Have you ever had so many events to check out in one weekend that you lose your power of omnipresence? Well, this looks to be one of those weekends. The only problem is that recently the Computer Gods got a bit dizzy (or it could have been also a solar storm. Who knows what it was really?), affecting all the electronic brains at Layabozi. We also chose this week to move to our new server, so it’s not all the fault of the gods of computers or the sun. The point is, it has taken a large amount of energy to reach this point, and more importantly we will need more energy to be ready to have fun. The good thing is the energy one produces is free and mostly infinite–while we are alive, of course. Anyway, I think I’ll need some extra help from friends and caffeine to survive this weekend.

So, spicy ducks from the musical lands of Shanghai and the world: this weekend we have some not-to-be-forgotten music we want to recommend to you.

Friday – Switch On “Electronic Sounds and Visuals from Switzerland and China” at Absolute House – Produced by Micro, this is an event you should not miss if you are into electronic sounds. Switch On showcases artists from Switzerland and China who are active at the interface of electronic music and related visual arts. The artists at the control table will be: Ben Huang, Bang Goes, Cheesebeat, Galoppierende Zuversicht, Larytta, Sonja Moonear, Strotter Inst. & Flo Kaufmann, Tootekool, and 8gg. The expectations are high for this event. Layabozi likes that. Entrance is 60 Rmb.

Friday – The Shelter first Anniversary – Usually Shelter is one of my last stops. You know, once the underground catacombs suck you in, it is difficult to leave. We should write a long one about Shelter’s first year (we will) but for now, suffice it to say we are thankful for every venue with taste in music. Partying is fun, no doubt, but many have forgotten that a party without good music is near the lands of disgrace. Wishing long life to music in Shelter tonight is DJ Babu, bringing Hip Hop to the house. Entrance is 60 Rmb.

Saturday – STD: Hedgehog Live at Yuyintang – People say a lot about this band and it all sounds very good. Here at Layabozi, we are a bit ashamed to say we haven’t checked them out yet, but we’ll do it: this Saturday at YYT. Added to all the good things we have heard about Hedgehog, there is another reason to join them this Saturday: Boys Climbing Ropes is the support act. When I last saw them the only thing I knew for sure was that I had to hear them again, so here we go. And last and certainly not least, it will be the birthday party of the always charming Super Sophia, one of the faces of YYT. Layabozi will bring a bag of spicy duck necks specially for Sophia’s birthday. If you love music, you have to love spicy duck necks, right? Entrance is 40 RMB.

Saturday – The Dropkicks & Liam O’Sullivan at LOgO – The Dropkicks are a French-Japanese dish of punk rock ‘n’ roll; they will be followed by Benjamin, an acoustic pop solo-singer already known to LOgO’s stage. DJ Liam O’Sullivan is served for dessert, with a house set to say good bye to the Shanghai tables and part of Shanghai. Free entrance, as usual.

Saturday – Club NOTCH “Festival of Tomorrow AudioVisual Today” at Tango – The promo says: “Exploring all things musical, NOTCH is venturing deep into club-land with its newly spawned ‘Club NOTCH’ project. In search of some of the newest, most upfront dance music in the world, we have found our answer in Norwegian record label Full Pupp’s very own Blackbelt Andersen and Magnus International, representatives of this fresh wave of nu-disco electronic dance music.” Entrance is 60 Rmb (it’s becoming the usual fee, it seems). I really don’t know what to say about this, but it seems interesting and worth a look.

Saturday – Free the Wax: “HARMONIC 313 (Warp Records) – Live DJ Set” at The Shelter – A Free the Wax and Subculture collaboration. The Free the Wax dudes are saying: “In China for the very first time, expect this one-of-a-kind musician to take The Shelter by storm in a Live 2-hour set of deeply emotional and twisted sounds that will blow the galactic frequencies off everyone’s grooving axis.” Free the Wax have already proven their musical credentials, and when they say you should check something out they are usually right. So there we’ll be. Entrance… 50 Rmb!

We’ve got all this, not to mention the steady gig at House of Blues and Jazz with the great blues man Sam Hooper and his very solid band. And there’s always JZ, Cotton Club with Sugar Mama, and Gipsy Jazz at Blues Room, and …