Hutong Hunter: The Show Goes on at Soi Republic, aka Soi 2.0

Hutong Hunter: The Show Goes on at Soi Bar, AKA Soi Baochao 2.0

Vincent R. Vinci, Contributing Editor | Feb 8, 2022 12:45 pm | Add a comment | 198 reads

Take a deep dive into the places, people, shindigs and more to be found in the hutongs of Dongcheng, Xicheng and Qianmen with the Hutong Hunter.

Surely there’s some phrase or saying about fate between years, but I can’t think of any to highlight the end of a place and its new beginning between Western and Chinese New Year.

But that’s precisely what happened with the music venue and bar formerly known as Soi Baochao, which closed at the end of 2021 only to rise like a proverbial phoenix from the ashes with the advent of the Year of the Tiger.

The bar, simply rechristened as Soi, finds itself situated along Huayuan Qianxiang, just off of Huayuan Hutong and not too far from Andingmen. They've kicked off the Year of the Tiger with a series of live shows that are also being streamed via their WeChat Channel (find it via their official account: warehousemedia).

To find out more about the new Soi, we spoke with owner Van G., who's working hard to keep the show rolling on as it always has.

How does it feel finding yourself in a newer version of Soi after having called the previous location home for so long?
I once wrote a poem once that goes like this:

If we place roots in the heart, we’ll be homeless forever,
But this means no matter where one drifts,
If we stay faithful and pure,
Our home will go with us anywhere.

What's something frequent patrons of the old Soi Baochao can find that's familiar at the new digs?
We actually moved all the sound and stage needed equipment to the new spot, which means the new bar will sound exactly like the old one, which people seem to care about most. We’ve also moved our decorations, my collection of vinyl records, and other things. After 10 days of being open for trial runs, patrons who have visited say it feels familiar and cozy, and everything is running like clockwork.

What’s more, our “Midnight Secret Jam” has been able to keep on rocking on without any interruption or cancellation by the police.

Besides the new location, is anything else about the venue new?
I don’t really prefer too much changing since we’ve been doing at the old place is so cool and pure. But we do have a beautiful bar area featuring a fancy new backbar for all our liquor. What’s most important, though is the soundproofing work. Since we’re all “midnight jammers” here, soundproofing is a must so as to avoid complaints from neighbors.

Now that you're all settled in, what's next for Soi?
The next chapter will be to continue what we did well in the old bar but do it better here. Nothing will stop us. Without music and art, what’s the fucking point of living anyway?