Last night, The Shelter opened up their "Shelter Shop" under the aegis of locally-based vocalist MC Chacha. You might remember the "Shelter Shop" before as that place near the front of the club that serves bottled beer sometimes and as a place to st.. [read on...]

Last night, The Shelter opened up their "Shelter Shop" under the aegis of locally-based vocalist MC Chacha. You might remember the "Shelter Shop" before as that place near the front of the club that serves bottled beer sometimes and as a place to steal T-shirts from other times.

But no more! Well, they're still using it to sell beers on the weekends but on Wednesdays, Thursday, and Sundays, it's a place to PAY for stuff that comes from locally-based designers, musicians, and artists. Currently, they're slinging CDs from IGO (new wave duo), Hedgehog (indie rock trio), and some of Sulumi's releases (electronic artist from BJ) are available as well. They've also got a limited number of Shelter T-shirts designed by Otorok. So pick one of those up while you still can.

They've also got in just yesterday the first T-shirt inspired by the existence and music of, and created by greatly talented designer Shuang in partnership with, Antidote. These were produced by eno (they also did shirts for BJ punk bands PK14 and No Name) and come in two colors for each gender, and in four sizes. Those are available at The Shelter, Antidote shows, and at eno for 160rmb.

And you can probably get those this Saturday as well and the Antidote party at The Shelter. Click on the events listings for the information on that. But don't wear the shirt to the show, man. Don't wear the shirt of the band when you're going to see the band, man. Don't be that guy. And I would hope that none of the Antidote DJs will be wearing their own shirt either. You know who does that? Wears their own shirts? Def Leopard, man. Def Leopard!

Look for more stuff at the Shelter Shop over the coming weeks including releases from other locally based bands, T-shirts, and original recordings produced in the club.

When Oprah says, "You should know about Chris Botti," you don't walk to Wikipedia, you run. Or, if you happen to live in Shanghai, you can go see one of People Magazine's "50 most beautiful people" (2004) perform live at the Oriental Arts Center in P.. [read on...]

When Oprah says, "You should know about Chris Botti," you don't walk to Wikipedia, you run. Or, if you happen to live in Shanghai, you can go see one of People Magazine's "50 most beautiful people" (2004) perform live at the Oriental Arts Center in Pudong next week. American born trumpeter and charismatic composer, Botti got his big break as the featured soloist in Sting's band during the two and a half year "Brand New Day" tour.

Although Botti has worked with musical icons including Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart and Joni Mitchell, it's during his solo career that he topped jazz charts. His album "When I Fall In Love" hit #1 on both the Traditional Jazz Album and the Pop Jazz Overall Albums. This February he won a Grammy. Botti's current tour (and newest album title) "Italia," combines interpretations of classic love songs and his own pop creations.

The show is Saturday the 17th at 7:30 but the least expensive tickets are already sold out. So, if you're into jazz or really good-looking people call the booking hotline at 52989697 or book online here.

This weekend, Big Bamboo is hosting a three-day foosball tournament, open to all ages, and comprised of eight events. Here are the events: 1) Goalie War; 2) Forward Shootout; 3)Women's Singles; 4)Junior's Singles; 5) Open Doubles; 6) Open Singles; 7.. [read on...]

This weekend, Big Bamboo is hosting a three-day foosball tournament, open to all ages, and comprised of eight events. Here are the events: 1) Goalie War; 2) Forward Shootout; 3)Women's Singles; 4)Junior's Singles; 5) Open Doubles; 6) Open Singles; 7) Rookie Doubles; 8) Draw Your Partner Doubles.

Entry to each event is 20rmb. Medals for the top three finishers of each event. Friday’s events start at 7:30pm with "Goalie Wars" and the "Forward Shootout." That sounds like some intense sporting right there. Saturday is when the real thing starts with the singles and doubles events -- that starts at 11:30am. And Sunday wraps up with the singles and doubles finals, the "Rookie Doubles" and the "Draw Your Own Partner" doubles. Juniors (under 18) are welcome.

Foosball: sport of kings, man. Sport of kings.

Self-taught Spanish photographer Unai Iribarren has an eye for pout-y, multi-ethnic women who show a lot of skin. The 30-something artist got his start in Tokyo as a commercial photographer and now has a portfolio that includes Sephora, Samsung, Elle.. [read on...]

Self-taught Spanish photographer Unai Iribarren has an eye for pout-y, multi-ethnic women who show a lot of skin. The 30-something artist got his start in Tokyo as a commercial photographer and now has a portfolio that includes Sephora, Samsung, Elle, and others. But Iribarren's personal photography hovers on the sinister. Post-apocalyptic urban vistas in bleak, muted tones reflect an introspective mind. A massive sense of isolation infects the viewer when surreal lights glint off of the deserted seas of buildings, highways, and bridges. Iribarren has been living in Shanghai since 2006 and Unai's Nights" at Artsea Studio & Gallery on Moganshan Lu focuses on our urban landscape in its explicit desolation.

To look at more of Iribarren's click here.

Show opens at 6pm.

Fans of open-air patios, here's some good news: Both Cotton's, and Abbey Road -- two of the nicer patios in the French Concession (in my humble opinion) -- just got rid of their winter tents this week. And so the summer season starts with cool beers .. [read on...]

Fans of open-air patios, here's some good news: Both Cotton's, and Abbey Road -- two of the nicer patios in the French Concession (in my humble opinion) -- just got rid of their winter tents this week. And so the summer season starts with cool beers under a starry sky –- well, as starry as the sky can be in Shanghai (read: no stars will be seen from these places).

This is in fact something worth writing about, because so many other places keep their tents up all year long -- AFP has a tent up all year for example, as does the newly re-opened rooftop restaurant at the Mansion Hotel, now called "Skyline".

Their new-ish Chef Shawn (formerly of Finestre) explained to me that his local clientele just doesn't like sitting in the sun. I have to say I've seen nicer solutions to avoid sunshine than a big tent... staying inside for example...

Anyway, getting back to Cotton's, their weekly Sunday afternoon barbecues are back on, and it's a pretty square deal. Every Sunday in May, from 11am to 7pm, you can get an all-you-can-eat deal on BBQ'ed meats (salad bar included) for 99rmb. That's weather permitting though... which is the drawback of not having a big tent I guess.