Talking Pints: Black Sun Rising, Box Birthday, Peter Hook, DJ Fu

The Black Sun at Chaoyang Park West Gate is under new, and foreign, management. For many years, this bar has been a decent enough place to stop for a beer, but has always felt like it wasn’t living up to its potential. This is likely to change, as new manager Tom is setting out to reform all manner of the Black Sun’s limitations, starting with installing Western-style toilets.

My Black Sun wishlist would also include: settling the bill as you’re preparing to leave, not after every single drink order; cheeseburgers served with a real piece of bacon, not a postage stamp-sized quadrilateral; better food in general; a less predictable music selection (a bit of Johnny Cash is great, but not on repeat, every single time); and, overall, a warmer, friendlier atmosphere. That said, the German beer selection is good, the staff generally know what they’re doing and are friendly enough, and the beer garden’s not bad for a drink in the summer. We’ll get an idea of where the Black Sun is going when they have a relaunch party next Friday (Aug 12), but I expect this place to become a much better place to drink over the coming months.

The Box celebrates one year in business with a burger-eating competition this Sunday (Aug 7). Call the bar today if you’re desperate to disgrace yourself with a burger, as entries close at the end of day Thursday. However, you can still go along and watch the action, with free draft beer from 3pm until 7pm.

The weekend gets off to an early start with Hatsune’s tenth anniversary party this evening. Dress code is “anything Japanese,” so think beyond the cliches. We’ll buy anyone a drink who dresses as a sushi roll. Presale tickets are sold out, so get down there soon after the 10pm start or risk a one-in, one-out shutout. Tickets are RMB 150, which will get you free-flow drinks at the bar and snacks. Big tip: Eat dinner. It’s a party, not a meal. Yes, there will be food; no, you will not be the only person hoping to try some of it. Eat dinner.

If you’re into drum & bass, you can’t afford to miss DJ Fu’s set at 2 Kolegas on Friday night (Aug 5). That’s RMB 50 and kicks off around 10pm.

Also this Friday, Patrick Yu and Usami take over the Migas rooftop for the latest Moonlighting party – that’s free and starts at 10pm.

On Saturday (Aug 6), Oshi and Tnem join forces with The Syndicate’s DJ Slide to destroy Earl Bar with their mashup of dubstep, drum & bass and plenty more. Free entry to that one.

Over at 2 Kolegas on Saturday, there’s a reggae party from 9pm (RMB 50), with tunes from Meiwenti Sound and food from Mrs. Rose.

Acupuncture are on the way back with Lantern, but long-time Acupuncture cohorts Pancake Lee and X.L.F are also reviving their Peng parties (you may remember them from 2006 and 2007) at “DD Club” (that’s Danger Doyle’s) next Friday, August 12. The pair will still be playing as Acupuncture DJs at Lantern and at other events, but no longer have a stake as shareholders in Acupuncture’s business side.

Finally, look out for bass-playing legend Peter Hook coming to Beijing on September 2. The former Joy Division and New Order man is doing a DJ set at Tango, and we’ll have our interview with the Mancunian legend up for you in the coming weeks. Anyone remember seeing him play the last time he was in Beijing?