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 them. more ›

Quality and beauty are the two features Andrew James looks out for when he sources for contemporary art. This was what he liked about Dorothy M. Yoon's works when he first came upon them at a London art fair. Last Saturday's opening reception for Dorothy's first solo exhibition in China attracted a good number of people, presumably intrigued by the bizarre portraits of Asian females in all kinds of blonde wigs imaginable. While surreal images of pallid-faced beauties may not appeal to every art buyer's taste, seasoned portrait collectors should figure if they like this series fast since the large group portraits come only in editions of 3. more ›

Shanghaiist was back at Yu Yin Tang after the extended New Year's break. Gigs have been slow to restart after Spring Festival due to announced renovations of their space over by Tianshan Park. Alter-Ego played on Friday and we went down to Saturday's 0093 Rock Showcase. more ›

A group of Shanghai residents who had applied to the government for the right to hold an anti-maglev protest were rejected by the government. Despite this, small numbers of them intended to go on another "walk" in order to publicly air their grievances. This time, they were stopped by some other residents. According to this AP article, this is what happened:

Residents in armbands used a megaphone to warn people not to "linger here too long," to avoid problems with the police, who had rejected their petition to hold a protest march against the magnetic levitation, or maglev, train.

It wasn't that long ago that Shanghaiist headed straight to Crystal Jade in Xintiandi for our regular weekend dim sum brunch. Since then, however, our new loyalties lie with two restaurants closer to headquarters. Our first impressions of Lynn back when it opened early last year was that customers were paying the bulk of the price premium for its sleek, modern decor and presentation rather than the quality of its traditional Shanghainese fare. However, dim sum lovers have been flocking to Lynn for their weekend all-you-can-eat dim sum menu, and for good reason. For 68 RMB, one can indulge on a free-flow of traditional Cantonese and Shanghainese favorites. Not a bad price, considering ordering a la carte for a single serving of hot and sour soup will run about half of that (and yes, the soup is also on the all-you-can eat menu). more ›

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 genre can come support it. The group, called Blue koi collective, is led by Italian pianist Gabriel Meirano and performs every other Sunday night for the first set at JZ Club. That's starting from 9pm, and playing for about one hour. The group's next performance will be this coming Sunday, February 24, and after that the next one is March 9th. more ›

HAPPY DRINKING! more ›

Feeling a little "under the weather" (hah!) from all the snow we're getting? Those rapscallions over at Void have just the answer for you. On Saturday night, they're bringing respected house music veteran Jason Hodges to drop some bombs at The Shelter. more ›

Despite being around for a while now, Morrocan eatery Marrakech is holding its grand opening tonight. The details we were given were rather brief, but apparently visitors will be able to sample the food and drink between 6pm and 9pm. 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 ›

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... more ›

Though never a fan of Starbucks, more because of their bland-ardization of the world's greatest drug rather than due to any kind of deeply held anti-corporate leanings, Shanghaiist nevertheless enjoys supping the occasional hot chocolate from a Medusa-emblazoned mug. With this Monday being particularly harrowing, we were looking forward to a dose of sickly sweet cream-topped womb regression, only to have our fragile psyche strained to within an inch of another long, expensive course of... more ›

At the closing ceremony at Jiangwan Stadium last night, Kenny G played a rendition of “Butterfly Lovers” (梁祝) as women in butterfly costumes descended from cables strung to the stadium lights. When they reached the stage, they claimed a Special Olympian and escorted her back to the lights as the announcer declared in a monotone voice, “Now she has made it.” And that was just the beginning. more ›

The mercury may be falling but there's still lots of sizzle left in the grill. It's time for another great big cook-off, and The Naked Cow is hosting the Shanghai Rib Cook-off in two weeks! And it's all for a good cause! 10% of all proceeds from the day will go to Shanghai Bo Ai Children's Rehabilitation Center which aids local children with cerebral palsy. more ›

For this Shanghaiist, lunch during the work week typically consists of lukewarm slop served downstairs in the company canteen. So, when we get a rare chance to take a day off from work or telecommute, we like to venture out and take advantage of the many lunch specials that are offered by Shanghai's popular restaurants. more ›

Shanghaiist has been hearing a lot of rumours of late of dodgy, well, more dodgy behaviour along the Tongren Lu bar strip south of Nanjing Road. This morning, Shanghaiist was forwarded an email by our golf-enthralled editor via one of his trusted acquaintances. The email contained details regarding the assault of two expat males on Tongren Lu this week. more ›

Spago is a new fusion restaurant located opposite the Fenshine Plaza fake market on Nanjing Xi Lu. Spago's proximity to a knock-off market is ironic in light of an apparent and blatant trademark violation by this Shanghai 'branch'. more ›

Enduring eight straight days of work ahead of the Golden week? Take this opportunity to let off some steam and get out and hit what Shanghaiist thinks that Shanghai has to offer before you either vamoose out of town or bunker down to avoid the May 1st Holiday crush. more ›

And it is "a match for anything on the Bund"! No surprise there. But wait, there's more. Spago "has already become a popular lunch spot with pasta, Western, pizza and Asian sets for ¥19, 29 and 39" and is perfect for "fashionistas on a shoe-string." What? Huh? more ›

All you reggae fans who missed the legendary Byron Lee on his Shanghai tour last year must be kicking yourselves. (Actually, everyone missed the legendary Byron Lee on his Shanghai tour last year, because his band showed up on stage at the Shanghai Centre but he didn’t). more ›

One of our favorite Hammond organ players, Steinar Nickelson, is coming back to Shanghai for a few weeks. Another fantastic Norwegian musician, drummer Håkon Mjåset Johansen, will be in town also for only a few days and will play a short concert with Steinar and — shameless plug alert — the writer of this post at JZ Club this Monday night (the 26th). We will play one set, performing a selection of original compositions written by Steinar and, yes, the writer of this post. This show is not replacing the regularly scheduled performance, as Monday night players Arlene, EJ, and Yuko will still play the second and third sets as normal. more ›

Which reminds us — we need to go to the gym. more ›

In two weeks time (April 5), we Shanghainese are going to celebrate the Qingming Festival. Tomb sweeping, or honouring the deceased, is one of the important Qingming Festival rituals for most Chinese. more ›

The monthly MobileMonday meeting will be held in Shanghai today. Interested in the future of mobile shopping in China? Here's the official invitation: more ›

This happened early yesterday morning on Tianshan Xi Lu. near Suining Lu in Changning District, according to this report: more ›

Having just spent some time in Denmark ourselves, we were delighted to discover that some great Danish musicians would be arriving in Shanghai to play so soon after our return. These guys are quite well-known in Denmark and Europe, having recorded and toured around the world a bit. When we asked our Danish friends about these guys, they said that drummer Emil de Waal is famous as a player of every kind of music, not just jazz. It appears from the press release for the tour on the promoter’s website that he will be playing by himself with computer(s) acting as the rest of the band. Sounds interesting. We believe he’s the type of player who can hold up a show like this on his own, just judging from his reputation. more ›

We think that's exactly what we said when we read this email from the fine fellows at China West Entertainment: more ›

The Shanghai Daily reports that The Longhua Fashion and Gift Market is struggling to attract patrons. The Longhua market attracted the bulk of the vendors from the closure of Xiangyang market last June, however it appears that patrons have decided to give this location the big swerve. more ›

Yes, that Cui Jian. The godfather of Chinese rock. The one some call "China's Bruce Springsteen." The guy they put on the cover of the first Chinese Rolling Stone. The guy who last year shared a Shanghai stage and accompanied (kind of) Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones. more ›

Last Saturday night, Shanghaiist fancied going to this new place we heard of — the bar where you can drink cocktails with Absinthe — called Tara 57. Located on Fuxing Lu, just next to Boona 2, and opposite JZ Club, this “cocktail lounge”, as they call it, is a very small place. And that is actually a good thing — it's very cozy. Even more (and this is important for us), there is a coat-rack, so you don’t have to keep your coat on your knees while sipping your drink, so you can actually show that, yes, you did dress up tonight, and, no, you are not wearing jeans again. But the coat rack at Tara 57 was ridiculously small (or maybe our coat is ridiculously large?), and it kept falling on us, which spoiled our visit just a little bit. more ›