Not sure what the seating arrangement will be like at JZ, but we got to Cotton Club around three hours early because we are losers were told we couldn't reserve seats ahead of time. So we chose a booth that looked nice and sat down. Moments later, we were told we couldn't sit there -- because that table was reserved. Huh? (There wasn't a "reserved" sign on the table.) We eventually sorted things out with the bar's super-cool, super-laid-back owner (sorry for raising our voice, Greg!) and we got our booth, but just warning you to be prepared for anything, as is generally the rule in China. more ›

• A book talk by Paul French at Glamour Bar: Access Asia's Paul French is a reluctant Shanghaiist reader who actually made an appearance at our recent Halloween party. Perhaps more importantly, he is an author who puts out about a book a year. His latest, Carl Crow: A Tough Old China Hand, is out now from Hong Kong University Press. He'll be talking about the book at Glamour Bar tomorrow at 4 pm. Here's a bit about the book and Mr. Crow: more ›

Strumming her banjo and singing in English and Chinese, Abigail Washburn performed traditional American music last night at the Cotton Club with three esteemed bandmates. Playing a mix of bluegrass, country, gospel and old-time music, the former Beijing resident was joined by eight-time Grammy winner Béla Fleck who is considered the best banjo player in the world. With Casey Driessen on the fiddle and Ben Sollee on the cello, the packed club audience enjoyed a musical treat of a quality rarely found in Shanghai. more ›