Grown & Sexy: Getting down n dirty on the Bund

For one reason or another, when it comes to nightlife, Shanghaiist has its reservations about the Bund. Sure, we do the promenade/requisite bar crawl when out-of-towners come to play but, at the end of the day, we’re just not sold on it. (Our aversion was further amplified upon recently discovering a Facebook group called “THE SHANGHAI ELITE” – yes, they’re so elite they need to shout their name wherever they go. The activities of this group – Shanghai American School repruhzent! – revolve around “wild, breathtaking, heart aching, crazy and absolutely WiCkEd and crazy SHIT”. Among the ELITE’s favourite clubs, according to a recent thread, are Bar Rouge and Attica. We rest our case.)

Thus, when Shanghaiist got word that Dan Battle (aka el nomo) and Christopher St. Cavish (aka Santo Chino) were getting in on the Bund fray, we were intrigued. These two have been around the block, but mostly on the (we hate this word, too) ‘indie’ circuit. Battle is one of three masterminds behind the infamous Bananas parties, and Saint C throws those super secret Sunday disco dive parties you wish you knew about (buy him a drink to loosen those lips).

Grown & Sexy is a new weekly kicking off tomorrow at De La Coast. Unlike other parties on the Bund which promise carts of Champagne, fire breathers, and other cheesy gags…errr, ‘enticements for THE ELITE’…G&S hopes to attract a sophisticated crowd that’s there for one thing and one only: getting hot n heavy.

“G&S is a total romantic make-out spot. We’re playing R&B, but not anything like the top 40 version of the word. We're talking about sex-drenched, slow music like Barry White, Ohio Players, Crown Heights Affair, and others that run with the theme: Prince in all his androgynous, erotic glory; Donna Summer and her moaning and wailing; and, as the night wears on, funkier soul a la James Brown,” says an excited St. Cavish. He pauses, then adds with a wry grin, “We will, of course, make an exception and play Ginuwine's ‘Pony' as much as possible, but knowing that it's el nomo and I means the quality control on the Bund is going to be much higher than usual.”

Scared of the Bund? Fear not, the G&S boys know how you feel and are ready to make things right. “el nomo and I see the gap of the kind of hipster, music nerd kids and the ‘Bund people’ looming huge in the city – note Antidote’s Coup last week. But it doesn't have to be,” St. Cavish reasons. “To some extent, of course, the music in these places has to pander to the LCD. However, some of it is also self-imposed, this psychological block between the many different groups in the city, and this separation of ‘haves’ and ‘don't wants’ between Shanghai’s disc jockeys is kind of dumb.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Got a little cash to drop on the mating dance and weekend romance? Grown & Sexy could be a good bet. In addition to the usual drink specials – been there, done that...though this time it involves chocolate – G&S promises real peaches and cream (huzzah!), and other make-mood-righters, to melt your week’s-end frustrations into a til-Saturday-morning party (wink wink). Sex-drenched, slow, sweaty grooves at a lowly lit club with lots of hidden nooks and crannies? Don’t have to tell us twice.

Grown & Sexy (for adults only). De La Coast (5/F, 1 Yan’an Dong Lu). 10pm til late. DJs el nomo, Santo Chino, plus guests (Mr. Stokes, Kamikaze, Deville, et al). Chocolate martini specials, plus drink giveaways redeemable the following week.

[Note: In other Facebook-related news: Shanghaiist is now on the Book of Faces – be our friend! validate us! – as is local magazine Shanghai Talk. Unlike our ELITE counterpart, however, Shanghaiist’s group name is in all lowercase, while Talk’s follows standard format. What does this say about the respective mediums? Hmm.]