[My Weekender] with Daniel Borin

Posted on February 28, 2008

Daniel Borin is a Co-Founder and Director at Enjoy China.

My initial reaction when I was asked to post "My Weekend" online was, "sure why not, there's heaps going on in Shanghai." Then, when I got to thinking about it I realized my life here has changed a lot over the last 5 years. I thought about the old days, when my weekends started on Wednesday and ended on Tuesday morning. I thought about when Park 97, Guandii, and Maoming Nan Lu were the center of Shanghai nightlife. It was a tight crew back then and when you went out ON the town you knew everybody IN town. But alas, those days have come and gone; Shanghai's nightlife scene has tripled in size, and the cool character of old bars and clubs has been replaced by the cookie cutter approach of Bund bars and mega clubs. Given, you can still have a great night out in Shanghai and there are umpteen choices, it just ain't the same.

Anyway back to My Weekend in the here and now.

more of Daniel's weekend here

IPod Wars and More

Posted on February 28, 2008

The second Shanghai IPod Battle takes place this Saturday (the first one was last year at the ill-fated Pirates) in the street-chic environs of Volar. So, what is an IPod Battle? According to promoter Arthur Gallice, an IPod Battle, "is a musical tournament that puts in competition eight teams with the mission of seducing the crowd and make them go completely nuts by charming them with their Mp3 players and with their STYLE." And... what do the teams win?


more DJ and live music happenings here

Contract the Fever

Posted on February 26, 2008

In 2007, Shanghai was engaged in a flamboyant love affair with live music. The year saw a couple of big scale music festivals, several elaborately arranged international acts supported by local talents, and long lineups of high profile Beijing bands almost every weekend. Locally-based concert/party organizers S.T.D. (Sonically Transmitted Disease) rode the wave of passion and were responsible for some of the hottest live/electronic parties in town.

But 2008 got off to a rocky start with the closing of 4Live, the shutting down of Yuyintang for renovations and a near dearth of live music of any kind. Was 2007 a blip in the radar for live music in Shanghai? What can we expect in 2008?

The closing of 4Live, Shanghai's only consistent larger live music venue, was a wake up call for live music fans. On the surface, 4Live was a successful venue with a regular crowd and solid bookings of talented local, national and international acts. Financial stability, however, was unattainable and this implies the precarious state of live music in Shanghai. So, what about the survival of the one and only regular "rock" party in town?


more with S.T.D. here

[Wellbeing] Yoga 101

Posted on February 24, 2008

Tranquility, relaxation, wellness -- achieving these states, I think, is something we all strive for in our lives but sometimes it's difficult to maintain all three at the same time. Yoga, a more holistic form of exercise, concentrates on strengthening and improving our metal and spiritual sides as well as our physical wellbeing, and is a great option for people seeking more balance in their lives.

So what is yoga anyway? Well, it's much, much more than just moving your body into strange positions. Yoga means "union" in Sanskrit, referring to the unification of mind, body, and spirit. The ultimate goal of yoga is to create balance in the body through the development of strength and flexibility, which in turn strengthens the mind, body, and spirit leading to inner peace and happiness. Perhaps you've wanted to get into yoga for quite some time now, but weren't quite sure how to go about it. Starting something new can often be a little intimidating at first, especially if you have limited knowledge about where to go in Shanghai.

So what kinds of yoga classes are available?

more on yoga and recommended yoga spaces in Shanghai here

Where to Store Your Snowboard-Gear

Posted on February 24, 2008

Or your ski gear. I don't want to get into the debate of which winter sport is superior, though I think snowboards take up more space. The question is: where...

[My Weekender] with Fabien Barbet

Posted on February 21, 2008

Fabien Barbet teaches at L¡¯Ecole Francaise and is the drummer for local rock band The Rogue Transmission.

Dear SmartShanghai aficionados, my name is Fabien and this is how I'll work out my weekend number 8 (of 2008, that¡¯s a fortuitous ba-ba bum). Good news is this time I won't even need to wait until the last minute to check all of the events posted here and on Facebook to make a final decision, as things are pretty clear already.

Friday is just all about the Get In The Van! party. I can't see any reason why I'd be choosing something else. Not only because I'm performing, but also ¡®cause it's been a while since we had some decent live rock music in Shanghai (longing for a new 4 Live...). And because it's an original packaging that won't ruin your weekend budget at all. If despite all the buzz you still happen to be unaware of it, the night will start at C's Bar -- they just hosted last night's (well)come back of the Brown Nylon Suit party -- for an "I don't even need a happy hour" happy hour straight after work. I'll eat something around there (I may try to order a Hello Pizza from their couches) and 10 kuai beers to wait quietly for the 8:30pm buses. At that time, me and 200+ other people will get on a bus (drink some free REEB) and go to Live Bar!

more of Fabien's weekend here

Interview: Bjork

Posted on February 19, 2008

Iceland's most illustrious export, Bjork is known for both her experimentally baroque electro-pop and her idiosyncratically eccentric personality. She now has six albums under her belt and her latest offering Volta sees the artist thematically revisiting conceptions of feminism, childhood, and paganism, albeit according to her trademark lighthearted and jubilant musical aesthetic. In an interview with Pitchfork, she summed up Volta thusly: "It's sort of trying to put out some good vibes for the little princesses out there. There are actually other things than losing a glass slipper."

Released late last year, the album debuted at number nine on Billboard, and as part of her post-album world tour Bjork plays live in Shanghai on March 2 at the Shanghai International Gymnastic Center.

The singer started recording when she was 11 and is now a global household name. Bjork has always stood out, at school in Reykjavik her blond class mates thought she was Chinese because she had straight dark hair and brown eyes, Bjork thrives on her uniqueness. Breaking on an international level with the release of her seminal 1993 album Debut (featuring the single ¡°Human Behavior¡±), Bjork has gone on to receive 12 Grammy Awards, an Academy Award and two Golden Globe awards. Expect none less than a captivating and expressive performance this March, as Bjork's musical and theatrical sides unite.

SmartShanghai caught up with Bjork for a chat about her new album and the live show...


A mix of things. It's not somewhere I've wanted to live all my life or anything like that. It¡¯s different from London in that London was always the big city next to Iceland and I remember going to London for the first time when I was 16 with all my pocket money and going to Virgin Megastore and being in there for hours wondering what albums I was going to buy and putting them back on the rack and going, "No, I¡¯m going to get his one." Having to sit down because I was dizzy. It was like heaven. I always had that relationship with London that it was this place where everyone was playing music, where all the DJs were and there were amazing record shops. With New York it's more like just skyscrapers and an urban extreme. It was a mixture. I really did love London but there was a time when I had the paparazzi always hanging around. I'm not judging people who thrive on that sort of attention but I don't. I can't write music. That's my reaction and that's one of the reasons I ended up in New York because it is a cosmopolitan city. But I don't get followed around here which is amazing. And my boyfriend's from here, it's a mix of things. I still spend half my time in Iceland and it's just a five-hour flight from New York, which is not bad.


Well, there are only one hundred thousand people in Reykjavik. I'm sure you'd bump into everyone at some point.

more with Bjork here

Recommended Pizza

Posted on February 18, 2008

When we heard that Da Marco was opening a new location in Xujiahui it was the most exciting news we'd heard in a long time. Already, Da Marco's main location on Dongzhu An Bang Lu has been serving up Shanghai's most reliably good Italian and arguably the very best pizza in town. Da Marco's second location on the pedestrian street Yandang Lu was disappointing, so we had our fingers crossed to see if the new Xujiahui branch would be able to live up to the original's standards.



more on Da Marco here

Yay! The Oscars are On!

Posted on February 18, 2008

I am so glad the writers' strike is over, mainly because I detest conflict and was tired of watching reruns of Family Guy. It's great news for everyone. The writes...

What to Do When a Sex Offender Lives in Your Building

Posted on February 18, 2008

If you've discovered that a registered sex offender lives in your building, first, calm your fears. Then evaluate the situation with clarity and reason. So advises this very informative article...

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