Talking Pints: MJ Cole, Paddy's Pitstop, The House and Migas Rooftop Openings, INTRO 2011 Preview

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MJ Cole is the big ticket at Punk tonight - the UK Garage innovator plays a set in The Opposite House's basement club in an event put on by The Syndicate. Entry is RMB 50 and the doors open at 10pm. Find out which Hollywood star MJ Cole is most often mistaken for by checking out our interview.

One of Beijing's best-loved venues gets set to expand its empire this weekend, with the Paddy O'Shea's posse opening Paddy's Pitstop in Shunyi's Pinnacle Plaza. The new bar will feature Guinness, Carlsberg and Stella on draft, with prices similar to Paddy O'Shea's. According to the self-styled Jay-Z of Beijing, Karl "I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man" Long, the Pitstop will offer 60sqm space, space for eight tables outside, live sports broadcasts, simple pub grub and "real-time, state-of-the-art music." In other words, iTunes. Dads trudging around Pinnacle Plaza with the family have something to look forward to this weekend.

Next up, an apology to anyone who went to The House last week for their rooftop opening party based on this post - the event was originally scheduled for April 14, but in the end was postponed by a week. The House's third-floor rooftop, featuring a surprisingly pleasant view of the Workers' Stadium, opens tonight (Friday, Apr 22) to tie-in with the INTRO 2011 Ignition party downstairs. The rooftop's attractions will include ice cream cocktails and champagne cocktails - looking forward to trying some of those.

Acupuncture begin the countdown to the INTRO 2011 electronic music festival tonight at The House then, with a series of warmup events scheduled over the next month. INTRO 2011 will take place on May 21-22 at Tongzhou Canal Park - international headliners include US rave legend Josh Wink (look out for our interview with Wink coming up in the May issue of the Beijinger, out next week), French minimal tech star Paul Ritch, fellow French DJ Okain and Japanese techno master Sodeyama. The best of Beijing's club scene will also be represented, with everyone from The Syndicate to Yang Bing and Sulumi playing across three stages. Stay tuned for more details on INTRO 2011 for you over the next week, with a full lineup, details of where to get tickets and directions to the site. We'll also be giving away weekend passes for the festival both in the Beijinger's May issue and here on TheBeijinger.com, so look out for those if you're after a ticket. Advance tickets will be RMB 220 (2-day pass) or RMB 150 (1-day pass). 1-day tickets will be RMB 200 if you wait until the day of the event to buy, so best buy in advance. INTRO 2011 should be one of the highlights of the summer, so start warming up this weekend.

Another big terrace opening tonight, with the Funk*Fever team applying all their funky powers to reopen the spectacular rooftop at Migas in Nali Patio. Despite opening at the tail-end of summer 2010, Migas' terrace is already well-loved, and should come into its own this summer with plenty of events going on up on the roof - Funk*Fever's Bitesize Buddha will be doing a party every Sunday afternoon, and he's also teaming up with The M Agency for a monthly disco party, Neon, on the last Sunday of each month this summer.

What else is on this weekend? On Friday (Apr 22), local dance music heroes Eddie Lv and Mickey Zhang shake up Kokomo's Mo Lounge (free, 10pm), and Suzie Wong's wants you dressed in lace and leather for their "Temptation" party (RMB 100, 9pm).

On Saturday (Apr 23), ELVIS.T celebrates his birthday at The House (RMB 50, 10pm), with Urbanista crashing the festivities to launch their stylish new collection of headphones. Hope they'll give the birthday boy a pair. Also in birthdays, Acid Live turn two years old over at Kokomo (free, 10pm). Happy birthday to all of them.

Alright, I'm getting the sunscreen out for some terrace action this weekend - enjoy yourselves.

Photo: Acupuncture Records