Yesterday suddenly became a 'free' evening. I had been pledged to an acquaintance's birthday party, but she took sick and called it off at the last moment.
I was in a way quite relieved. I hadn't been in a mood for heavy drinking - particularly as I had a lot of 'work-related' things to get done today, and a projected 8am start. Also, I had been quite excited about the prospect of catching some of Ziyo 'unplugged' at the music bar closest to my home, Jiangjinjiu.
Ziyo are one of those bands that I've been meaning to track down for two years or so, but somehow keep missing out on. Everybody says they're good, but they don't seem to play that many gigs, and never at times when I'm free to go. I have rubbed shoulders with their rather lovely lead singer, Helen, once or twice at the bar in Kolegas, but that's about it.
I missed out again last night. I'd never been all that confident the gig would go ahead. Even the listings magazines seemed doubtful about it.
Now, I like Jiangjinjiu a lot. It's cosy, atmospheric, you practically sit on the stage. The draught beer's usually decent; they do some very nice snacks; and they even have bottles of Sam Adams Boston Lager on offer (one of the few American beers I'll touch; and, to my knowledge, they are one of only two bars in town to stock this). One of the few things I don't like about it quite so much is that its programming is so haphazard and so poorly advertised. And they are uncompromisingly 'Chinese'. The only indication of what acts may be on is a crudely (illegibly?) written list in Chinese only on a small blackboard outside the door. Even foreign bands are identified only by obscure Chinese 'transliterations' of their names. Even Chinese punters seem quite baffled by these scrawly hieroglyphs most of the time. Last night, I don't think they'd even bothered to update the blackboard, because as far as I could tell (they at least use the Western number system) the dates mentioned were all the previous week.
Luckily, a friendly Chinese girl outside took pity on my bafflement and assured me that Xiao He was supposed to be on at 10pm. Result! I love that guy. Until then, we had a pretty decent house band (well, a duo) providing the entertainment.
I have to say, it was one of the less involving performances I've seen from Xiao He (maybe I've just been spoiled: he's absolutely blown me away the last few times I've seen him), and he only played one fairly brief set. Having The Choirboy bending my ear throughout about some dodgy real estate development in Qingdao was a non-ideal distraction as well. Still, even a sub-par Xiao He gig is better than just about anything else you can hear in this city on a typical night, so it was not a bad evening.
And, being free of music by 11 or so, we were tempted to look in on the nearby Pool Bar afterwards - where I was once again soundly spanked (though the margins between success and failure each time were tantalisingly slim) by the resident champion, the very cute but utterly ruthless NaNa. So much for my 'early night'. So much for my 8am start.
These days, even a so-so, nothing-much-planned kind of evening seems to turn into something.....
3 comments:
actually, i think i saw them listed online as playing Jiangjinjiu on SATURDAY night. Dude, I don't know what's up with all these bands not showing or changing their play date AFTER their original play date has been published/posted.
(This happened to me 2 Sundays past at Jiangjinjiu, when I was expecting to hear our favorite -- IZ. and again, last Sunday, when I was expecting to hear Hanggai at Yugong Yishan.)
I've read up on Ziyo, too, and wondered. Hoped you would have had a listen so you could report back. Oh well, I guess next time.
I actually found myself Sunday night at another pool house in that area - across the courtyard from Jiangjinjiu and in an alley to the north. (Ball House? Bau Haus? I couldn't quite catch the name they told me and I certainly did NOT see a sign anywhere). It's quite hidden and unobvious from the outside, though the inside is fabulous. Lots of quirky converted Siheyuan character and quiet. The space is large and I imagine the place can be loud and overwhelming on more active nights, but I was blessed to be there on a quiet night, just me and the few friends with whom I'd come. Another group appeared (about 3 or 4 well-dressed Chinese "business" men) but they quickly disappeared into another nook and left us to continue to enjoy our space. The couches are comfortable, the drinks are varied, and they have several pool tables and foosball tables (yes, foosball). Though, the pool tables are 30 kuai an hour - a consideration if one were planning to play all night. Actually, the space reminded me of basement in a suburban house in the US. Something that might be featured in the shows "Trading Spaces" or "While You Were Out" where friends and family makeover living spaces of the victim/homeowner as a surprise. Okay, so that connection may not make it sound like such the awesome space to go visit, but really it is. If you haven't gone yet, I recommend a step inside and a peak around.
Oh, Tulsa, what have you done?
Don't get me started!!
I've lived in this neighbourhood for nearly 5 years. Do you really think there's anywhere around here I don't know about?
Whoah, Froog, hold on there. my comments were certainly to you, but also to any other random visitor. I can see you feel strongly about the space. And I don't underestimate your knowledge of bars in the area. As I wrote that comment, I fully expected you to write back saying you hated it. Though I admit, I was not expecting a post dedicated to it or the extent of your dislike.
And really, just because you have 5 years of bar-hopping knowledge, doesn't mean the rest of us can't and won't get excited about places that are new to us.
I obviously like to hear your opinion on these places. That is why I am here, reading a Bar Blog. And so, I'm glad you provided it. Thank you. I see your points in many ways.
But I stand behind my comment that I enjoyed Sunday night at the Ball House. And I have no expectation that others who actually drink alcohol or play pool seriously would like it. My needs are slightly different then the typical bar prop, eh?
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