Concert promoting "The Color of Love" at twocities gallery this Friday We're big fans of the music Steve and Jasmine have done on this album, which we've had the privilege of listening to in pre-release form. All the music on there is fantastic, and it's a surprise that such simple instrumentation can still create the range of sounds they do on this recording. But also, as much as we dig the album, hearing their live......

These concerts keep getting better and better. The twocities in tune concerts have traditionally featured Steve Sweeting on piano joined by a vocalist, and the last one we heard with Jasmine Chen on vocals was off the hook. This time, Steve is going all-out and bringing in bass and drums to join him and vocalist Coco Zhao to make the final concert in the spring series a show-stopper. Playing bass will be Scott Dodd and......

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......

Jake Newby's recent post on Shanghaiist hinted at the erosion of Moganshan Lu's art district by new development. Following up, we bring you images from the area and can only hope that the 'development' is to put in riverside parkland around the then preserved heritage architecture, taking the arts district to the next level. And letting Island6 back in once the new gardens are done. We can dream, can't we?......

Even just a few short years ago, the art district down on Moganshan Lu consisted of a handful of independent and quirkily ramshackle galleries quietly plying their trade. Today, the area has not only been considerably spruced up, but has also grown to include a number of upmarket cafes and shops. This development has inevitably created winners and losers, with numerous galleries falling by the wayside. Now, Island6 — housed in an old flour mill......

Photo taken by HKmPUA at Moganshan Lu Share with us how you see Shanghai, or China! Post your photos on Flickr, tag them with "shanghaiist", and we'll select one favorite image per day. Or you can simply email your photos to photos at shanghaiist.com.......

1918 Art Space on Changping Lu (a refuge from the sometimes overpowering art gallery street Moganshan Lu) is a must-see for those in search of up-and-coming, young Chinese or foreign artists who yearn for a little more recognition within the cruel world of the culture media. Its mere cubic space, inherited from this warehouse storefront-space building, gives on-lookers the best approach to appreciate all the different works of art (paintings, sculptures…) that are being exhibited.......

... with SCAA's Christmas gala which happens this evening at 6.30pm at O'Malleys! RMB 100 at the door gets you a glass of Champagne, two standard drinks, comfort food, lots of free gifts and one Holiday Raffle ticket for a chance to win over 100 prizes totaling more than RMB 150,000! For those of you on the hunt for Christmas trees but don't know where to get them, Smart Shanghai has the answers! 'Tis the......

Shanghaiist has been wanting to tell you about the remaking of Taikang Lu which for a while was in danger of getting a 'lil old and tired, but has changed pretty rapidly over the last few months. And now we even have a video to show you. Many new al-fresco cafes and creative stores have sprung up and the place has expanded. On our last trip there, we found many old residents that have stubbornly......

There isn't a live music update this week, but it's art shows galore TONIGHT. Three picks that aren't in your conventional Moganshan Lu / Taikang Lu destinations. ART LABOR GALLERY, from 5pm 10–36 Yongjia lu by Maoming Lu (永嘉路10-36号，近茂名路) Phone: 6431 7782, info@artlaborclub.com, www.artlaborgallery.com Art photographer Yuichi Hibi from New York City presents a selection of his works from his internationally acclaimed book imprint. Influenced by film noir and described by critics as “weirdly charged......

Good English-language books are hard to come by in Shanghai, with Garden Bookstore and Charterhouse Booktrader standing out as the only establishments with decent selections. Seekers of specialty and international art and design-related titles take note--Timezone8 Bookstore in the M50 art complex on MoGanShan Rd is having an overstock clearance sale on all titles except magazines, Chinese-language, and consignment titles. The sale ends Friday, August 24th, so get there fast to splurge on all those......

The fourth concert in the JazzArt series takes place this Sunday August 12 at 3pm at the TwoCities gallery on Moganshan lu, and will feature the music of Canadian Clarinetist and Composer extraordinaire James Danderfer. He will lead a 5-piece group, performing original contemporary jazz that he has been writing over the last year in preparation for a recording the group will make, supported by a grant awarded by the Canada Council For the Arts.......

The JazzArt concert series got off to a fantastic start with a packed house enjoying two sets of Lawrence Ku's original music on this past Sunday. His group of seven musicians featured the cream of the crop on the Shanghai jazz scene, nearly all of whom are also faculty at the JZ school — including EJ Parker, Alec Haavik, Andy Hunter, Chris Trzcinski, the author of this post, Lawrence himself, as well as the amazing......

This first week of the JazzArt concert series will feature the Lawrence Ku Septet playing at the TwoCities Gallery at M50 on Moganshan lu. The septet, which performs quite rarely, is in fact playing quite a few times this month. This is partly because trombonist Andy Hunter is in town through the end of the month, and there aren’t really any other good jazz trombonists in Shanghai. Besides the Jazzy Shanghai festival performance last......

China is biggest espionage threat to Canada "Almost half of counter-espionage efforts in Canada target Chinese spies, the head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service told a senate committee on Monday." Songs, kisses and sweat on Labor Day of migrant workers "In the prosperous metropolis of Shanghai, migrant workers even joined in performances, singing and dancing and taking part in games to show their talents." Hershey lures Asians with green tea Kisses "The century-old......

As part of the ongoing "Twocities in Tune" concert series, tonight there will be a duo concert by Steve Sweeting and Coco Zhao at 7:30 pm. These two have done a few of these concerts together already, some of which we reported on previously, also at the last minute. All of the concerts in this series are held at the Twocities Gallery at M50 on Moganshan Lu, and each one features Steve's masterful piano skills......

Lucky for Shanghaiist, we won't be. But we certainly feel for people who will be stuck in the city for the holidays. So we've compiled an incomplete list of a few things to keep you occupied while your friends are back home drinking eggnog and getting wasted with family around the Christmas tree. The first time Shanghaiist went to the Yinqixing Indoor Skiing Resort was back in the SARS era (2003). We went back this......

Hopefully, you'll read this before 7:30 tonight, when American pianist Steve Sweeting will accompany Chinese singers Tang Yue and Liu Chang for an evening of jazz, showtunes and folk songs in English and Chinese at the Twocities Gallery over on Moganshan Lu. This is the second in a monthly concert series being held at Twocities. The event is free and open to the public. We've been to this gallery before -- it's a nice space,......

Every couple of years, Shanghai's art and culture scene comes alive as a slew of exhibitions are organized in tandem with the Shanghai Biennale, arguably the biggest art event in the city. And every couple of years, Shanghaiist is disappointed by the various offerings. Shanghai never claimed to be the cultural center of China but one would think out of all the events and exhibitions this fall, something would get Shanghaiist excited. Instead, we can......

And are interested in photography? Join the upcoming flickr meet up this Saturday, details of the event are posted here. Just show up and we'll be more than willing to shoot you. Don't worry, you can fire back at us. So what happens during a meet up? Well, we practically shoot everything in sight. But more than that, it's a great venue to make new friends, learn about your camera, discover photography tips, find your......

Guangdong-born, Hong Kong-raised and New York-based fashion designer Vivienne Tam has been visiting Shanghai twice a year "to find inspiration" for more than 20 years. Tam recently gave Travel and Leisure a look at her "hidden Shanghai." We'll let Shanghaiist readers determine just how "hidden" it really is. Here are the places mentioned in the story: Lao Shanghai (No. 5, Lane 210 Taikang Rd.; 86-21/5465-1580)Guo Chunxiang Family Collection (179-181 Duolun Rd.; 86-21/5696-3948)Laiyin Art Garden (158......

Nigel prepares for his current exhibit in one of the 50 Moganshan Lu galleries. His show runs through October 2006. Photo from theshanghaieye. Shanghaiist now features a "Photo of the Day", daily pictures of life around the city. We want you to share how you see Shanghai. Simply post your photos on Flickr, tag them with "shanghaiist", and we'll select one favorite image per day. Or you can simply email your photos to photos at......

This morning, via Micah's blog, we learned of this posting on Rockself.com: 紧急通知:堂会取消9月1日后的全部摇滚专场演出 作 者：堂会 来 源：堂会 更新日期：2006-9-2 浏 览 量：211 9月8日，9月15日，9月22日（后海大鲨鱼，美好药店，新裤 子）的演出因面临不可抗拒的阻力和困难而取消，特此紧急通知 。望大家相互转告。 对此，堂会表示抱歉和遗憾。 让想看演出的朋友失望了，一旦问题解决 ，堂会仍将继续组织摇滚演出，也希望朋友们继续支持！谢谢！ 堂会酒吧（电话：021-54034408) Emergency Notice: All live rock performances after Sept. 1 are canceled Author: Tang Hui Source: Tang Hui Updated: 2006-9-2 Traffic: 211 Performances on Sept. 8, Sept. 15, Sept. 22 (Queensea Big Shark, Glamorous Pharmacy, New Pants) are canceled due to unsurmountable forces and difficulties. Please tell your......

Yes, we know, we know. Pier One -- so last month. Shanghaiist admits it -- we never went when it was The Next Big Thing. The journey to get there just seemed Biblical in length. Why hike to Suzhou Creek, the Shanghai equivalent of outer Xinjiang, when the loving embraces of Glamour Bar, Time Passage and Mint were just around the corner? Pier One, by the way, is a complex of outrageously pretentious super-chic bars......

For a while, it seemed the days of exhibitions being shut down in Shanghai were long gone. Since Shanghaiist moved to the city four years ago, we had not witnessed any major crackdowns, although there have been a few minor incidents here and there. The cultural scene in the city took a step back, however, on Saturday when a massive exhibition at the new Creative Garden on Longhua Lu was shut down by the authorities.......

Canadian born photographer Greg Girard has been shooting in Asia for quite a while and in Shanghai for the last six years. Some of the fruits of his labors were on display at the opening of his Studio Rouge show Downtown on Sunday. Much of Girard's work focuses on homes. Many of the pictures at the show were exteriors of run-down, slated-for-destruction buildings. Often shot at dusk or at night, the very studiously composed shots......

We started out the night getting one of those haircuts that looks atrocious and sends you rummaging through your closet for a good hat. It took us forever to get a cab too, and we might have lost the one we did catch if the cop that yelled at us for almost jaywalking -- "过马路不看灯呀？" "Don't you look at the lights when you cross the road?" ... we pretended to not understand -- had decided......

Shanghaiist, admittedly, isn't much of a museum goer. While we can spend hours wandering the galleries at 50 Moganshan Lu, we have yet to set foot in that big famous museum in People's Square. We blame our short attention span on MTV. But when we do find a museum we like, we'll tell you about it. And this weekend we were thoroughly impressed by the little-known Shanghai Post Museum, which opened on January 1. Inside......

Shanghaiist really didn't understand claustrophobia until we found ourselves in places like People's Square on a mild winter Saturday or Xujiahui subway station during rush hour. We think that's why we like effecting a little escape now and again to the Moganshan Lu area, where all the artists, galleries, and warehouses remain empty even on the weekends. We went there on Saturday and found some nice exhibits, among them the Dragonair Emerging Artists show. The......

In early 2004, photographer Hu Yang began documenting the lives of ordinary Shanghai residents. He originally planned to include 100 households in his survey, but over the course of the year 500 families allowed him to interview and photograph them in their homes. Unlike the New York Times' Faces of Shanghai slideshow, which focused on the middle class consumer culture, Shanghai Living covers Shanghai residents from a surprisingly wide range of backgrounds. From poor migrant......