelt math-rock anthems to adventurous club music that'll have your head reeling. So without further ado, the music scene’s finest offerings this holiday!

Friday, Apr 30

Default 缺省, Wonder Sea 出海部, The Brownie Band 布朗尼 at Yue Space

Rising indie-rock heavyweights join forces over at Yue Space for an emotional gut-punch of shoegaze, post-rock, city pop, and spirited indie pop. Leading the way are Beijing shoegaze outfit Default, who transformed before our very ears on last year's bold and surprising new EP Can You Hear The Whistle Blow?. Joining them are fellow Beijingers Wonder Sea, whose debut release last year saw the emo-inflected post-rockers breaking through, alongside multi-national Asian fusion pop band Brownie, who favor a tight-knit funk-driven, jazz-riffing indie-pop sensibility that shows off both the band’s innate melodic charm as well as their chops. 8.30pm. RMB 150/180

Su Zixu苏紫旭 & The Paramecia at Tango

Su returns to the stage with a vengeance and plenty on his mind in the form of his new release, Once Upon A Time On Luni Farm, recorded over a month-long period in Zhuhai last spring. The deep and rustic-voiced singer is known for blending impromptu instrumental and world music, taking the best of Eastern and Western musical concepts, using guitars, vocals, flute, and cello accompaniment, plus Indian musical instruments to create a unique experience for all. He'll be bringing the whole gang over to Tango for a special performance. 8.30PM. RMB 150

Black Mint 黑薄荷, Ghetto Blaster 大音炮, Healing Hands 妙手回, Under The Neon 霓虹之下, Three Kings 老K蛋 at WeSpace

No holds barred rock and roll over at 751 D-Park as WeSpace hosts an array of bands with little to no regard for subtlety, just the way we like it. Rising rock and roll stars Three Kings – hailing from Taiyuan – bring their rustic and earnest sound, with shades of surf rock, post-punk, ska, and more, alongside riotous blues-rockers Ghetto Blaster, gut-busting metal riff-filled J-rock outfit Under The Neon, veteran classic rock hitmakers Black Mint, and indie rockers Healing Hands. 8pm. RMB 80/100

Purgatory 炼狱, Empty Eyes, Purple Hell紫冥, Crimson Flag 赤旗 at Mei Live

Nothing like blood-curdling shrieks, thundering drums, and face-melting guitar riffs to kick off your holiday. The newly minted Mei Live in Xidan pays tribute to the fine ladies representing the metal scene with a hard-hitting lineup featuring death metal band Empty Eyes, thrash metal vets Crimson Flag, and melodic metal outfits Purgatory and Purple Hell. 7.30pm. RMB 100/120

Dressed to Kill 剃刀边缘, Execution 处决, Mr. Lizard  蜥蜴先生 at UFO Space

Dust off that leather jacket and head on down to Sihui where UFO Space is celebrating those who get their kicks from fast licks, tight jeans, and rock and roll that isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty. Thrash metal is the name of the game with some of the scene’s finest like Dressed to Kill, Execution, and Mr. Lizard, looking to spill a little blood and get those hormones moving. Drink discounts for those who bring their own leather. 9pm. RMB 80/100

Clover, Liane Halton at nugget café

Nugget café keeps it low-key with an evening of acoustic delights, courtesy of alt-rock singer-songwriter Clover who’ll be joining South African classical guitar maverick and singer Liane Halton. 9pm. RMB 60/70

Saturday, May 1–Wednesday, May 5

Xi Festival at Longfu Cultural Center

The Xi Festival – a five-day "explosion of arts and culture" – featuring a fruitful array of DJs, musicians, artists, designers, entrepreneurs, and creatives on the rooftop of Longfu Cultural Center is what Mayday Holiday is all about. With an indoor and outdoor stage and over 60 Beijing-based acts taking the stage, it’s truly a feast for both the eyes and ears. Read up on the details here.

Saturday, May 1

Shanghai Qiutian, thruoutin at School

Shanghai Qiutian, whose invigorating, sweeping, and playfully tender arrangements have enraptured fans for years, returned early this year with their double LP release, Home: Revolution, putting them on just about everyone's radar. The math-rock outfit excels at winding, earnest, and expertly crafted songs whose emotions ring loud and true. There’s serenity at the core of the band’s sound – captured brilliantly by the acoustic ornamentation and the warm-hued vocalizations – which seem tailor-made for a singalong. The band is in town on their nationwide tour, with support from local electronic producer and multi-instrumentalist, thruoutin. 8.30pm. RMB 100

Hyph11E, Swimful, Howell, Slowcook, Luxixi at ZjhaoDai

Coinciding with the eighth anniversary of pinnacle Shanghai electronic label, SVBKVLT – known for their diverse and innovative sounds and their evolutionary roster of acts that are kinetic, savage, and defiant in their audacity – continue their trek across China with a stop at ZhaoDai. For the trip, they’ll have Hype11e – known for her tightly wound club floor fever dreamscapes that are as bombastic as they are fluid in their carnivalesque sound design – and Swimful, with his neon-spiked, emotionally-fraught ambiance and luscious futuristic melodies. Also on the bill will be label head Howell and guest spots from Slowcook and Luxixi. 10pm.

Ghostnote+, The Prozax 百忧解, Yu Zijun 余梓桾 X Zhang Ziwei 张子薇, The Shark 大逃鲨, One Day Winner 一日赢家 at Mei Live

Indie electronic outfit Ghostnote+ bring their slick 90s pop invoking sound to Mei Live alongside an eclectic group of acts including emo-core band The ProzaX, folk-tinged rock duo Yu Zijiun & Zhang Ziwei, newly formed J-rock outfit The Shark, and pop-punks One Day Winner. Really all over the place genre-wise, but therein lies the beauty. 8pm. RMB 100/150/180

Sunday, May 2

Zhou Yunpeng 周云蓬 at Jianghu Bar

The folk singer, guitarist, and poet Zhou Yunpeng became blind at the age of 9. Since beginning his musical career in 1994, he’s released five studio albums and several books of poetry. He’s received several awards for both his music and his written work. One of the best – catch him give an intimate show at Jianghu Bar. 9pm. RMB 200

D.C, Wong Young 王阳明, Haiti Blank 海地空白, Aream 骤醒 at School

School keeps the indie love going with a fresh bill of post-punk, grunge, and post-rock. Leading the charge is rising Tianjin post-punks Division Control  – aka D.C – whose bombastic and high-wire sets, led by its devilishly madcap frontman, are a sight to behold. Joining the fun are distortion-loving grunge artist Wong Young, brooding shoegaze-inflected instrumental rockers Haiti Blank, and the more sprawling post-rock outfit Aream. A lot of new names and a lot of new potential. 9pm. RMB 80/100

Tuesday, May 4

An Empty City at Yue Space

Guitar riffs that tear through your psyche, bone-curling vocals that don’t hold back, and a sound that’s richly detailed in its abrasiveness yet never distracting, Guangzhou’s An Empty City is metalcore done right. While flickering elements of progressive metal, post-hardcore, and electronica keep them poised on the edge of a knife, it’s the band’s steadfast pursuit of bone-crushing melodies that helps them endure. Catch them tonight at Yue Space with their fellow metalcore brethren Scarlet Horizon. 8.30pm. RMB 100/120

Auburn 赤褐色, WHAI, Pizza Face, Kenja Time at Omni Space

Cold Neo teams up with Vibez for a sexy little holiday showcase featuring everything from indie-pop to prog-rock – sounds to soothe you and sounds to shake you loose. On the docket, indie rock darlings Auburn, whose years on the grind paid off last month with their killer debut LP, full of sweeping bittersweet Britpop-infused anthems. Joining them will be everyone’s favorite psych prog-rock group WHAI and their heavy, offbeat brand of psychedelic rock and roll, plus rabble-rousers and genre-terrorizers PizzaFace, and up and coming indie kids Kenja Time. 8pm. RMB 100/150

Wednesday, May 5

6501 at CloudNine

Unshakeable, intense, sharp, dark, experimental, calm, introverted, direct – no matter what kind of reaction you have, you’ll be strongly impacted by 6501 – a rooted and swift guitar, bass, and drums trio from Xinjiang that’s making their way across China (6501 being the first four digits of Urumqi ID numbers). The band – made up of seasoned pros who have found musical avant-garde freedom with 6501 – released their newest album last week on Modern Sky’s more offbeat and rowdy Badhead Records – always a plus in my book. 8.30pm. RMB 120/150

Rocking Doctor 怪医咆哮团, TY23, Hangnail 倒刺, The Brewers at School

No frills rock and roll over at School Bar closes out the holiday, as up-and-comers The Brewers – who specialize in Oi! punk – join forces with sharp-edged street punks Hang Nail, hard rock metal outfit Rocking Doctor, and electro-rock troupe TY23. Nothing more, nothing less. Get after it. 9pm. RMB 80/100

READ: Gallery Weekend Beijing Brings Domestic and International Creators to the Capital, Apr 27-May 2

Images: Shanghai Qiutian, courtesy of the organizers