Boys and girls, I do try so hard to be positive about all elements of nightlife in our Shanghai. I try to present to you the best of the city as honestly as I can, ignoring the lesser places. But a couple of nights ago, I was down at the Peace Hotel, on the Bund, and spent an hour in the ground floor bar, just off the lobby. Or it may have been three days, it certainly felt that long.
The bar itself is pleasant enough, renovated in a 1930s style, and business is excellent. It's full all the time, in spite of a cover charge of 100 yuan, drinks not included!!! The problem is the music. My partner that night described the average age of the band as "deceased". Which is cruel, but close to accurate!!
Not that age is a problem. Some of my best friends are over forty, after all!! It's the music -- it's awful. I mean, truly terrible. They are out of tune, they are missing notes, the rhythm is wrong. And the reason is that they don't care. The tourists come to see them, like animals in the zoo, whether they play well or not. I think many people actually like it that it is so bad -- it adds to the "atmosphere". Oh dear. My dream is that the band members decide it's time to retire and a younger crop of our Shanghai musicians replaces them, and makes the bar into a real jazz club.
But it wouldn't work, would it, my darlings. If the musicians were less than 50, it would take all the fun out of it. Attendances would drop, and that would be the end of that.
I have received a very warm and slightly forward piece of fanmail from Jun in Hong Kong, who says:
"I just read a couple of your diaries today. I am a Shanghainese myself but now living in Hong Kong. As far as reputation goes, HK is supposed to have a great night life, but after reading your column, HK seems like nothing. I always thought Shanghai would have a great night life, but this has exceeded my expectation by far. The problem for me is that I don't come back very often, and when I do, I have to spend most of my time with my
parents and visiting relatives. So I have never had the chance to experience all the things you wrote about in Shanghai (being out of touch, don't know where to go is another major factor). Now, I am determined to try it
out the next time I am in town. Would you be kind enough to be my guide or just have a drink with me? As you said, you are always looking to add more experience and memory to your life, then how about add another friend? :)"
Jun, my dear, Hong Kong has nothing to compare with Shanghai in terms of quality. It has higher prices, more revellers and more extraordinary fashions. But the quality of a city's nigfhtlife is not just a matter of how many bars there are, or the amount of noise created on a Friday night, or how many beers are drunk. It is something else, some "X" factor which is hard to define but which is related to the intimacy and humanity and personality of the scene and its participants. In this, Shanghai excels. It is like a Shanghai crab, or a prawn -- smaller can be juicier -- once you take off the shell!!!
Next time, you're in town, take your relatives out with you, they'd enjoy it, I'm sure!! I'll see you at the bar in Judy's at 2 a.m., but only if your mother is with you!!! (I'm a little wary of blind dates, sorry!!).
Byeeeee!!
