STOP! in the name of WHALE!: JUE Launch Party

“Stop! In the name of WHALE!”

(My favorite photo of the night feat. WHALE!’s very own DJ Assassin Eyes)

JUE Music + Art Festival 2012 launched with a massive WHALE! dance-a-thon at 4corners肆角餐吧 bar last Friday night.

The music was blasting, the dance floor was rocking and people were getting sh*t-faced. Just your typical WHALE! party I suppose.

Good thing I took a nap before heading over because every WHALE! thus far has led into all-night ragers. This past WHALE! was no exception. I, myself, managed enough will power to drag myself out at a reasonable hour so that I could be up early the next morning for my Qi Gong workshop at The Hutong with TCM Specialist Alex Tan (more on this later!). But my point to mentioning this is that I missed the point around 3AM when police came and tried to crash WHALE!, but in the end, I hear WHALE! kept going!

Good on WHALE! for partying on!  

Here’s a recap of the night before I slipped out early…

LumDimSum Snapshots of WHALE! - 

(the Official Launch Party of JUE Music + Art Festival)

JUE Music + Art Festival Launches with WHALE!

“I like Crab People, I like the Crab People song. I’m not going to DJ it, but I think that when people hear Crab People as a DJ name, the first thing that pops into their head is probably “fun party, slammin’ tunes”. ”

- DJ Crab People of WHALE!

If you know South Park’s Crab People, then you’re probably cool enough to come to WHALE!‘s resurrection (we’ve been deprived without WHALE! for a little over one month now). Not only is WHALE! back, their party TONIGHT also happens to mark the official launch of the JUE Music + Art Festival.

Who is this DJ Crab People you ask? Among this zany group of ‘non-DJ’s', you’ll just have to turn up to find out.  In the meantime, you can read CityWeekend’s interview with DJ Crab People, which is kind of ridiculously awesome – check out the full interview here.

My weekend plans are looking pretty full thanks to JUE with their multitude of events from their launch party in collaboration with the unstoppable WHALE! team of your favorite DJ’s tonight to their headlining event Death Cab for Cutie’s concert tomorrow night (Saturday, March 10) at Tango. Get in with JUE starting tonight at WHALE! which will be hosted at the ever-popular, newly opened 4corners肆角餐吧 bar by the Drum and Bell Tower in Gulou.

“Come and experience the micro-smash for yourself. MUSIC! DRINKS! SEATING! TOILET FACILITIES!” – DJ Crab People

Now how can anyone say ‘no’ to toilet facilities in ALL CAPS?!

See you tonight at WHALE! 

Click here to see pictures from previous WHALE! parties:

• WHALE! on a Rainy Night in the Deep, Dark Hutongs
• “W” is for WHALE!
• A WHALE! of a Good Time

Event Details:

• Date: Friday, March 9, 2012
• Time: 10PM-late
• Location: 4corners 肆角餐吧
• Address:  By Drum and Bell Tower on DaShibei Hutong 西城, 大石碑胡同27号 (See map below)
• FREE ENTRY

Emergency WHALE! at 4corners! Tonight!

Blue Alert! It’s a WHALE! Emergency TONIGHT!

WHALE! is holding a last-minute emergency party tonight, Friday, January 27, 2012 at the newly opened 4corners肆角餐吧 bar by the Drum and Bell Tower in Gulou.

Previously, WHALE! parties were rocking Beijing with monthly gigs around town, but since winter hit, it’s been a few months without some WHALE! fun.

So what calls WHALE! out of hibernation?  A member of the WHALE! family is leaving Beijing for a few months and this is his unofficial leaving party.

Who is leaving you ask?  Well, they are all masked by alias names, but here’s one hint: It’s the only DJ who changes his alias name every WHALE! party. This time around, his name is DJ No Requests.

Who is WHALE!?  Check out CW’s article on WHALE!’s DJs here.

If WHALE! is a new concept for you, the best way to sum it up quickly: WHALE! is “200 tons of danceable rock and electro in the deep, dark hutong”.  

And the eclectic music mix will be played by the regular WHALE! DJ Line-up featuring DJ Assassin Eyes, Bobby Dropper,  DJ Fun Party, DJ Dirty Pirate and our beloved DJ No Requests.

This has been something in the works the past weeks, but they’ve only just announced it and as this is the unofficial leaving party of DJ No Requests, there will also be an unofficial dress theme: Cardigans.

I was hoping to find some quirky picture of a whale wearing a cardigan, but I guess it figures the reverse is more likely.

So here you have it: Whales knitted onto a cardigan.

Close enough.

…or perhaps you prefer this knit WHALE!?

OK. Enough fun for now.

Time to WHALE! at 4corners! TONIGHT!

Click here to see pictures from previous WHALE! parties:

• WHALE! on a Rainy Night in the Deep, Dark Hutongs
• “W” is for WHALE!
• A WHALE! of a Good Time

Event Details:

• Date: Friday, January 27, 2012
• Time: 10PM-late
• Location: 4corners 肆角餐吧
• Address:  By Drum and Bell Tower on DaShibei Hutong 西城, 大石碑胡同27号 (See map below)
• FREE ENTRY 

4corners 肆角餐吧: Open Kitchen with Sledgehammers

2012 will be bringing the beginnings of the creation of 4corners 肆角餐吧. Over the new year, this new bar featured live music, capoeira, a fireplace with marshmallows and now they are continuing in their theme of “destruction and creation” with an Open Kitchen event.

What does that mean exactly? It means they are rounding up the community to wreck open a new kitchen!

“We’re gonna put on our helmets, goggles and face masks, lift up those sledge hammers and get wrecking!! What are we wrecking? Let’s just say it brings a whole other meaning to open kitchen. Music, good people, and sledgehammers provided free of charge.” – Jun Trinh

All who come to par-take in the creation of their new kitchen will be treated to drinks sponsored by Vedett, Beijing Draft and Ypioca Cachaca.

Event Details:

• Date: Wednesday, January 4, 2012

• Time: 8PM

• Location: 4corners

• Map: Click here.