Alas, it seems like Huai Hai Lu stalwart Bon Bon may have closed up shop over the weekend, and the only guys who noticed were SmartShanghai. It's Thursday and the club still has to issue official notice of the closure, but according to the nightlife website, they're planning on moving locations. But where will Shanghai's trance-loving expat high school crowd go until then?! WON'T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN? more ›

Legendary hip hop DJ Stretch Armstrong of Steve Aoki's DIM MAK label played an energetic set at Bonbon last Friday. Playing with local DJs, Mr. Armstrong put on hits to please the masses and get down, dirty New York style. Staple Bonbon tomfoolery ensued with some puking, some dancing, and some sleeping at the booths (you know who you are! go home!). Check out his Myspace for a recap more ›

Last weekend saw a bumper crop of top DJs hitting Shanghai. DJ Shadow, Above And Beyond, Goldie et al. more ›

Seems like it's that time of year. First, Void celebrated their one-year anniversary last month. Now Phreaktion, fronted by DJ Siesta, turns three. It's just more proof that drum and bass is not only here, but here to stay. So this weekend, they're giving you the presents by featuring Goldie and DJ Krust over two action-packed nights. more ›

On the left there is Matrix, who along with Futurebound rocked the hell out of Club Bonbon with some crazy drum and bass on Friday. More pictures, including a review of the "Punk from Xi'an" show at the Live Bar, after the jump. more ›

What's up this weekend? Plenty of things, but Shanghaiist plans to attend these two events for sure. Friday night, Phreaktion and DJ Siesta bring you Matrix & Futurebound at Club Bonbon. MC Stride does the vocals. From their site: more ›

If you like your basslines rinsin' and your selektas rewindin', you'll be in broken-beat heaven this weekend. On Friday the 15th, Hospitality Shanghai sends Logistics and Cyantific to disinfect Club Bonbon. The duo will storm the emergency care ward to celebrate Bonbon's new status as a resident stop on the Hospitality tours. Cyantific is bringing an extra turntable just for us and will showcase his own brand of three-deck trickery. more ›

Bonbon, also known as Asia's arm of superclub Godskitchen, hosts a wide variety of electronic music every single week. Two weeks ago, local crew Phreaktion brought DJ Marky to the decks. Last week, we interviewed Arthur Baker, who was preparing to rock the place. This week, our intrepid reporter braved Bonbon's ear-piercing sound system to bring you Sven Vath. more ›

By Michael Ohlsson more ›

For all of those of you who stayed at home, hunched over the computer, waiting for an update on the happenings in live music this weekend....well, we apologize. Dust yourself off, pick up the shaver and take a shower, today is a big day for music. Getting things started early, 4:30pm at 4Live, are Taiwan indie pop duo, Natural Q. Seems to be the season for indie pop, after performances last month by Carrchy and... more ›

Saturday looks to be a big night for all you DJ lovers out there and will pit the underground vs. the above ground.......literally. Dex aka Nomadico, of the Underground Resistance, is set to blow away the electronic music crowd at the Shelter (underground in a bomb shelter). While at Bon Bon (above ground in a tall tower) DJ Qbert will amaze the crowds with his scratching. Let the battle begin. Saturday Dec. 1st Dex w/... more ›

The weekend is finally here, and despite the buzz surrounding Linkin Park on Sunday, there are plenty of other shows that are also worth checking out. Friday, Yuyintang warms things up for Linkin Park fans with four local nu-metal bands strutting their stuff and letting out their best screams. While over at 4Live, Pixel Toy, from Hong Kong, provide an eccentric mix of Cantonese pop electronica. Opening for them is Banana Monkey. Phreaktion in celebration... more ›

Live Bar has always been open to different genres of music, and of late, seems to be the venue of choice for Chinese folk, metal and student bands. Friday night they will host one of China's most popular nu-metal bands, Twisted Machine. Any fan of metal should not miss this show, a great chance to see what Chinese metal has to offer. On the other side of town, up'n'coming indie rockers, Yuguo will play an... more ›

CARMEN RESTAURANT: Carmen Restaurant recently materialised on Xikang Lu, near the even newer Steak and Eggs. Passing by, what caught our eye was their blackboard promotion for all you can drink: 50RMB for chicks and 80RMB for blokes. Went inside and discovered the deal was just for draught beer (Carlsberg) and cocktails. OK, could be acceptable, but decided we'd better try their cocktails first before committing to an all-out drink fest. Winopete chose a G&T that was actually quite decent. A friend opted for vodka and tonic which was also quite satisfactory. What was not so good was being hurried into deciding did we want the all-u-can-drink deal or single drinks, and also being asked to pay before a sip of alcohol had passed our lips. Furthermore, this night a bunch of rowdy German card players to descended around us which led to the staff cranking up the music to a very conversation-unfriendly level. The timing of both these events led to us upping and leaving. The mouldy-looking furniture for a brand new venue is never going to earn brownie points with me, but a decent all-you-can-drink deal grabs our attention, especially given the dwindling reputation of Bon Bon. The bottom line is we'll try Carmen again. more ›

Shanghaiist loves good music gossip, and we are tickled purplish-red (our face usually turns this color after being overly tickled) to be the first to report that Busdriver, underground rapper extraordinaire, will be coming to China in October. Don't know who Busdriver is? Well, damn it, you should. more ›

Never able to keep a secret, Shanghaiist has gotten some fat little morsels of gossip on our plate that we are dying to share...but that will have to wait until next week.....for now you will have to be content with this weekends roundup of live events. more ›

These are definitely the dog days of summer and as in summers past, live shows have dried up with the heat. Ironically enough Shanghaiist has chosen to skip town and head to even hotter Hong Kong where PK-14, Hedge Hog, New Pants and the Re-tros will be playing in the cramped but intimate Fringe Club on Sunday. more ›

Oh, the fun of Friday nights. After putting back a few drinks at the Shanghaiist party or SCAA charity dinner, a night of great music (Beijing bands) lies ahead. more ›

Shanghaiist is looking forward to another weekend of live music and even though there are no big name bands in town, we are happy to save all that money on entrance fees and buy what matters most: beer! more ›

Anyhow, after the taping was done the regular GigLive music show began. It was night of local punk rock, featuring Happy Sky, Mortal Fools, and Loudspeaker. We've heard that Happy Sky were formed recently, and it showed -- we know that punk is loud and brash, but you still need musicianship. After awhile, they all seemed to be playing to the beat of a different drum. more ›

Kode 9, the dubstep mercenary from London, touches down at Bon Bon tonight for a special edition of Phreaktion's Booyaka! weekly. more ›

MoJo also has some photos from the show. And you can watch another TangKing video here. more ›

We will not find wa … ah fuck it. more ›

GigShanghai: Falling over, GigLive and noodles more ›

Win tickets to GigLive! more ›

Drum and Bass comes of age in Shanghai when legendary DJ of the genre, Goldie, plays at club Bon Bon tomorrow night in his first China appearance. more ›

GigShanghai: Sockhop, soy and naked woman x 2 more ›

GigShanghai: Noisy Sundays, females unite, and free BEP tickets! more ›

Check out his photos.
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But it's not just the live music scene -- despite having an enormous number of nightclubs, there is no regular "big venue" supporting cutting-edge electronic music. A tour around the city's clubs mimics an endless procession of commercial hip hop, bland house and cheesy trance at venues where large groups of Shanghainese nouveaux riche sit around countless tables with bottles of Chivas Regal gazing at tiny dancefloors. more ›