The sign on the gate that leads to Tang Hui on Huating Lu reads "停止营业" (ting zhi ying ye or "No longer open for business"). Yep, it's true — the new Tang Hui failed to last a year. The bar and supposed music venue closed last week, Tang Hui general manager Morry Morgan confirmed via SMS: Yes, unfortunately Tang Hui is closed. The music revolution is going to have to wait a bit longer. .........

Tonight, we were all set to show our out-of-town visitors that hip-hop is alive and well in Shanghai. The tide, we reasoned, was beginning to shift, and if the previously moribund live music scene could find its second wind, why not a bona fide community of true hip-hop heads? Of course, much of this speculation hinged on the continued growth of So Much Soul, the weekly hip-hop event sprung into action by the Lab, and......

Good Frankly speaking: Being able to get a "N.J. ripper" hot dog in the middle of the night on Tongren Lu. Hot damn!Taichi a day keeps the doctor away: Old men practicing early morning taichi in Chanfeng park, Putuo district, have been getting the blood circulating a little faster than normal. Reports abound of certain women offering their wares at 5 kuai a look, 15 a feel to the randy old fellas.Goooooooal: The lads from......

Good Boonna Café: We miss bohemian charm like we miss an old-fashioned milkshake. Luckily, Boonna Café (open in two locations; Boonna 1 is on Xinle Lu, Boonna 2 on West Fuxing Lu, directly across from JZ Club) has both in spades, not to mention attentive waitstaff, a Mac G4 (how often do you see one of those in a coffee shop?), and no cell phone rings set to the blare of (bad) Korean pop. Yet.......

We know we've had our fair share of gripes with the hip-hop scene in Shanghai, but fear not, gentle reader, this won’t be one of those occasions. For tonight there’s a change in the air, and no, we're not just talking about the sudden chill that's setting in. Positivity is contagious, and there’s nothing quite like an old-fashioned block party to get those juices flowing, those feet shuffling, and the contented murmur of music aficionados,......