Gosney & Kallman's Chinatown

[Ed's Note: Chinatown's official public opening has been pushed back after the end end of the October Holidays. Sorry kids.]

Where it is: Hongkou district. That's north Bund, friend. Their neighbours in the area are the Factory and that 1933 shopping mall thing, which are within walking distance.

What else? Hongkou Stadium?

Yesterday, we walked from Chinatown to Bar Rouge -- let them eat cake -- and it took us 40 minutes.

What it is: Probably one of the most talked-about club openings in Shanghai since.... I dunno.... Space Ibiza? Attica?

Here's the back story once again in case you haven't opened a magazine in a year and a half: "Gosney & Kallman's Chinatown" is the Shanghai venture for two ex-New York-based staples in the recent burlesque / vaudeville revival in that city. Riding the heels of said revival, said club owners relocated to Shanghai with aspirations on importing burlesque to China, and began recruiting performers and dancers from the local Chinese and expat community. The novelty of the concept in contemporary Shanghai, the creative and commercial backgrounds of the married proprietors, and about a year's worth of "coming soon"-type buzz ensured that "Chinatown" frequently popped up in both local and international media.

And so it's finally opening. In a converted Shinto temple, Chinatown is three-floors, two bars, and live burlesque and vaudeville acts every Wednesday to Saturday. They've assembled a large array of talent to perform in the full range of vaudeville, and although much attention has been given to dancers The Chinatown Dolls (perhaps you've seen them performing around town), the full show encompasses comedy, acrobats, variety acts, live jazz, and more, more, more. For their nightly performances they’re drawing on a group of twelve acts to construct two blocks of performances -- a tamer earlier set and a more racey second set -- and they've also got a jazz band organized by local trumpeter J.Q. Whitcomb to play in between and after the sets. Shows end nightly at midnight-ish and the bar stays open until 2am. Booze is classic and modern cocktails and whatever else, and they've also got moderately priced gastro bar food -- hot dogs man, they've got hot dogs.

They're officially open to the public from September 30 after the October holidays.

Atmosphere: The venue is basically a beat up old theatre. It's rough around the edges and purposely so, in the attempt to create the impression of age and reference a certain jubilantly perverse brand of by-gone bohemianism. They're going for a Chelsea Hotel, "if these walls could talk" kind of thing.

Chinatown is dressed up and slightly askew to convey a mixture of high and low culture: it's trendy and fashionable -- a dressy affair -- but also wilfully seedy, raunchy, and slightly debased. It's set up as an escapist, costume-ey destination as opposed to just another club. You might think you're just going to see a show in some club, but what they're really trying to do with the environment of the place is implicate the audience into the whole culture of it. Everyone is implicated in a larger theatre piece and you feel out of place if you don't get involved with it on that level. One is compelled to embrace it, and if you don't, it’s kind of like being at a Halloween costume party and being the only one not dressed up.

It's a pretty interesting trick.

[Ed's note: For more on the building of Chinatown, have a look at this article right here on CreativeHunt.]

Damage: Drinks are priced slightly below "Bund level prices". There is no entry fee.

Who's going: As a "Shanghai destination", everyone in the whole world, regardless of age, sex, race, class, or creed will go at least once. The club is set up for the big fish -- table bookings are highly recommended, all you captains of industry -- and a place like this only stays open if they can appeal to the various demographics who are willing to drop loads of cash on a night out, as opposed to say ... broke expats in their 20s who will try to sneak beer into the place. A huge portion of their business, I would think, would come from transient corporate types, flying in and out of town on matters of heady and important business.

If you're an upwardly mobile, rich, sleezy fuck -- hand-shaking, pillar of the community by day, degenerate bottom-feeder by night -- and you're looking for a one-of-a-kind memorable night on your only night in Shanghai, are you gonna hit up the Bund?

Forget it Jake, it's....