Talking Pints: BrewDog Launch, Black Sun Relaunch, Tango, Haze and Paul van Dyk's Return
Marketing-savvy Scottish independent brewer BrewDog is being officially launched in Beijing today, with an invite-only party taking place this afternoon. El Nido and Paradise CVS (the late-night booze supermarket along the road from Nearby the Tree) are the first bars to have it in stock. Can’t wait to try this (BrewDog was established sometime after my departure from sunny Scotland), though I’m told it’s not going to be cheap.
With the new foreign management settling in at Black Sun, they’re taking it upon themselves to throw a relaunch party this Friday (Aug 12). There’ll be “free and cheap” drinks, with “great music and fun all night.” Can’t argue with that, and you don’t want to argue with new manager Tom, unless you want him to tap-dance on your windpipe (just a joke - he's a very nice man). The assorted fun and music starts at 7pm.
DJs Pancake Lee and X.L.F no longer have a stake in Acupuncture Records as a business, and though they’re still affiliated as DJs, they’re striking out on their own this Friday with the first Peng party in quite a few years. They’re playing at DD Club (most of you will know it as Danger Doyle’s) from 10pm. Free entry.
Whether you love him or find his regular visits to Beijing a little tedious, Paul van Dyk is on the way back to keep trance heads happy on September 15. For a change, he’s not playing at a club whose name doesn’t end with “Banana,” but rather at Tango.
Speaking of Tango, this place has long needed a shot in the arm, but that may finally be on the way. Club scene veteran Dio has come on board as a consultant and is working on a few tweaks ranging from the club’s design to the sound and lighting. Meanwhile, a group of local DJs and promoters, including Dio, Mickey Zhang, The Syndicate, and Milky Chi (formerly of The M Agency, now of the newly established Jing Music label), are using Tango as their home base for a regular Saturday party bringing together disparate combinations of local DJs, with occasional appearances from international DJs.
Having been of no fixed abode for much of 2011, The Syndicate’s monthly “Syndicate Sessions” party will also move across to Tango. “A bigger and brasher home,” says the crew's DJ Blackie. According to a press release from The Syndicate, people are “Sick of the lack of continuity in Beijing's nightlife scene.” Well put. Let’s just hope the new initiatives have the desired effect: the first of these new cross-crew parties will be on August 27, with German DJ Andhim and Mickey Zhang teaming up. With Lantern reopening at Gongti West Gate that same weekend (see our post on that here), it looks like Lantern and Tango will be slugging it out for the affections of Beijing clubbers as autumn sets in.
One crew who will not be slugging it out for the late-night clubbing crowd are the former White Rabbit team. They’re moving away from the after-hours concept of old and towards a cozier, altogether more sensible, lounge vibe with their new venue, Haze. At least, that’s the plan. Co-owner Thomas Gaestadius tells me they hope to be open in Guanghua Lu Soho around two weeks from now.
Finally, for anyone who’s interested, there’s a new bar called B.E.D inside Gongti’s East Gate. Guess which popular hutong bar it looks like a nouveau riche version of?
