After being forced to temporarily shut down as it resolved its “licensing issues,” D-22 was back with its usual bang on Saturday night, bringing out an A-list of young indie bands to celebrate its return to the Beijing night life.

Punk band on the rise Rustic got the night off to a raucous start, kicking and screaming their way through a short, tight set. Fellow openers Linga, were by far the most smartly dressed band of the night and nearly stole the whole show with their confident swagger and pulsing, Interpol-like songs.

If Linga had the male mosh-pitters going wild, the next act, The Scoff, definitely had the female audience members in equal hysterics. Outfitted in the tightest jeans this side of the 70s, lead singer Jack Lee belted out his best Jim Morrison impression, while guitar hero Jack Pai confidently rocked his No Country For Old Men-esque helmet hair.

Casino Demons got everyone back into full riot mode and when one particularly dazed crowd surfer sliced his hand open, instead of crying for help, he simply whipped off his sweat-soaked Ramones t-shirt, wrapped it around his gushing fist, and threw himself headlong back into the pit. Very rock and roll.

But there was no doubt who the stars of this night were. Labeled China’s boozy version of The Libertines, Joyside owned every inch of the D-22 stage. Despite the blistering summer heat and impotent puff of the wall fans, the audience packed into the building, eager, desperate even, to see Joyside play. Lead singer Bian Yuan lived up to his reputation as the most charismatic frontman in the land, strutting around on stage like a proud peacock (apt, given the feather tucked into his back pocket). By the time they wrapped up at around 2:30am, there wasn’t a dry seat in the house – and scarcely any man with their shirt still on.

Overall, it was a great night of and for live music. Welcome back, D-22, we missed you.