Results tagged “bars”

CNNGo went around Shanghai's bars and clubs recently in a confusing article about air quality. Confusing namely because they said they're testing for the best and worst, but only six bars/clubs make the story and, really, the only one that got lambasted was The Shelter, which had a ppm ([thousand] parts per million of criteria pollutants) of 350. Regular air quality in Shanghai is 230 and the U.S. FDA says 150 is in the high end of the safe zone. Because we needed an air quality meter to tell us that it hurts to breathe in The Shelter. Anyway, apparently one of the best places to go for a breath of fresh air is Sin. But while your lungs will feel clean, can all the ventilation there stop your soul from feeling dirty?

• Xinhua has a fun little photo gallery about a cooking competition that was held to greet the Shanghai World Expo. [Xinhua]


• Speaking of food, do you spend money on food like Kanye spends time in the spotlight? Then step up to the challenge and try to get breakfast, lunch, and dinner all for under 25rmb. [Urbanatomy]


• Here’s an update on the adjustment of the one child policy. Due to revisions in the policy some families will be able to have more than one child. Check it out. [BBC]

Back in the day, before Tong Ren Lu became the predominant strip of seediness for Shanghai, we would cruise down Julu Lu and Maoming Lu for our dose of pointing at old expats trying to get laid (as well as some drinks and partying, of course). We went into a fit of depression when Maoming Lu lost its luster five or six years ago. And now we must bid goodbye to Julu Lu as well. Urbanatomy reports that the street is nothing but "hollow shells wallowing in clouds of asbestos dust" now, probably thanks to one of the city's many initiatives to clean itself up. New York lost part of its charm when those XXX theaters on Times Square closed. Is Shanghai going to be more boring from now on too?

OOOOH NOOO. Can we say worst idea ever?! Some Shanghai karaoke bars are considering putting commercials between songs as a way to get some extra moolah to pay for music royalties. The idea, as with most bad ideas relating to music, came from the very company entrusted by music copyright owners to collect royalties. At least the Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau has been skeptical, saying consumers can complain if they feel their interests are being violated by annoying ads during time they already paid for. Please, Partyworld and Haoledi: DON'T DO IT. Source: Shanghai Daily

A new Changning district bar will be rounding out a trifecta of cool places to go on Xinfu lu (the other two being, of course, established indie outposts LOgO and Anar): it's called DADA and it's the pet project of Antidote dude Michael Ohlsson.

It may be really dorky of us, but we love ourselves some pirates. No, really - we were dressing up in frocks and corsets and eye patches and talking about 1800s naval warfare loooong before Johnny Depp came around and made it cool. So when we found out that a pirate-themed rum bar had opened up literally around the corner from our apartment, we nearly gagged from our glee.

The next Shanghaiist Happy Hour at Cotton's on Xinhua Lu falls on the one-year anniversary of the devastating Sichuan earthquake, so we have decided to team with Hands On Chengdu, an organization committed to supporting the long term redevelopment of the areas affected by the earthquake for this Tuesday's gathering. Entry to the Happy Hour is free, but we'll be holding a lucky draw with some great donated prizes — all proceeds will go to Hands On Chengdu. Hands On Chengdu will have an informational booth at the happy hour and will be accepting donations and signing up volunteers on site.

It's almost as though Shanghai restaurateur Kelley Lee is reading our mind. First she opens Shanghai's best Mexican place, Cantina Agave, a short stroll from Shanghaiist headquarters (and she always has the flat screen tuned into classic NBA games). And now, we learn (from her) that she is opening a Boxing Cat Brewery almost next door to us. (If next Kelley takes over the Iranian consulate building and turns it into an art house movie theater, the wife may start to get suspicious.)

Many Shanghai beer lovers have been wondering recently what happened to their favorite American microbrews. Lots of previously available beers have been unavailable in recent weeks and rumors have been swirling that American Craft Beer Partners, importers of some of Shanghai's best beers, are calling it quits.

Popular bar matron Cotton Ding, owner of Shanghaiist favorite Cotton's, sits down with Daedalum Films to talk about her story - how she left her home in rural Hunan for the big city, the lessons she learned along the way to becoming a successful bar owner, and what challenges she sees on the horizon.

Fans of Bulldog's Thursday trivia nights can now get a double dose of factual fun every week.

A classic Hengshan Lu tale from Louis Lei Yu, Chinese-born DJ at CFUV 101.9 FM, radio station at Canada's University of Victoria: "[T]his is my bitter experience at the cold fairyland NYE show. So I saw cold Fairyland on NYE, I looked on the Internet and saw that they are playing and I thought 'oh cool, at lease I get to see one decent Chinese indie band during my trip to China.' This turned out to be one of the worst concerts I’ve ever saw, and not because of the band at all…" Read on at China Music Radar.

2008 Anno Domini / Year of the Rat will be remembered as a difficult one for China in general. Its effects were felt by all, including those involved in Shanghai's numerous musical scenes. It was a year in which artists, promoters and fans had to deal with even more obstacles and barriers than usual in their quest to generate culture and make the whole metropolis live up to its reputation as one of Asia's most dynamic and happening cities.

                                      

Thanks to everyone who came out Saturday night to celebrate with us. And a special thanks to Cotton's, American Craft Beer Partners and, of course, Santa Claus for making it all possible. Happy Holidays!

                                                                          

Photos by Stephen Yang. Go here to download your high-resolution images. For prints and framed prints contact stephen.a.yang(@)gmail.com. More photos from the A Very Shanghai Christmas party presented by Shanghaiist and Cotton's coming soon!

 

Today the SWITCH ON electronic music gathering lands in Shanghai at Absolute House. This showcase event has become the talk of town amongst the 'alternative' electronic music community for the last few weeks. SWITCH ON is a project organised by DJs living in Switzerland and China and backed by the Swiss Arts Council, Pro Helvetia. With 4 live acts and 5 DJs, SWITCH ON will debut in Shanghai this Friday (Dec 12th).

As credit crunches, and exchange rates plummet, it's time for fancy cocktails to step aside for our old favourite: cheap beer.

A highly respected African-American DJ and producer, from the most influential city in the history of electronic music, has criticized the ranking system which is used by many clubs in China, particularly Shanghai, when deciding which DJs to bring to the country, as being useless.

You never forget your first, and for many people in Shanghai that first (bar) was probably Face on Ruijin Lu. Sadly though, Face's 10 years on the scene are numbered. You have until December 14th to say goodbye. (Thanks to SmartShanghai for the sad news).

Hmmm. Maybe we have a thing for Swedish guys in tightly tapered pants and white dress shoes? Don't tell the wife! Had a great time at JZ last night watching Jens Lekman and Viktor Sjöberg prove to us that a guy, a guitar and a DJ are more than enough to keep us happy on a Wednesday (at first, we were hoping for some kind of horn section, it being a jazz venue and all). Jens and Viktor worked beautifully together and really seemed to be enjoying themselves, in their own shy kind of way. Highlights for us were probably "A Postcard to Nina" (with backstory in English and Mandarin) and "A Sweet Summer's Night On Hammer Hill" (we're suckers for a Warren G reference). Normally we'd post some photos and video clips, but we lost our camera's memory card and Taobao didn't deliver the replacement yesterday like they were supposed to. We don't see any Shanghai videos on YouTube yet or any photos on Flickr yet — so if you have some, send them our way (info at shanghaiist.com). And about the airplane dance, is it wrong that this is how we assume all people dance in Sweden? We highly recommend you head out to Glamour Bar tonight for Jens' final Shanghai show. And if you still need more convincing, check out these glowing reviews of his latest album.

Shanghaiist and Cotton's are teaming up to throw a Christmas party on Saturday, December 20 at the new Cotton's on Xinhua Lu. We'll have many more details very soon. But you can rest assured you'll be able to have your photo taken with Santa.

We’d like to correct an error in the post “Bananas is back (Alright!)”.

                                   

Celebrating their 5th Anniversary last saturday, Mesa-Manifesto went all out with a Playboy themed party providing over 500 lucky guests with mini-burgers, strong drinks, live music, dancers, (play) gambling, scantily clad male and female (playboy) bunnies, and two crowd pleasing fashion shows. The usually low key luxury villa was transformed into a decadent party as saxophonists played on the spiral stairs and models strutted around. Professional and amateur exotic dancers showed off their moves on the dance floor 'til the early hours. Dice were thrown, bottles were had---an all around good time for the city of (occasional) glam.

This Saturday Friday at the Shelter sees the long-awaited return of a legend on the Shanghai party circuit: Bananas.

Since we mentioned the area back in September, the alleyway of bars around 528 Kangding Lu have found their feet, and the distinct Belgian / Spanish and Serbian flavour of each place in the neighbourhood is like a Whistle Stop tour of Europe. With booze.

                                   

Friday night Casino Demon and The Fire Balloon (both from Beijing) played with local band the Rogue Transmission at Yuyintang. The Fire Balloon started it off with some garage rock and popping tunes with a Beijing slant. The always-fun-to-watch Rogue Transmission put on a good set and kept the crowd moving, but Casino Demon was the real gem of the night, playing a hazy, energetic set. Recalling early punk like Richard Hell and the Voidoids and the Ramones (whom they covered with a surprisingly decent rendition of the "KKK Took My Baby Away"), Casino Demon has a refreshingly organic sound in the land of DJs and Techno Beats. Crunchy guitars, good ol' rock and roll drumming and some slurred singing. Sounds perfect to us.

In September, Shanghaiist reported that Wai Tan had gone really upscale and added a gay nightclub. We’re happy to say Club D2, by the same owners of the infamous Club Deep, is still going strong.

   

The Kee Club (796 HuaiHai Lu) is a beautiful private restaurant, bar and retail complex in a mansion just off the well-worn track of Huai Hai Lu. Now if you haven’t heard of it yet, it’s because you are poor and they don’t want your type in there. Now move along please.

In checking out the Facebook page for Split Works, the promoters bringing Jens Lekman to China, we noticed the other acts Split has lined up. Here they are (with Shanghai dates/venues in parentheses): Roxy Cottontail (Dec. 4?/TBD), South Rakkas Crew (Jan. 8/Shelter), Future of the Left (Jan. 16/Dream Factory), Jose Gonzalez (Feb./TBD).

We have cleared up our earlier confusion. Here are the official Jens Lekman and Viktor Sjöberg show dates for Shanghai and Beijing: