Mark it down, kids. First concert casualty of the Year of the Monkey is Japanese noise artist Ryosuke Kiyasu's Shanghai shows, all of which have been canceled. The Sete Star Sept drummer is in China on a solo tour with shows booked in Shanghai, Beijing, and beyond -- yeah, it's not turning out so hot.

From our man on the inside, MP3 Monday chief grammar abuser, Sacco:

"Both tonight's Space-631 show featuring Ryosuke Kiyasu and Saturday's show at Basement6 have been canceled. The *COUGH-COUGH-COUGH* have made it clear the venue(s) would get in trouble if they hosted the Japanese-Canadian's experimental drumming performance. His Hangzhou show last Tuesday was also canceled...

While the *COUGH-COUGH-COUGH* seem to let hundreds of bands / performers slip through without proper performance visas [they have shown themselves in the past] to be very strict about any type of Japanese musician coming over, as we saw with Acid Mother Temple last year."

Harsh buzzes, all around.