We got a last minute heads up on a electronica duo playing at Mao tonight that should get early evening blog readers off the computers and into the club. Hailing from Japan, and named Miami, they are bringing an interesting 8-bit electro/violin mix to Shanghai. Tickets are 50rmb and include a free drink....doors at 9pm. Mao - 46 Yueyang Lu, near Dongping Lu, 岳阳路46号，近东平路 Abe Deyo is Shanghaiist's Music Editor. Email tips, recommendations, news and... more ›

Shanghaiist's mailbox has been inundated by emails from all you naughty girls out there asking when the launch party to that Shanghai Hairy Crabs nude rugby calendar will be held. Well, gurls, mark your calendars and save the date! The action happens this Thursday at MAO from 8pm onwards! RMB200 gets you a Solid Vodka open bar, snacks, a goody bag, and yes a copy of that calendar (we know you've been waiting for it). more ›

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. more ›

Thank God it's Friday, and it's two and a half hours left to the Shanghaiist Happy Hour! Come alone, or with friends, colleagues or dates! Come right after work, or come late! more ›

Twenty-six hours until the next Shanghaiist Happy Hour ... and we've got our work cut out for us. We have to sort through more than 12 hours of Beatles covers songs — an amount that is illegal in most countries. Thanks to our readers (and BitTorrent) we have unearthed some gems, though, and you can see the entire list as it stands today after the jump (believe it or not, we still hove some downloads cooking). We have no covers of the Beatles song "Rain", which is good because weather.com is calling for clear skies by tomorrow evening (fingers crossed). more ›

We ask because for our June 15 Happy Hour at Abbey Road we are piecing together a playlist made up of all Beatles songs sung by other people. Personally, we are partial to just about anything by Elliott Smith, but we know there are many, many options out there — the Beatles are the most covered band in music history (or so we read somewhere). more ›

Where: Abbey Road, 45 Yueyang Lu, near Dongping Lu, in the former French Concession. Tel: 6431-6787 more ›

Sometimes we get nostalgic for the spring of aught-four, and afternoons and evenings whiled away outside at the original Cotton's, on Yueyang Lu near Dongping Lu. The bar that occupied the space after Cotton's forced departure was to be avoided at all costs and then came Freelance, which despite helping Shanghaiist throw a damn fine 80s party, never really caught on for whatever reason. And so now we have Abbey Road, which we told you about at the beginning of the month. We've been there a few times now and we are happy to report that the look, the feel of Cotton's is back. A few notes: more ›

Turnover is the name of the game in the Shanghai restaurant and bar biz. So, just a few months after Freelance called it quits, a new bar/restaurant is ready to give it a go at the same location. It's called Abbey Road and, yes, it appears as though they are going with a — wait for it — Beatles theme. From the PR email today: more ›

Editor's note: Sorry for getting this up so late in the day. But if you still happen to be stuck behind a computer, there is plenty of time left to show your love for Australia! more ›

There's a lot of treats in store for jazz listeners over the next couple weeks, starting with the Juno award-winning David Braid sextet dropping into town on Saturday to play at JZ Club. Then the Norway-China ("NOTCH") music festival kicks off during the October holiday week, with concerts taking place at JZ aand Rojam. Most of the shows, including Bugge Wesseltoft (who played two years ago at JZ Club) will be at the Rojam disco on October 4 and 5, and will feature more electronic-based music. The part at JZ will just be one night, Oct. 6, and will feature two different jazz groups: the Ola Kvernberg Trio and Hakon Kornstad. more ›

The prize package for best 80s outfit at our Happy Hour this Friday sure is heating up. In addition to a bottle of Solid XS Vodka donated by our host Freelance Bar & Grill, the lucky winner will also get two items kindly donated by the self-described "sexiest menswear store in Shanghai" -- MANifesto. (We will force the winner to take a couple Shanghaiist T-shirts off our hands, as well.) more ›

For those who have no idea what we are taking about, Shanghaiist is having an 80s-themed Happy Hour this Friday at Freelance. All are welcome. There will be cheap drinks, free food, 80s music and at least one tall white guy wearing slip-on checkered Vans and a "Frankie Says Relax" T-shirt. More party details here. The best (or worst) dressed will get a bottle of Solid XS Vodka, courtesy of the friendly folks at Freelance. Some other prizes could trickle in this week, so stay tuned (and if you are a local business owner and want to donate a prize, please email us at info at shanghaiist.com). more ›

Did you realize that July 28 is the 20-year anniversary -- to the day -- of July 28, 1986?!? We're glad we noticed it when we did -- because that gave us just enough time to throw together an 80s-themed Shanghaiist Happy Hour at Freelance Bar & Grill (we are cool with the place now) to mark the momentous occasion. Here's all you need to know: more ›

With the World Cup having finally drawn to a close, what better time to review, not the tournament itself, but the various drinking establishments in the city that Shanghaiist frequented during a month of serious boozing and football-watching. Quite simply, there was no better excuse than the world's biggest sporting event to check out some new watering holes, and swell the coffers of Shanghai's already dirt-rich bar owners. more ›

We're wondering how long our boycott of the former Cotton's location (more details here and here) was meant to last. One year? Two? Forever? It was pretty easy to boycott when it was Shane Bar -- that place sucked -- but what happens if something good takes over the space? It's just a great spot for a restaurant and bar, which is why we loved it when it was Cotton's. Some guy named Lance feels the same way, according Jarrett Wrisley's latest "new¬ed" column in SH: more ›

And you thought it was just a Canadian bar. (Did you, really? I mean, they do have a Canadian map on the wall. But they also have this mantra posted, in big block letters: REAL MEN EAT BEAVER.) Shanghaiist ended up at the Eager Beaver last night after a late dinner at Anadolu -- home of the 18 RMB beef doner wrap and the 25 RMB can of Tsingtao. At the Beaver, bottles of Tsingtao were 15 RMB, 50 Years of BBC News played sans sound on the flat screen and someone handed out tiny slips of paper advertising "Beaver Breaks," an evening of "HipHop/Breakbeat/Drum'n'Bass/Ragga" from your favorite DJs The Melkman, Skyline and DJ O. Pretty much your average Wednesday night near Dongping Lu. more ›