Listings:

Stalwart of the underground dance music scene, The Shelter provides a forum for both locally-based independent electronic artists and DJs, and new international alternative dance acts. A converted bomb shelter, the club is dark, sweaty, black, loud, and thumping. Virtually every single Shanghai independent promoter has a weekly or monthly party therein, and so music ranges on a given night from...

Yuyintang is one of the oldest underground live music houses in Shanghai, and has become a staple in the city. Featuring regular gigs every weekend, it brings in underground rock acts both worldwide and local.

Yet another venture from the team behind Rico Rico, Bikes & Friends and Mistral, Toro Loco is a Spanish restaurant and bar serving sangria, super cheap beer and a variety of tapas and other snacks like montaditos.

Situated in the middle of Xingfu Lu, Dada is a chilled out lounge/club space, catering to a younger Chinese and expat crowd in a comfortable, pretentious-free environment. It's like a really nice dive bar. Drinks are cheap, there's ample lounge seating, and music varies from night to night depending on whose playing, but expect dance floor friendly House and Electro on most nights. The club...

Named after that little street those wacky Beatles trotted across, Abbey Road has become one of the most popular summer venues in Shanghai. With patio seating, cheap beer on tap and lots of (at times unfortunate) classic rock, this bar/restaurant is the ultimate expat venue. Abbey Road's menu includes mostly Swiss fare interspersed with some American.

MAO Shanghai Livehouse is a Shanghai's most active large-sized concert venue, hosting local, national, and international acts every weekend and intermittent week nights. Music ranges from pop, to rock, to large-scale electronic events and raves. Shows vary in start time and cover charge; please refer to the events listings to see which bands and DJs are playing when.

Windows Scoreboard is the newest addition to the Windows bar chain, and this one takes their tried and true formula of rock-music-sports-pub and splashes it out in a big beer hall on the 11th floor of an office building. The huge room is split into smoking and non smoking sections, with all the bar games you're looking for (pool, darts, beer pong, foosball), and Windows cheap drinks to match. ...

Just around the corner from the madness of Hengshan Lu, Eager Beaver is a recommended respite for anyone looking for the more relaxed atmosphere of a neighborhood local. Beaver's bottled beer list is one of the best in town and the pub food menu is quite respectable. Watch a game on the big TV, hone your skill at foosball, or simply shoot the breeze with your fellow drinker.

Wildly popular and eminently affordable, this izakaya does a brisk business in crispy gyoza, yakitori, and other snacks that make you want to guzzle down lots of beer, sake, and shochu. Their beef tongue comes highly recommended.

The Chalet (design is reminiscent of a Swiss lodge) is a cozy little retreat lounge / pub, popular with a maturer expat clientele, seeking a relaxed, low key, affordable setting. Good happy hour deal -- good for relaxed conversations, low key dates, group of friends.