YuYingTang 育音堂

The bar I spend most of my time in, in Shanghai, is definitely YuYingTang. A live music venue, it hosts a different band most nights of the week and has a good mix of chinese and western music. Some of the Chinese bands I've seen in YuYingTang include Happy Avenue (one of the most famous chinese rock bands with the most famous rock star in china, Wu Hongfei, as their lead singer), Teddywish (Blink 182-esque pop/punk/emo but actually quite good), Reflector (Beijing punk rock), IDH (from inner mongolia - a 2 piece with extremely wierd singer) and the most accomplished band out of the lot The Honeys (signed to Sony music and described as the Chinese REM - they have supported Coldplay). I've also seen western bands such as Have Heart, Turdus Musicas and a few others including a chinese/western band - The Rogue Transmission.

The best things about YuYingTang are that it only usually costs 30/40RMB to see a band in YuYingTang so you don't mind going along and giving it a try - a big difference to england where gig tickets are usually around £10 even for smaller bands. Beer is only 20RMB (£1.70) for a small 300ml glass going up to 70RMB (£6) for a 1.5litre Jug - the last time I went there i ordered one and they asked "how many glasses" - I replied none and just drank straight from the jug. I think they were a bit surprised. The best thing about it is that it is set in a park so that between bands you can go outside get some fresh air, chill out and enjoy the evening. Really does set it apart from other places of it type in Shanghai. The worst things are the air con (none), the slippery floor - not good for dancing - and perhaps the fact that it is really small (but this is also perhaps one of the best things about it too).

Other decent music venues in Shanghai include LiveBar - a little too far out of town though - The DreamFactorys -massive new venue - and LoGO - really decent small venue.