SmartShanghai.com Wire http://www.smartshanghai.com Tue, 16 Mar 10 12:03:00+0700 Barbie Emporium. Click here for those. Congratulations everyone!

Check back later today for snappies of the St. Vincent thing and the Vadim thing.

Looking good, Shanghai. Looking real good. ]]> Fri, 12 Mar 10 13:03:00+0700 Handsome Furs played in Shanghai a while ago and now they're doing some video tour diary thing on CNN about their experiences in China. Episode 4 is now up, and that's about them in Shanghai among other things. A highlight of the series is the drama in the comments section, so it's worth a click if you're into The Great Debate.

Highlight of the comments in this episode is this little piece of insight from "horrorcameo":

"Isn't every perspective intrinsically unique. What you said is like when people say stuff like "The most unique" or "The most original" do you really need the modifier "most" there to know something is unique or interesting?"

*strokes beard*

So true... so true...]]> Fri, 12 Mar 10 12:03:00+0700 Le Castle Vania, slated to be performing at Not Me tonight has been canceled. Or postponed, rather, to a later date. Promoters are citing nebulous "visa issues" and are working on a rescheduling for this summer. Most likely, the visa people took one look at Le Castle Vania and said, "No, BRO. Your swoopy hairstyle is too dangerous for China. You'd start a riot with that cut."

Alas, cover at Not Me is now free, drinks are cheaper, and: "With a stack of great DJs, VJs and drink specials, come join us tonight and we'll quickly turn that sour frown upside down. Free hugs and kisses if you wear stripes and straighten your hair."

There you go. Next, next Friday (March 26) they've got Killa Kela's DJ in, Conrank -- as in "Kela & Conrack" -- and its 30 beans to get in.

Anyways, Le Castle Vania... anyone remember ElfQuest? Dude looks like ElfQuest. That's a good thing. ]]> Thu, 11 Mar 10 17:03:00+0700 Pavillon Costes is closing this Saturday. For ever. Until it becomes "eatertainment."

Dress code for the final party:

"More Parisian Than Ever Or Never"

Here's your SmSh listing, complete with devastated models on the flyer.]]> Thu, 11 Mar 10 16:03:00+0700 David Laris can't, or won't, do?

No.

He is developing a concept for an upcoming downtown golf club, opening another Fat Olive, debuting The Pie Hole, polishing the details for his new Downstairs restaurant, and, I hear, the dude is in talks to re-do all the tea eggs, in ALL the convenience stores, so that the cracked shells form a svelte portrait of him in chef whites. That is magical.

Let's blow some smoke, shall we?

Urban 18: some private investors are setting up a state-of-the-art golf club in a building near People's Square. Six ultra-modern golf simulators, membership packages, and a sports lounge designed by Laris. Holy hi-life. Opening in June.

The Fat Olive and The Pie Hole: Fat Olive #3 (#2 is at Expo Village) will open in mid-April at.... the Hongqiao airport/transportation hub. Apparently this hub is going to be like the Central Station in Hong Kong, which integrates transportation into shopping, or shopping into transportation, or whatever, at the new Hongqiao terminal. It'll be the first Pie Hole open to the public (first one, also in Expo Village). The two concepts will share a 140 sq meter space, which means no terrace for the Fat Olive. Also, seeing as its at the airport -- eh, "transportation hub" -- wines are gonna primarily by the glass. They will both open in mid-April.]]> Wed, 10 Mar 10 16:03:00+0700 DJ Kentaro returns to Shanghai, playing at The Shelter. He's got it etched in stone on his MySpace. Kentaro's been in town a few times now, always playing to a throng of the devoted.

On the same night over at MAO Livehouse, they're hosting a big show with big time Brit band Puressence, along with DJ support from Gary "Mani" Mounfield, of Stone Roses and Primal Scream fame. Interesting.

This profusion of big name foreign bands and musicians... is it only a matter of time before the SmSh wire rings out with the words I've been waiting five long years to type?

"Butthole Surfers. Confirmed." ]]> Wed, 10 Mar 10 14:03:00+0700
The first one is this one right here: "Made in China - Return of the Soul". It's the new piece from one of China's most revered choreographers, Jin Xing. It's two shows, with the Sunday show already sold out. The Saturday show is still HOT SELLING so head off to the ordering page. Don't dawdle.

The second one is the "Soul of Shaolin" performance, running this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, featuring the famous Shaolin Monks. Friday show is sold out, but Saturday and Sunday seats are still available.

I could be wrong about this, but I would think that "Soul of Shaolin" is Rza-approved. Click here to order. ]]> Wed, 10 Mar 10 13:03:00+0700 Kiken Prod has kindly alerted us to the fact that new club Lotus is indeed now open for business. We've been paying attention to this one because the dude(s) behind this one are the dude(s) at house club Mint, oh so many moons ago. Remember? Goddamn, we're old.

We surmise they are easing back on to the club scene tentatively, and in earnest to "work out the kinks" before blasting into it with all due pomp and frill that such an occasion demands.
.. read on]]> Wed, 10 Mar 10 12:03:00+0700
East meets West in Shanghai in this month's issue of National Geographic. Check out the article, "Shanghai Dreams", here, and the photo gallery here.

It's in their March issue -- the one will the cover story entitled, "Wolf Wars". Wolf wars!!!

Thanks to Pat for the link. For some reason my grandmother let my Christmas subscription to National Geographic lapse like 20 years ago.

What up with that, nana! What happened to fostering my sense of wonder with the world?]]> Tue, 9 Mar 10 16:03:00+0700 Pavillon Costes = kaput. Who saw that one coming?

Just got off the phone with the Costes people. They are soon going to become the Buddha Bar people, as the int'l chain, purveyor of sultry Asian exoticism, arrives to install their trademark blend of "eatertainment." The money and the management behind the space -- Harold Levillair, who also brought PAUL to Shanghai -- remains the same.

Is releasing a series of lounge exotica mix CDs a new requirement for Xintiandi tenancy these days?

The space is going to be re-jigged into a first-floor lounge, and a second floor restaurant -- not a complete renovation. The original decor was expensive.

Costes: "Costes is not working that well for Shanghai... [Buddha Bar] will be more like Asian food/club/lounge than just a restaurant."

This week, or maybe next, will be it for Pavillon Costes before they close and re-group. Buddha Bar should be open end of April, or beginning of May.]]> Tue, 9 Mar 10 13:03:00+0700 Red Town this Friday. New swanky lounge club Node is doing their opening party, and along with freeeee free flow from 9pm until midnight, is house/techno DJs Dave K, Wassili, King, and Baru. Expect it to be Japanese-ey. Expect it to be... Elegant. Chic. Modern. Sexy. Hip. Contemporary. Classy. Lush. And more. Check out their webpage.

Then also at Red Town is this rock show at MAO Livehouse, which is free entry and free whiskey supposedly. Basically, on Friday that Red Town area is the section of town you should really be punishing for their good intentions. ]]> Tue, 9 Mar 10 12:03:00+0700 King Lear at the Ke Center, running from March 24 to March 28.

Crisis of man, crisis of masculinity, lots of death and betrayal, and a fabulous shouting at God in a thunderstorm scene. For most academics it's a coin toss as to whether King Lear or Hamlet is "Shakespeare's best play" -- making it, of course, "the best thing ever written in English" -- but King Lear isn't nearly as frequently staged because it's a lot harder to do, so this is a rare treat in Shanghai. Don't miss out.

Here's the ticket info: pre-sale tickets are 180rmb and at the door they're 200rmb. You can order online here: www.ticket2010.com. Showtime is at 8pm.

]]> Mon, 8 Mar 10 13:03:00+0700
John Digweed has been c-c-c-c-confirmed to bash it in at the new M2 on April 30. Presales tickets are 120rmb-ish and door tickets are 200rmb-ish. More details as they arise.

Celebration generation, mark your calendars for April 30, though. Johhhhnnn Diggweeeeed. ]]> Mon, 8 Mar 10 12:03:00+0700 Secret Machines show down at MAO Livehouse on March 20. The Dallas-via-NYC three piece is here on their first China tour and its going to be massive and loud and awesome.

Here's a little blurb from Rolling Stone: "They take Pink Floyd psychedelia, Led Zeppelin stomp, and The Who-inspired choruses and charge them full of big-rock beats, atmospheric keyboards and all kinds of electronic whooshes."

The door charge is 200rmb -- ouch -- but advance tickets including delivery are 150rmb. So that ain't bad. Click here to order.

Here's their MySpace.]]> Thu, 4 Mar 10 12:03:00+0700 800Show the Dutch are throwing a big party to launch the Dutch Cultural Centre (D.C.C), which is planning on bringing all kinds of Dutchness to Shanghai in the coming months.

Anwyays, this Saturday they've got Beijing DJ Liman coming in, Ben Huang, and Dutch DJ Missing Link. And a BMX bike show. It's free Heineken and cheese (Gouda cheese) from 9:30 till late. RSVP in advance and have at it. Here's the contact info. ]]> Wed, 3 Mar 10 14:03:00+0700

Fans of local music, electronica, free mixes, and the like: the sixth "Pause: Music Mix" will be out this Saturday, available to the first 200 people at the Mark Ernestus show at The Shelter for freeeeee.

This sixth release features B6. The sixth.... B6. You see? If you'd like a peek at what he's put together, have a look at the Douban listing here.

If you don't manage to pick one up at the show, the mix is available after Saturday around town in place like The Shelter, Dada, Boona, LOgO, Shanghai Tattoo, other cafes, and clothing shops... search it out.

Here's B6 on MySpace, and again, make sure you show up early for your free copy at "Sub-Culture pres. Mark Ernestus and Tikiman.]]> Wed, 3 Mar 10 12:03:00+0700 City Weekend and China Travel, Peter Hessler has canceled his Shanghai Literary Festival appearance. Hessler was a main draw, so that's significantly lame. Refunds are available -- spend it on a PlayStation. Come to the Dark Side.

Books: ppppfffhhhtthtt!!!

This does, of course, free up a slot for a poet of considerable merit to fill the void. Oh, the possibilities. ]]> Tue, 2 Mar 10 16:03:00+0700 Shanghai Talk magazine is out there, glittering suggestively in news stands in cafes and restaurants all over town. Pick up yours to get their take on the "Best of the Lit Fest", a Jue festival preview, Howie from the Backstreet Boys for posterity and more, more, more.

Shanghai Talk: it's the big one. ]]> Tue, 2 Mar 10 15:03:00+0700 This gallery is of the Gold Medal Ice Hockey match down at the Big Bamboo, which was basically a story of good triumphing over evil.

Or at least good triumphing over the slightly evil but largely indifferent.

Marty McSorely -- ya don't get knuckles like dat from playin' da piana.

("Rock 'Em Sock 'Em 1", friends. Classic.)

Also, at any rate, guy in picture 32: YOU win, man. YOU win.
]]> Tue, 2 Mar 10 13:03:00+0700 Click here for the Pervert Party pix at Sin last Saturday.

Hot, hot, hot. So hot, you can almost smell the action.

Just put your face right up against the monitor and: *Snnnnnnnoort!*

Ooooo ahh! ]]> Tue, 2 Mar 10 12:03:00+0700 Big Trouble in Little China tonight at Dada.

If you haven't seen it before, it's basically Kurt Russell playing a rough-around-the-edges, shoot-from-the-hip, good old boy truck driver...

... versus 3000 years of mystical Chinese black magic voodoo tomfoolery.

Guess who wins.

Kurt Russell historians recognize this as his finest performance outside of the Snake Plisskin role. "Kurt Russel in Soldier" is pretty alright too. As is Kurt Russell in Captain Ron. And Kurt Russell in Stargate. And Kurt Russell in Tango & Cash.

Actually, every Kurt Russell movie is the best Kurt Russell movie ever. He just doesn't know how to not bring the pain.

Starts 9pm. No cover.

God, Tombstone too. Kurt was awesome in that. ]]> Fri, 26 Feb 10 14:02:00+0700

Hi there. SmartShanghai does this weekly newsletter called "Shanghai_nightlife". Rad title, we know. Basically, it's just a short, to-the-point little weekly send-out offering some suggestions for weekend activities and a few recommendations on how to spend you Saturday and Sunday. Interesting new restaurants, stuff to do with family and friends, community announcements -- stuff like that.

Anyways, lots of people are experiencing problems with receiving the thing, and writing in to complain about it. Here's why that is (maybe).

1) Check your junk mail folder. Sometimes it ends up there. Although, this newsletter being perceived as "junk"... I can't even imagine how that could be.

2) People with Yahoo accounts can't get them. We don't know why. Also, why are you still on Yahoo? You're like the last person. Do you travel by horse and buggy? Get with the now. Get off Yahoo and lock up when you're done.

Here is the page to sign up for the newsletter, which you should do if you haven't, because how else will you know about interesting community developments? And here's the link to this week's "Shanghai_nightlife", if you're looking for this thing but can't get it. ]]> Fri, 26 Feb 10 13:02:00+0700 Cold Cave's show at MAO Livehouse on April 2 has been canceled. Apparently, the synth pop three-piece lost a band member and they've gotta take that shit back and re-tool it. No China tour for them. Lame.

On a tertiary note: Xiu Xiu is rumored to be performing at this year's Strawberry Festival in Beijing. Neat. ]]> Fri, 26 Feb 10 12:02:00+0700 User Reviews which, hopefully, are caught by our moderators before they make it on the site. In just the last two weeks, we've had hatchet-jobs from disgruntled suppliers, the usual cheerleading from PR people, and the frustrated chef of one very high-profile restaurant copy-and-pasting other people's reviews from various websites. All deleted.

So, as a little thanks to those of you writing real User Reviews -- as best as we can tell -- we've teamed up with the nice folks at SkinCity 5.5 Spa. Every Friday, SmSh will pick a User Review of the week, and send the winner over a voucher for one treatment (worth up to 800rmb) at the Dagu Lu spa.

This week, the lucky winner is.... MirrorMirror, whose little write-up of Eest has been on the homepage all week.

Congrats to MirrorMirror. Get in touch with us here and we'll sort out your voucher. ]]> Thu, 25 Feb 10 17:58:45+0700

Just back from Cantina Agave, where I witnessed a young lady return a bottle of old booze. This bottle of booze, which, according to co-owner Raffe Ibrahim, was a personal gift from Alexandra Marnier. That's her name on the bottle. That, in the picture, is the bottle back in Cantina as of 5pm today.

Ask him the story sometime. After he explains that even the French HQ couldn't locate another one anywhere, he'll tell you, "You know who else has this bottle? The Queen of England. Cantina Agave and the Queen of England."

Wonderful. .. read on]]> Thu, 25 Feb 10 12:02:00+0700 will not be coming to China. Big shocker.

This is coming from nice Beijing blog The Beijinger, who are in turn sourcing Taiwan Radio International.

My initial thoughts: what the hell is Taiwan Radio International.

The BeeJ'er also goes on to include music critic Sun Mengjin's take on it, with a bit of inside information about backroom haggling between Mainland and Taiwanese promoters, who, evidently, were trying to gouge each other over his Bobness.

It's a bit of a confusing quote taken from Sun Mengjin's original blogpost about this Dylan in China clusterfuck, but it rounds out nicely with this line:

"Those people are whistling ‘blowing in the wind’ while their black hearted money are also blowing with the shit out of their ass."

Good times. In case, you haven't noticed, I fuckin' love it when people drop the swears.

Again, China promoters, Mini Kiss, wouldn't ask 250K per show... just saying. ]]> Wed, 24 Feb 10 17:02:00+0700 Rhumerie Bounty, the French rum bar, is opening on Yongfu Lu in early April. Gonna be the same phenomenal and fruity mix of rum, pirates, rum, heavy nautical decor, and rum, as their Wuding Lu, ahem, flagship. A bit more food and Vitamin C on the menu, as the Yongfu Lu spot, above The Shelter and below el Coctel, is going to be open all day and the French owners already have scurvy.

You wouldn't believe what Parkway charges to cure that.]]> Wed, 24 Feb 10 14:02:00+0700
Opens on Sunday, Feb 28. Listing here.]]> Wed, 24 Feb 10 13:02:00+0700 Barbarossa reopens today. They were shuttered for a while there while they dug a secret tunnel under the lake, into the MoCA, and spirited away a bunch of contemporary art to pay for their renovations, which, by the way are now complete. Supposed to have been open already, but the new tiles got stuck in Vietnam or something like that.

Also, it was cold. No one wants to work when it's cold.

But now that the weather and tile logistics are cooperating, they're back and as fabulously located as ever. ]]> Wed, 24 Feb 10 12:03:00+0700 Mi Tierra is offering a new deal on Thursday morning hangovers: six Coronas for 199rmb, plus a little Mexi-something to float around on the Sea of Cerveza, every Wednesday night. You got your choice of flautas, you got your quesadillllla, you got one of them whatsitcalleds -- sopecitos, and then even one of them there tostada things.

Rage into Day Four. Here's your SmSh listing.]]>