Well yesterday was pretty wonderful. I mean, like I said in my post yesterday, I actually just spent the day at home organizing music, so that was whatever. Kind of wonderful, cause I'm kind of anal like that and have kind of been meaning to do this for kind of a long time. But after that, I went to Supper Club for dinner. There's only one Supper Club in Shanghai and I've been wanting to go for a while, but the dates have always been when I'm out of town, so I haven't even been able to apply. Because to get in, you have to apply. Well, you have to email back when they announce dates and answer the one question they ask and hope that you're clever and/or witty enough for them to like your answer and select you to be one of the 10 people invited. Then each of those 10 people gets to bring a guest. So once you're selected they email you and tell you where and when to meet, and that's it! They have a signature cocktail for the night, lots of wine, and a chef from a local restaurant who comes and does the cooking. I was finally chosen, and so I went last night with my friend Natalie, and had an awesome time.
The food was good, nothing amazing, but I think that probably had to do more with the venue set-up and the fact that it wasn't really great for cooking. In fact, I don't know where they did the cooking. The venue was this sort of disco-themed club, covered in aluminum foil (seriously, the walls were all covered in aluminum foil...) with mannequins all over the place. Our table was towards one end of the room, and the rest of the space was mostly open (with disco balls, obvs), then they had a weird seating area at the end by the DJ with sofas and park benches. It was definitely interesting, which is what they go for, and which was very appreciated. Half the fun is having dinner in a location where you normally wouldn't, and which you probably wouldn't even find if you weren't taken there, so they did well with the venue. Unfortunately I don't think it lent itself to the cooking, like I said. The chef was behind the bar, and I guess he was somehow doing everything back there, but unfortunately a lot of the dishes came out cold, probably just due to the fact that it wasn't a proper restaurant set-up. But anyway the flavors were nice, there was one pasta dish that was excellent (it's like a 5 course meal), and it was good conversation and a great vibe. I'd definitely love to go again if I'm selected again. And if I'm here for one again. And then to make the night even better, I did not go home alone. But that's all I'll say about that for the moment.
Changing topics, I think I've found one of the best albums of the year. Well, I didn't find it. I guess I should say selected. That album is Yours, Dreamily, the debut album from The Arcs. The Arcs is a side project by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. And damn are they good. Honestly, I thought the two singles I heard before the album came out were good, nothing amazing, but then the album just kills. It's like a return to the dirty, blues-rock sound of The Black Keys. In fact it makes me wonder if Dan Auerbach didn't make this new project just to get away from the recent mainstream fame The Black Keys have garnered, in order to go back to the music he loves making rather than continuing to make somewhat watered down versions of the music they used to make. I'm not saying I don't like the new Black Keys stuff, some of it is great, but I definitely prefer their older stuff, and this is definitely a return to the older stuff. So go buy this album, it is wonderful. If you don't believe me, listen to Outta My Mind, and then go purchase it.
The food was good, nothing amazing, but I think that probably had to do more with the venue set-up and the fact that it wasn't really great for cooking. In fact, I don't know where they did the cooking. The venue was this sort of disco-themed club, covered in aluminum foil (seriously, the walls were all covered in aluminum foil...) with mannequins all over the place. Our table was towards one end of the room, and the rest of the space was mostly open (with disco balls, obvs), then they had a weird seating area at the end by the DJ with sofas and park benches. It was definitely interesting, which is what they go for, and which was very appreciated. Half the fun is having dinner in a location where you normally wouldn't, and which you probably wouldn't even find if you weren't taken there, so they did well with the venue. Unfortunately I don't think it lent itself to the cooking, like I said. The chef was behind the bar, and I guess he was somehow doing everything back there, but unfortunately a lot of the dishes came out cold, probably just due to the fact that it wasn't a proper restaurant set-up. But anyway the flavors were nice, there was one pasta dish that was excellent (it's like a 5 course meal), and it was good conversation and a great vibe. I'd definitely love to go again if I'm selected again. And if I'm here for one again. And then to make the night even better, I did not go home alone. But that's all I'll say about that for the moment.
Changing topics, I think I've found one of the best albums of the year. Well, I didn't find it. I guess I should say selected. That album is Yours, Dreamily, the debut album from The Arcs. The Arcs is a side project by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. And damn are they good. Honestly, I thought the two singles I heard before the album came out were good, nothing amazing, but then the album just kills. It's like a return to the dirty, blues-rock sound of The Black Keys. In fact it makes me wonder if Dan Auerbach didn't make this new project just to get away from the recent mainstream fame The Black Keys have garnered, in order to go back to the music he loves making rather than continuing to make somewhat watered down versions of the music they used to make. I'm not saying I don't like the new Black Keys stuff, some of it is great, but I definitely prefer their older stuff, and this is definitely a return to the older stuff. So go buy this album, it is wonderful. If you don't believe me, listen to Outta My Mind, and then go purchase it.
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