Free shows promise rocking good time

Beijing's small livehouse venues are a treasure trove of punk rock groups and some of these avant-garde bands play this weekend, for free.

Since their founding in 2001, the four-piece punk rock band Joyside have been offering a version of sleazy rock that has made them the most admired underground band in the city.

After releasing their debut album Drunk Is Beautiful, the band went on their first national tour, which was recorded by American filmmaker Kevin Fritz and turned into a documentary. Then they embarked on their Europe tour which became an episode in Beijing Bubbles, a documentary about the punk and rock scene in Beijing, made by Berlin filmmakers Susanne Messmer and George Lindt in 2006. The band has brought out five albums.