[My Weekender] with Abby Lavin

Abby Lavin works at Split Works, doing various things to perpetuate their world domination. They're hard at work on the Jue Festival, a multi-venue music and arts festival which kicks off large this weekend in Shanghai and Beijing, and continues on... I think forever.

Only took me 134 weeks of living in Shanghai to get asked to do one of these My Weekenders. I knew SmSh would have to start scraping the bottom of the barrel eventually.

This weekend looks to be busier than most, since it marks the start of our JUE | Music + Art festival. On Friday evening I'll go straight from the office to Yuyintang to drop off the rider for Hanggai. Fortunately all they've asked for is beer and water backstage, so I can manage to haul it over by my scrawny self.

I'm usually turned off by anything that falls into the "world music" category, but when we brought Hanggai to Shanghai last November they were fucking phenomenal. They're the most punk rock Mongolian folk band I ever did see. And I like when we do shows at Yuyintang, cause the place is small enough that I can hear the music and manage the guest list at the same time.

On my way home from YYT I'll give Nathaniel a call up in Beijing to hear how the Dead Elvis show went. I'll be relieved if he tells me The Zombie King didn't eat any audience members or blind them with his bedazzled jumpsuit.

On Saturday I'll head down to the Glamour Bar to hear my friend Charles speak at the Literary Festival. Charles is pretty legit. He used to work at the World Economic Forum and he has all sorts of fellowships and stuff, but he is still friends with me. I haven't read his book, but I hear it's way geopolitical. After the talk we'll head upstairs to M on the Bund to have dinner with Michelle and Tina and some other beloved lit fest peeps.

I hope to have at least gotten my appetizer before my boss Archie texts me asking what time I'm planning on showing up for St. Vincent. Ah yes, we are putting on another JUE gig at Yuyintang! St. Vincent is crazy talented and also babelicious. I hope she plays her song "Laughing with a Mouth Full of Blood" tonight. I also hope Archie whips up some of his homemade hummus for her rider, and that there's a lot of it left over for me to eat after the show.

After St. Vincent, my friends Xiao Maymay and Auntie Grace will try to convince me to go to Guandii like the classy Shanghainese ladies they are. Once I get there, I'll remember why I told myself last weekend I'd never go back.

Traumatized by Li'l Jon-Tiesto remixes, I'll probably feel like listening to some restorative old school jams on the taxi ride home. I've prepared a playlist of Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, Mariah Carey featuring Boyz II Men, and The Replacements.

When I wake up on Sunday I'll head out to Gubei for a fundraising brunch in support of the Growing Up with Shanghai book project. Of course I'm biased, but my favourite section is Maymay's bit about her memories of growing up in the Xinhua Lu area.

After brunch I have a few hours before I have to head to the airport to pick up the lovely Julie Doiron, and I plan to spend them hanging out with my boyfriend. He's been traveling a lot lately for work. I pretend I don't mind, but I really cherish lazy afternoons like this one, where we lie in bed and talk about our feelings. By "talk" I mean "watch." And by "about our feelings," I mean "four episodes of The West Wing."

Over and out!
Abby