Da Admiral was the most important and respected public figure living in Shanghai before throwing it all away to follow his one true dream: developing an iPhone app that triangulates the nearest tapas restaurant with the user's preferred House music BPM. After a few years in development, his app, the Go Tapas Yourself, has found a buyer in Shanghai, and he's coming down for one last hurrah in the city.
Hey Shanghai!
Welp. Strange, unsaved numbers are sending me cryptic inspirational poetry messages on my phone and that means just one thing: it's Friday, YOU FUCKS, and time to let loose. It's been a while since I've been to Shanghai, so I'm really looking forward to hitting all my old haunts and catching up with the crew. Roll call on the following homies: Brad Ferguson, Dan Shapiro, Aric S. Queen, JFK Miller, Dan Battle, Matsume, Jordan Small. Regulators, mount up. I be textin' you dudes!
Let's just get right into it shall we? Friday night, for me and mine, the place to be is gotta be
Sugar in Xintiandi. The models and bottles vibe is sweet and sophisticated, and if you haven't had the chance to try out their vodka yet you gotta get on that. It's SOLID.
That's good for early night part-aying but for late nights, I'm thinking of hitting up this new club that's getting good buzz. Place is called
Snatch and apparently Mike Tyson is a fan. He's da champ. Late night, I could go either way: solid underground vibes care of
DKD or maybe keeping freaky on the dance floor at
Dragon. Shit's TIGHT.
Saturday morning, I'm rising early and maybe hitting brunch at
Pier One,
Sens & Bund,
The Naked Cow,
Maneo,
Zentral,
Moon River Diner,
Otto Cafe,
Arch II,
syzygy,
Laris,
Upper East Lounge,
City Diner,
Blue Frog (Tongren branch),
Mesa & Manifesto,
a Future Perfect, or any of the restaurants
Eduardo Vargas has opened in the last five years. I recommend all these places. Guess I'll play it by ear.
Saturday afternoon? Sun is shining? Three words:
Riviera. Pool. Party. Can't go wrong with champagne on the decks of whereverthefuckthatwas with Shanghai's young and beautiful. We be livin'. We be livin'. Gravy train ain't never gon' stop!
Saturday night. Live music for early. Maybe
Shuffle. Maybe
4 Live. Maybe
Anar. Haven't decided. Gotta check who's playing. Fever Machine, Pairs, Hard Queen, Crazy Mushroom, Friend or Foe, Moon Tyrant, Rainbow Danger Club, BCR — one of these bands is playing, surely. Rock and roll!
After a show, I'm heating things up with a performance of an altogether different nature:
Chinatown. It's be ages since I've seen the show, and I'd love to see what Norm and Amelia have on the bill. Then late night I'ma just do bar streets. Tongren is where the ladies are at but Maoming has the legendary
Buddha Bar.
We'll just have to see which way I get blown.
Sunday you know how it is!
DVDs.
Batman Begins probably. Or Legally Blond. Whichever.
OUT.
***
Ed's Note: This concludes the weekly transmission of the My Weekender column. Yes. You're welcome. It's over. Done. It was a wild ride while it lasted, and I guess we're all just going to have to imagine what hot chicks who work in PR are going to be doing for their weekend. Probably Rojam. Maybe Pegasus. Maybe that new gambling bar that the Bar Rouge dudes opened up that sounds awesome.
I leave you with this, Shanghai. The My Weekender column was always like American presidents.
You always got the ones you deserved and you fucking know it.