A-Trak’s Back on the Beijing Attack

A-Trak is widely recognized as one of the world’s top electro-hip hop DJs.

He won his first DMC championship at only 15 years of age (the youngest DJ ever to claim this title) and he has since won all five DJ world championships and also the first to win DMC, ITF and Vestax.  DJ for Kanye West, A-Trak has also launched America’s most trendsetting new label, Fool’s Gold, and is currently one of the most sought-after remixers in electronic music.

Together with Montreal-born A-Trak there will be Italian´s rising star Congorock kicking off in China! A young high-flyer from fool´s gold label, Congorock has managed to distinguish himself in style and approach by synthesizing his influences – from Dancemania 12″s and hardcore punk to video game cheat codes and Magic: The Gathering – into a unique world of sound all his own. Don´t miss this unique night…FIRE!

Line-Up: Miss Melody & Mobidextrous (live), TNEM, Saul D, A-Trak, Congorock, Liman, A.M.U // VJ Chen Xiongwei

This Friday, get to Tango by 11PM cause you won’t want to miss DJ Saul D’s set (guaranteed to the crowd riled up), and of course Congorock and A-Trak are expected to be nothing less of exceptional.

Door Tickets are RMB 150 or Pre-sale tickets are RMB 100 available at Tango Taobao -  http://m-tickets.taobao.com/

Event Details:

• Date: Friday, June 10, 2011
• Time: 10PM – late
• Tickets: RMB 150 at door or RMB 100 pre-sale – http://m-tickets.taobao.com/
• Location: Tango
• Address: 79 Hepingli Xijie, Yonghegong, South of Ditan Park - 东城区和平里西街79号（雍和宫桥北）

From Burberry to Hit FM: Keane Kills It in Beijing TWICE

After performing at the massively talked about, high-tech private Burberry fashion event last Wednesday night, Keane then performed for a second live music performance just a few days later at a much larger private party for Hit FM’s 8th birthday party at Tango on Saturday night.

With crazy raving reviews for shows, you can catch video clips of their star performance on both youtube and youku online.

LumDimSummary: The Whitest Boy Alive @ Star Live

My first thought when I saw The Whitest Boy Alive‘s lead man Erlend Øye (from Kings Of Convenience) get on stage?

Napoleon Dynamite!

He’s tall, skinny (lanky even), big glasses, curly/fro-ey hair…Napoleon could seriously pass as his doppelgänger!

But as soon as Erland Øye spoke into the mic, he proved exactly why he has such a massively loyal following worldwide.

Unlike Napoleon (who is semi-retarded), Erland is incredibly cool and everyone at the Star Live music gig was raving about how much they love the Whitest Boy Alive…or maybe that was just me! (I think hipsters are incapable of expressing the same level of enthusiasm that I do.)

“Lead man Erlend Øye is a long time hero of mine from his work as half of Kings Of Convenience. One of the coolest men alive, surely?”

- Woody, fan of The Whitest Boy Alive

At their show in Shanghai, women were throwing their lipsticked bras onto the stage!!  …definitely not Napoleon.

Considering it’s a few days after the show and I’m still listening to the tracks on repeat goes to show just how much I think they ROCK.

LumDimSum Snapshots of The Whitest Boy Alive at Star Live:

A Few Other Upcoming JUE (觉) Events:

• IMPROVISE 2 with Beijing Improv & LDTX (3.19): Joint dance and theatre improv performance at LDTX studios, RMB 80
• Shanren (山人) Concert (3.18): Chinese Folk, Reggae-Rockified. 9-11PM @ Tango RMB 60 presale/RMB 80 at door
• *The Besnard Lakes (3.19): A good Canadian Band “like the Beach Boys when it’s calm, and Queen when it’s crunchy.” 9-11PM @ Mao Livehouse RMB 60 presale/RMB 80 at door
• The Black Atlantic (3.23): Acoustic pop band from the Netherlands. @ Mao Livehouse (ticket and time TBA, click here for more info)
• *AAB 2011 Preview Party (3.25): Beer, BBQ and Art @ AAB’s beautiful courtyard space. 6PM, FREE
• *WHALE! and Friends Dance Party (3.25): 200 tons of danceable rock and electronica, 11PM @ School Bar, FREE
• Panbianr Independent Film Screenings & Discussions (3.26-3.27): 2 day discussion and showings of a dozen documentaries, narrative features, and shorts. From 12PM-8PM at HomeShop (click here for info) RMB 100 for 2 day pass,
• Abaji (3.27): A man with over 250 instruments. 7:30-9:30PM @ Jianghu Bar, RMB 30

For a full event run-down, check out their website: www.juefestival.com

LumDimSum Super Sweepstakes

For your chance to win a RMB 200 voucher at Hummingbird Therapeutic Spa, answer the following question in the comment section:

If Napoleon Dynamite is Erlend Øye’s doppelgänger, who would be yours and why?

Deadline is Tuesday, March 22 at noon.  To answer, click here and scroll down to comment section

JUE (觉): Awaken to a Celebration of Arts & Music

觉 / JUE (pronounced joo-eh) - verb: to sense; to awaken

An independent urban arts and music festival in both Shanghai and Beijing, JUE (觉) is a collection of alternative, creative and progressive arts and music events over a three-week period from March 12-April 3.

What you can expect:

• Almost 100 artists
• 42 venues
• 22 concerts
• 22 art exhibitions
• 5 live comedy events
• 5 spoken word events
• 4 theatre/performance art productions
• 4 workshops
• 4 film screenings

Presented by Split Works, JUE is now in its 3rd year and with a diverse collection of art, theatre and film events along with major music gigs including one of my favorite groups – the deftly danceable Scandinavian group – The Whitest Boy Alive performing this Tuesday, March 15 at Tango.

JUE (觉) Event Highlights:

• Kite at the Bookworm (3.12): A modern take on the most ancient Asian traditional of strings and drums. 8-10PM, FREE
• “Slap, Rap, Words” Bookworm Literary Festival Event (3.12): Festival guest slam poets Omar Musa and Kelly-Lee Hickey battle Chinese hip-hop artists at Dos Kolegas at 11PM, RMB 50
• 19 Solo Shows on Painting (3.13): Opening Reception at 3PM at Platform China Space A & B (click here for details)
• *The Whitest Boy Alive (3.15): Deftly Danceable Scandinavian Efficiency @ 3rd floor of Tango, 7:30PM, RMB 130 (presale)/ RMB 180 (door)
• Vitalic with Pet Conspiracy, Liman, A.M.U, VJ Zhiqi (3.17): Like Daft Punk – a world leading electronic producer. 9:30PM @ Star Live RMB 80 presale/RMB 120 at door
• IMPROVISE 2 with Beijing Improv & LDTX (3.19): Joint dance and theatre improv performance at LDTX studios, RMB 80
• Shanren (山人) Concert (3.18): Chinese Folk, Reggae-Rockified. 9-11PM @ Tango RMB 60 presale/RMB 80 at door
• *The Besnard Lakes (3.19): A good Canadian Band “like the Beach Boys when it’s calm, and Queen when it’s crunchy.” 9-11PM @ Mao Livehouse RMB 60 presale/RMB 80 at door
• The Black Atlantic (3.23): Acoustic pop band from the Netherlands. @ Mao Livehouse (ticket and time TBA, click here for more info)
• *AAB 2011 Preview Party (3.25): Beer, BBQ and Art @ AAB’s beautiful courtyard space. 6PM, FREE
• *WHALE! and Friends Dance Party (3.25): 200 tons of danceable rock and electronica, 11PM @ School Bar, FREE
• Panbianr Independent Film Screenings & Discussions (3.26-3.27): 2 day discussion and showings of a dozen documentaries, narrative features, and shorts. From 12PM-8PM at HomeShop (click here for info) RMB 100 for 2 day pass,
• Abaji (3.27): A man with over 250 instruments. 7:30-9:30PM @ Jianghu Bar, RMB 30

For a full event run-down, check out their website: www.juefestival.com

Event Details:

• Date: Saturday, March 12 – April 3, 2011
• Location: All over Beijing & Shanghai
• Tickets: http://www.juefestival.com/11/en/?page_id=1124

• Website: www.juefestival.com

LumDimSum Super Sweepstakes

For your chance to win a RMB 200 voucher at Hummingbird Therapeutic Spa, answer the following question in the comment section :

Which JUE (觉) event are you most excited about and why?

Deadline is Tuesday, March 15 at noon.  To answer, click here and scroll down to comment section

Chains with Confusing Consistency

If you choose to franchise your business, whether you own a grocery chain, laundry chain or a restaurant chain, its safe to say that a certain level of consistency should be expected – consistency in the product sold, service, quality, quantity and selection.

Example of Consistent Chain:

When the second Hatsune opened in Sanlitun Village in April 2009 as a new location with a new design and makeover with the menu, Alan Wong was meticulous in ensuring that the service and product would equal that of the original Guanghua Lu branch that opened in 2001.  Customers like the option of a second location, but they still want to satisfy their sushi samurai cravings – they still expect the usual Moto-Roll-Ah among other favorite rolls.

Example of a Confused Chain:

I remember the first time I moved apartments and went to the neighboring Fornet Dry Cleaning Store to find that my Fornet card with pre-paid credit did not apply to this new Fornet or the gazillion other Fornets in Beijing.  What is that about?

New Example:

After hearing about my terribly disappointing experience at Chao Dian this past week, my good friend Dan Goodman FINALLY took me to the 24-hour dimsum spot near my apartment in the Tuanjiehu hood.  People always tell me about this mysteriously good dimsum spot near me, and I never knew what they were talking about…until today.

Surprise to me, this ‘mysterious dim sum restaurant’ turned out to be none other than the very well-known restaurant chain – Jin Ding Xuan金鼎轩. I have been to the branch next to Tango at least half a dozen times, whether for dinner or late-night grub and always took it as it is – a relatively cheap and massively ginormous Chinese restaurant with quick service, awful entertainment and half-decent food. I never even thought of it necessarily as a dimsum restaurant since their menu also features a lot of Sichuan dishes and standard “Chinese restaurant” dishes.

So naturally, I quite expected my brunch experience today to be similar to my previous experiences and was pleasantly surprised to find a winner!  Again, massive restaurant with 4 levels, it was packed (and luckily no wait upon arrival), quick service, big menu with lots of pictures, and a very satisfying dimsum brunch!

As it was a great experience, I’ll be a returning customer for certain, but knowing the way “chain venues” go in China, I think I’ll still be avoiding the branch by Yonghegong.

Review of Jin Ding Xuan 金鼎轩: 15 Tuanjiehu Nanlu, Chaoyang Park 团结湖南路15号 Tel: 8596-8881

Best Part:

• A good selection of dimsum staples – overall good taste and good prices (ordered about 8 dishes and total bill was RMB 86 (bill at Chao Dian for same amount of food was RMB 174)
• The place was packed, lively atmosphere
• Open 24 hours
• It’s in MY hood!

Comments:

• Normally in the “Best Part” section, I would highlight the fact that there are 4 branches of Jin Ding Xuan (Yonghegong, Tuanjiehu, Olympic Area, and Fengtai), but I would say my experience eating dimsum today was much better than my previously dimsum meals at the Yonghegong branch (which I thought was not fresh and very mediocre).

Highlights were BBQ Pork Buns, Shaomai, and LuoBuoGao, with other dishes being satisfactory.  Everything was good overall but nothing exemplary or mind-blowing in terms of taste and quantity. But for the price, it’s great value.

I’m just waiting for the day when someone opens a Hatsune equivalent to DimSum in Beijing (casual, fun vibe, smart design, high quality raw materials, great service, all for a fair price).