Cap'n's Cabaret #30: Shanghaied!

Nihao, my friends, and welcome to the mouth of the dragon, the gem of the rising modern China, Shanghai! It's a city of music and light, shadow and scandal, where west and east collide like nowhere else! So enjoy the scenes, the food, the drinks, and the music, but I'd advise not kicking the gong around if I were you, for you may spend the rest of your days chasing dragons!

From its labrynthine streets to its towering skyscrapers, Shanghai is truly the symbol of China's Phoenixlike emergence into the modern era, and nothing can hold it back, it seems! A lot of people are concerned it'll rise too fast and threaten the west, while others fear some damnfool thing like a Communist revoluion will throw it back into the dark ages, but ask around here and you'll be convinced that this city is the tip of a new cultural and economic boom for the east, and if tonight's entertainment is any indication, it's a boom I can believe in!

And who can't beleive in the incredible music scene here on the Bund? The orient has embraced the jazz and swing sounds with open arms and made them their own in a new sound called Shidaiqu. I can't think of a scene outside of Manhatten that's as comfortable stomping as Shanghai! Beleive me when I say Shanghai is bound to be the swing capital of the east for generations to come! Tonight we have Zheng Zhi Xiao singing "The Love you Can't Get" in Chinese. I may not understand a word, but Cool is universal!