Community

Fotografiska is back with the ‘Night at The Museum’ series presented by Grey Goose. Join them for another evening of celebrations on 25th May 2024 with an exhibition guided tour at 9pm, where you can learn about the current exhibitions in the museum. After the tour, guests can enjoy drinks and party at the private lounge and their beautiful terrace overlooking Suzhou Creek. Tickets include admission to all exhibitions and 1 welcome drink.

BritCham's family-friendly outdoor event returns with over 70 brands showcasing their products, food vendors showcasing delicious dishes and flavors from around the world, interactive & performance zones, sports experience, STEM Activities, Health & well-being interactions, and lucky draw prizes.

A few months after the closure of community favorite pizza restaurant ZUP they return for a pop-up, taking over the kitchen at Pony Up slinging their Upside Down Sicilian’s by the piece along with our tasty Smash Burgers. Pony Up’s talented Dre Yang (formerly of SG fame - Speaklow, The Odd Couple, etc) will be creating some lovely day time cocktails for u to pair with all the delicious goodness. It’s goin to be a fun filled weekend of pizza, libations and good company.

Everyone's favorite downtown brunch spot is turning 9 years old! To celebrate, Egg is offering an all-day breakfast special and an all-night Chinese wine deal. They will be hosting a special mini wine festival at 6:30pm where their special DJ Saucy n’ Friends will be spinning wonderful music.

This Saturday, come and celebrate all of the dynamic and unique African cultures for Africa Day at the Cameroon Import Pavilion. This event is free to come to and welcomes everyone from around the world, including families, to experience the rich and beautiful cultures that come from Africa. During this event, you can find workshops on coffee and cocoa roasting, African Buffet by Chef Jeff (must buy tickets, 149rmb), and enjoy a special dance performance by Arthur Sean at 3pm!

Dim Sum Disco is back with new jams by Big Wave and an amazing menu! You can enjoy their special Bottomless Brunch deal with a Free Flow for 198rmb or their All You Can Eat Dim Sum deal for 288rmb!

Arts & Stage

Arriving directly from Switzerland is Game Theory – a fast-paced, funny and playful dance celebration of play, sport, big emotions, and the highs and lows of playing games! This season will have you looking at dance from a whole new perspective.

“You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” Morpheus gave Neo a choice- the same one we’re about to give you. By the luscious red hue the Pearl is bathed in, you’ll know you made the correct choice.Come May 24 & 25, you too will get your chance to take a trip “Down the Rabbit Hole,” to our adult circus and cabaret! Dazzling deviants will be there to escort you into a world filled with carnal delights and breathless intrigue. A place where adventure lays around the corner and on stage. Produced by Fire Souls (those saucy seductresses that brought you “Tricks & Treats” and “The Grinch”), Down the Rabbit Hole Adult Circus and Cabaret Show is a performance like no other and can only to be found at the Pearl. Presale is 200rmb. 250rmb at the door.

Dos Au Mur is a creation where Hip Hop dance mixes aesthetic and body performance in order to raise objective and intelligible sociological questions. The artists approach a process in which humans, and the society that they form, are in constant correlation. Dos Au Mur sends us back to the idea that humans are building their surrounding world, which in return will influence them. Dancer Camille Regneault(Kami) was formerly a national level gymnast. And Julien Saint Maximin also known as Bee D, has won won several titles including French Champion, European Champion, and 4th place in the Break Dance World Championships.

On May 25, renowned conductor Hubert Soudant will take the baton of the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra for the third time. Following Mozart in 2019 and Haydn in 2023, Soudant will join forces with violinist Huang Bin to present a special concert of Beethoven. Also having collaborated with the orchestra on multiple occasions, Huang Bin will present the "Violin Concerto in D Major," which is recognized as one of the most difficult concertos to master and is also a reserved piece for this Paganini and ARD Munich Gold Medal-winning violinist. The second part is Symphony No.3 in E-flat Major, which is not only a representative work of Beethoven's creative career, but also a milestone in the history of classical symphony. The interpretation of Soudant and the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra is also highly anticipated.

“Romeo, Romeo, Romeo” is named after Shakespeare’s character who discovers love — where else? — at a dance. Dance is one of the most radically direct ways of presenting oneself to someone else. The production presents the diversity of forms, the depth of emotion, and the sheer beauty that can glance an individual when dance serves as a form of courtship display, as a mating ritual. The dancers’ eyes don't gaze out into the distance, instead, they seek to catch the audience members. Bit by bit they get closer, establishing a sense of trust. The audience becomes characters in the very performance they are witnessing. Whilst dancing the dancers try out their best pick-up lines, but they also speak about their strategies and tactics, their memories, hopes and frustrations. The result is an innovative dance production, featuring exuberant group dances, playful interactions with the spectators, and personal insight into this most ancient of dance occasions. There are 2 shows at 2pm and 6pm on May 26. Single and double tickets are available. Guests can also choose to purchase show + workshop tickets , the workshop is on Tuesday May 21, 7pm(recommended for people with dance experience).

Live Music

Antigen continues their hot streak this year as they celebrate their 6th Anniversary with a red-hot lineup over at SYSTEM featuring some of Japan’s most gnarly and visceral acts in the club world including VMO aka Violent Magic Orchestra - the six-piece extreme black metal gabber group from Osaka - bringing with their unholy fusion of black metal, techno, and visual art - ‘an absolutely new and overwhelming experience…a supercharged live show that combines relentless strobe effects with brain-melting digital displays, topped off with corpse paint make-up and an “energetic overworking of the body”.’ The fun continues with other special guests - Osaka-raised DJ ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U, “known for his penchant for baffling blends - including soul-affirming trance, haunting house riffs, blithe trap, raucous gabber, and bolshy rave bangers’ - and his shirtless, sweat-slicked, and ripped bode; and cult favorite POiSON GiRL FRiEND, known for her house and breakbeat-infused pop and R&B sound and her work in group Kiss-o-Matic. Hat tip to Antigen for standing out amongst the sterile promoters as of late.

A hefty offering of emotionally fraught core music Shanghai’s Return to Sender returns to their home turf for a special No Stage outing at Yuyintang. Hoping to ‘unlock the knot in your heart and help you move through the turbid current,’ the post-hardcore band taps into both the muscular and tender aspects of core music with whiplash-inducing flair, injecting their sound with shades of post-rock, R&B, emo pop, and then some. One moment you’re taken aback by the (effective) use of auto-tune, the next you’re being tossed up against the wall by razor-sharp guitar riffs and guttural screams.

No one sells an event better than Specters so I’ll let their words do the heavy lifting here: ‘Experience the nightmare of a lifetime at Specters Senior High School Trash Prom 2024! Glamour, grunge, and depravity will permeate, just as pubescent hormones did in high school. Dress to depress in your most cringeworthy attire! Embrace your sleazy side in a slutty gown, OR go macho with a greasy and gaudy suit.’ And while your eye may be on the crown for Trash Prom King and Queen, attendees will also get to rock out to live music courtesy of funk-laced groove starters Jen’s Curfew and DJ Tina Turnatrick. Cringe-tastic!

Scientific-minded experimental techno producer who matches his elaborately detailed music with an immersive audio-visual show, UK’s Max Cooper is a singular talent in the electronic world - one who flourishes and revels at the ‘intersection between electronic music, visual art, technology, and science’. With an immersive sound that ‘oscillates between calm, heartfelt reminiscences of 90’s rave, and a playful precision of dancefloor spirit’ he incorporates the sounds of breakbeat, drum and bass and techno to impressive ends. But where Max Cooper's true power lies in his ability to integrate his soundscapes into three-dimensional audio-visual performances and light-field installations - a mixed-media approach to creation that’s a feast for the eyes and ears. He’ll be setting up shop at Bandai Namco courtesy of New Noise with support from Chengdu electronic producer maverick Wu Zhuoling.

A righteous evening of all things sludge, stoner, and doom the SSD Fest is here to drag you through the mud, as a swirl of merciless grooves, guttural screams, and pummeling drums slowly engulf you. A descent into the mouth of madness led by Tokyo doom and sludge metal band Sithter, whose uncompromising attitude and dank rhythms are soaked in layers of psychedelia. Joining will be Beijing’s premier sludge metal band Never Before - a band not afraid to lean into the fuzz and doom-riddled psychedelic swirl the genre is known for as they drag listeners across otherworldly riffs, incapacitating bass, and soul-crushing vocals. The savagery continues with Beijing's SHAS (short for Stinky Humans Abuse to Persist of course) who slather the sludge on lean and thick, as well as local heroes of badassery - thrashy hardcore trio Loudspeaker and sludge metal renegades Conch. Righteous.

A hazy layering of guitar dissonance, a glazing of ethereal vocals, a hefty dose of reverb, and a sprinkle of nostalgia - these are just a few of the ingredients needed to concoct your perfect shoegaze meal. But flavors and cooking techniques change from fan to fan, and as we’ll learn tonight - from band to band. Tonight LiveChinaMusic invites three of the shoegaze and dream pop scene’s most vital acts in Shanghai - RUBUR, Forsaken Autumn, and Pale Air to Yuyintang Park to whip up their own recipes of supple dream pop and shoegaze.

Clubbing

All vinyl lineup from the fruityshop crew at All? Yes, please. Headliner DJ Bunta is from the Japanese label DLip known for their strong East Coast rap and hip-hop flow with a blend of funk, soul, reggae, BRUK, and Afro. This one is for the street dancers, poppers, and anyone who respects the old school. Bring on the bucket hats and baggy cargo pants baby.

The second week of the opening of club Exit, let’s try and to the waning underground culture of Shanghai live. The DJs are diverse in the brands music in that they promise to supply house, techno, tribal, breakbeats, dark techno, progressive, minimal, and melodic. Last did quite well for their opening week and are looking to maintain their momentum.

Likely currently the most popular rooftop event team has their longest party yet this Saturday with a 12-hour indoor and outdoor music event. Showcasing is Luke Alessi, from Australia and self-proclaimed as the “enchanter of music storytelling”, Alessi combines various genres of house, indie dance, afro, prog, and techno. All perfect for that warm summer outdoor vibe. Supporting acts to fill in for may find a special Kub lettering on the poster ;)

Italian duo, Monophase, is an emotive group known for a unique blend of melodic beats and atmospheric sound with a high energy vigorous beat. Sounds like quite the buildup of music there. From what I hear, their music is immersive and their performances capture the audience’s vibe well. Local hotshots Fang Bian Mian with their super noodle indie dance vibe to ensure a good time.

Voguing is in vogue these days if you haven’t heard. And if you haven’t, let me try to explain. It’s a showcase of one’s stage presence to the rhythm and vibe of house music. Runway-style strutting, heavy posing, rhythmic dancing, and voguing is a passionate affair. Saturday’s event seems to have a competition-like setup going on for not just voguing but for heels show and twerking supported by DJs. Fun for the whole family.

Kids & Family

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is a musical that is suitable for the whole family to watch. It is based on the classic Grimm's fairy tale but is given new colors and meanings. The Triumph Production Center reproduces classic scenes from fairy tales with unique stage special effects design. There are also difficult opera arias to interpret the inner thoughts of characters. Not only can children find the musical novel and interesting, but it will also be a visual and auditory feast for adults.

The Pear's series of family-friendly events returns this Sunday with a special performance of their popular Alice in Wonderland show. The show will be a family friendly version that loosely tells the story of Alice as she goes down the Rabbit hole, finds many bizzare creature and the story unfolds. Along with the live entertainment, Chef Lung will be creating a special brunch menu featuring brunch staples like eggs benedict but also some of his specialties like Montreal smoked meat and poutine! The kitchen will open at 12:00 noon and the show will start at 1 pm. Free entry for kids 5 years old and under.