By Benjamin Cohen In Shanghai, everyday is great. Here are five reasons why: Tuesday April 15th: Clouds of Crowds If you haven't been out to Island6 yet for "Clouds of Crowds," stop in before it drifts away (last day is April 29th). This interactive multimedia installations seeks to draw the viewer into blurry realm of chaos and order. Island6 Arts Center 2F, Bldg 6, 120 Moganshan Rd. Thursday April 17th: City Sound Sessions Take a......

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: Phreaktion brings you two of the current drum’n’bass icons in March: Matrix & Futurebound are responsible for arguably “THE” drum’n’bass album of the year – “Universal Truth”. The album has enjoyed much praise and massive success,......

A last-minute add to the program over at JZ, the Copenhagen-based group called Jazz Kamikaze who have been getting rave reviews will be playing this thursday night at JZ Club. In fact, when Shanghaiist was in Copenhagen last February, we didn't hear the band but got to jam a bit with some of the players in it. They were great, very creative and vibrant musicians. And killer players! So we're expecting a great show from......

No, it's not the new dining craze in Shanghai. If you're tired of mainstream house and trance, try giving Infected Mushroom a listen. Shanghaiist guarantees their brand of psychedelic trance will put you in a different frame of mind. To help convince you, the Israeli-based duo performs live tonight at the Tanghui VIP Club. A live set means no pre-recorded songs on vinyl or CDs - this is strictly synths, drum machines, and other instruments,......

All this month (that would be March), the photography of Hong Kong artist Norm Yip will be on display not on the walls of a fancy-schmancy gallery on Moganshan Road, but on the meandering walls of Shanghai Studio. The photography, in mostly black and white, features fit, mostly East Asian men in various stages of undress, in front of simple backgrounds or stark black backdrops. The pictures do not feature any naughty bits, so Mr.......

Are you starved for techno? Real, honest-to-gosh techno? Well, Shanghai's Void crew has you covered. Several times a month they fill up LOgO and The Shelter to bring you the foot-tappinest, head-noddinest, neck-snappinest techno you ever could lay ears on. They've showcased both DJ Nomadico and Jason Hodges in Shanghai, and this Saturday March 1st they bring a little bit of Detroit and Berlin to The Shelter. We sat down with Shanghaiist football contributor and......

By Wm Patrick Cranley This week marks the 36th anniversary of the signing of the 1972 Shanghai Communiqué, the world-startling diplomatic letter that marked the beginning of the rapprochement between the People’s Republic of China and the United States. The communiqué was signed at the end of a week-long visit to China by President Richard M. Nixon, his wife, and a large entourage, including Secretary of State William Rogers and Dr. Henry S. Kissinger (who......

Not that free jazz hasn't landed plenty of times already here in Shanghai, in fact all too often jazz bands that come through town are a bit too "free" for most audiences. But such is the nature of that beast called free jazz...it's certainly not for everyone. But in any case now it has begun to have its own regular performance by a locally-based group, so those of you who do like this unique musical......

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. Still not satisfied? Then head......

Alcohol companies (especially in Shanghai) are known for their lemming like approach to parties (maybe it is the incestuous nature of their cliques). The latest trend is in throwing expensive "invite only" parties like the Hennessy Artistry series and this weekend’s upcoming Smirnoff party featuring Hard-Fi and DJ Sasha (gag). Just like at the Hennessey party, we loser expats aren't overly welcome (at more than one of these parties we have been told that our......

The weekend has arrived and with Chinese New Year looming things have gotten much quieter on the live music front. Friday night Club 8 and Pelle Carlberg, both from Sweden, will bring their pop sound to the crowds at the Shanghai Concert Hall. It had been scheduled for the Dream Factory but due to lack of a proper live music license has been moved. Shanghaiist's interest in this show has been piqued by the oddly......

Just off the northern edge of Fuxing Park, this unusual building was the original French Club (le Cercle Francais Sportif) circa 1904. Later it was moved what is now the Okura Garden Hotel (and much later moved to Cafe Montmartre). For a while this was the French Concession's most prestigious public high school, Le College Francais. You can still see the monogram 'CFS' cast into the wrought-iron railing of the main staircase. There's also some......

In keeping with his practise of giving new year's predictions, US televangelist and host of The 700 Club on the Christian Broadcasting Network, Pat Robertson has fresh revelation from the Lord concerning 2008:"What I'm praying about is China. I'm asking for 250 million in China. We haven't had that breakthrough yet but I think we're going to get it. God's going to give us China. And China will be the largest Christian nation on the......

Over this weekend, Blue Frog celebrated its grand opening in Macau's Venetian in a glitzy event that featured performances by Shaolin monks, Australian DJ Alex Taylor and Shanghai's very own Sugar Mama and the Cotton Club Band. Apparently, quite a number of people flew over from Shanghai for the event (too bad for us, we were never invited). In this video, Blue Frog looks a lot more like a club than anything else, and certainly......

It's criminal to live so close to the fantastic JZ Club and actually get to the place as infrequently as we do, but we're determined to mend our recidivistic ways after spending a thoroughly spot-on Sunday afternoon there this weekend. There are few other places you can just blunder into from the street and, without spending a groat (though yesterday the Guinness proved too much of a draw) to be blown away by some great......

Yet another weekend has arrived, and seems a lot of people have been talking about the opening of the Shelter. They are holding a 'soft opening' tonight and hosting Dex, from the Underground Resistance, tomorrow. For those of you who are in the mood for more of a visual than some dude spinning on the decks (or laptop), there are plenty of live shows to choose from. Just down the street from the Shelter are......

For those of you wondering what Shanghaiist's founding editor Dan Washburn has been up to for the past half year or so (other than not posting very much on Shanghaiist) there was some evidence last week that he is alive and well and doing more than sitting on his couch counting his Shanghaiist money (really, that would only take around five minutes). Go to ESPN.com (here, here and here) for stories related to his book......

This is not news the government wants to hear in the run-up to the Olympics, but here's a statement that the Beijing-based Foreign Correspondents Club of China (FCCC) just sent out (h/t to the Peking Duck):Dear Members, Recently some foreign correspondents have been detained, harassed and physically roughed up -- two incidents Tuesday alone. The FCCC board thought you'd want to hear about what happened. One of the journalists who experienced problems had not been......

On Saturday, Oct. 27, the same night as our Halloween extravaganza, police raided and shut down Shanghai's popular gay club, Club Deep (commonly called "Deep"). Word on the street is that some Deep patrons were indulging in some not-so-legal substances during Deep's "Decadent Halloween" party, sponsored by i-Candy. According to our sources, between 20-30 police officers (initially mistaken for costumed go-go dancers, it was a Halloween party after all) arrested around 10 people, all suspected......

If you have the 35-year-old Swede in your HSBC Champions office pool, you're sitting pretty. Fasth is 8-under after 17 holes and currently holds a 4-stroke lead on the opening day at Sheshan International Golf Club, in Shanghai suburbia. But don't gloat too much — it's only 12:30 pm Thursday and there are guys named Mickelson, Singh, Cabrera, Garcia, Goosen, Els, Choi and Harrington in the field. No Woods, though, for the first time since......

Everyone's having their own little calendar these days it seems. Second Chance Animal Aid recently came up with one, and this time, it's the boys from The Shanghai Rugby Football Club and Shanghai Hairy Crabs, and they've shed their clothes for a good cause! Shanghaiist caught a sneak preview of some of the pics, and connoisseur of men that we are — we're telling you these boys will give Dieux du Stade a good run......

The JZ Festival came to a roaring close today, unfortunately with a much lower afternoon turnout due to the rain but once again a satisfying mix of music, fully dug by those of us who did attend. But we skip ahead -- first back to details of yesterday's festival. Saturday Saturday was a very successful day for the festival, drawing medium-sized crowds again in the afternoon and selling out completely the evening portion. The......

Tonight 8pm NEXTSTEP @ Vintage Living 3F, 2068 Nanjing Xilu, by Yongyuan Lu, T: 6249-0469 Calling all Shanghai entrepreneurs! Come meet new faces and get to know other like-minded individuals at this week's NextStep event which features Tony Mustafa of Essential Finance. All are welcome, no membership required, and no cover charge. Wednesday 8pm Shanghai Skate Nights @ Shanghai Concert Hall 523 Yan'an Dong Lu (near Xizang Lu) The bi-weekly Shanghai SkateNights continues to gather......

One of Shanghai's greatest vocalists will be moving away for good, we are sorry to say. Arlene has been here about as long as your correspondent, over 4 years, and we've worked together a lot. She's a great singer and she'll do well wherever she ends up (first she's going to Dubai to play with jazz pianist Billy Marcus, who used to play in Shanghai at the Portman jazz bar, and then she's moving to......

The next JazzArt concert is upon us once again! And this time, featured will be the JQ Whitcomb sextet, playing original compositions and fun music from their regular Thursday repertoire as well. It is the first of a whole slew of great concerts and jazz performances happening this month, many of which haven't made it into the magazine listings. So expect to see more news right here over the coming days reporting on them. JazzArt,......

Due to multiple requests (total of two, and one was me) here is more golden week festival news. The previously mention Hop Festival has gotten an official name...so....let it hence forth be referred to as the Yue Festival. Ticket prices are set at 140rmb for students, 280rmb advanced purchase and 360rmb at the gate. Rock-ing has also released their ticket prices and they range from 280-880 depending on how special you want to feel. For......

This being the first (hopefully many more comin') quickie band profiles, Shanghaiist chose one of the bands we respect the most. A band with name steeped in adolescences nostalgia, with music that has some of the most mature lyrics you will hear in China (and OMG, they, like totally sing in Chinese). Public Kingdom for Teens, aka PK-14, is a band that has been labeled everything from punk to progressive rock, but we prefer to......

There have been several reports about an Foreign Correspondents' Club of China report which found that 95 percent of foreign journalists weren't happy with reporting conditions in China despite the promises made by the Chinese government to loosen restrictions starting Jan. 1 of this year and leading through the Olympics next year: The study, published Wednesday by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China, is based on responses of 163 members from the foreign press in......

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. For those of you stuck in Shanghai and hankering for some live music check out Etienne (Gypsy Jazz......

Shanghaiist has been feeling very French of late. After wondering when Paul was going to re-open and hanging out at Bar Rouge's "Excusez-moi" party... well, we had dinner in La Crêperie - Shanghai's new and so far only eatery devoted to crêpes from the Brittany region. La Crêperie enjoys a quiet location in the heart of the French concession at the crossroads of Dongping Lu, Yueyang Lu, Fengyang Lu, and Taojiang Lu (or if you......