Going Live

3 min read

With a new 800-person capacity MAO Livehouse opening its doors to Hangzhou’s growing army of live music aficionados in May this year，2016 looks set to be a big one for fans of all things live and loud as the city looks to finally put itself on the nation’s live music map.Since the closure of Code Space a few years back，two venues in particular have been doing their best to plug the gaps and，in their own special way，both 9 Club and LINEOUT Stage are fantastic live music venues that have built up large and loyalfollowings over the years.Coming in late 2016，the folks from LINEOUT will be opening Loopy on Zhongshan South Road，in what will surely be a hit with live music fans，featuring craft and imported beers as well as Western food and a wide range of hopeful musicians.

Spread out over hundreds of square meters，9 Club is a hip，much-loved venue that somehow manages to work as a kind of a pool hall，live house，bar，and club hybrid.With 18 brand new pool tables，at least two Riley brand snooker tables，and an array of accessories available for sale，9 Club is without a doubt the best place to shoot pool in the city.

Moreover，it’s one of the city’s best live music hotspots.It’s packed full of good-looking，funkily-dressed locals and foreigners each weekend，revelers who pour through its doors in search of rockin’live music，pulsating DJ sets，and an edgy atmosphere.

Throw into the mix a couple of air-hockey and foosball tables，a retro arcade machine，VIP rooms，and KTV equipment and what you have here is a bona fide one-stop nightlife shop that keeps punters coming back in droves.

If you can tear yourself away，a good bet is to mosey on down to Hangzhou’s premier jazz clubJZ Club，which is located just a short walk away along the tree-lined Nanshan Road.Spread out over three floors but comfortable and intimate throughout，JZ Club attracts some of the best jazz artists to set foot in the mainland，and its classy layout-that includes stage-facing balconies and a wood-floored stage framed by luxuriantly draped red velvet curtains-is the ideal setting in which to enjoy some fine music and sip on some grade-A whisky while you’re at it.If the weather’s good you can also enjoy a panorama of Nanshan Road from the club’s swanky outdoor terrace.

Elsewhere，a number of bars and clubs offer live music in some way，shape，or form，whether in the guise of a well-dressed lady crooning along to Mando-pop or in a colorful reggae hoe-down hosted by，of course，the city’s premier ska and reggae joint，Reggae Bar.

Class Acts

For those who prefer their drinks shaken，not stirred and en joy the smell of mahogany，leather-bound books，and Brut，Hangzhou is not short of swanky high-end bars，cocktail clubs，and cigar saloons.New kid on the block X-Box Wine&Bar，tucked away in a quiet corner just off the bustling intersection of Yan’an and Fengqi Road，is afine spot to en joy a handful of cocktails with a glamorous lady friend or handsome man.

Dimly lit with a memorable industrial-chic theme running throughout the bar’s cozy two-floors-hanging chains，steel partitions，metal chairs-X-Box is the brainchild of mixologist Jerry（ex-Mint Lounge and Kingdom bar manager/resident cocktail genius）.This is a man whose legendary cocktails need no introduction to his army of loyal followers and admirers.In a nutshell，any cocktail that comes with Jerry’s stamp of approval is a winner，and X-Box’s classic mojito and old fashioned-the latter being served in a suitably old-fashioned mug-really put a smile on your face.