Beijing Boyce

Good times all around on December 8 as that’s Beijing held its annual Xmas Charity Funk Throwdown. This year’s party, at Browns, raised more than 30,000 kuai from entry fees, individual donations and “Santa shot” sales to fund surgery for an orphan named Tian Tian, who suffers from spina bifada. It’s a major turnaround from last year, when the to-go-unnamed venue undermined the spirit of the event by letting most people in free and the fundraising thus totaled a mere 9,000 kuai. Other differences:

- In 2005, there were DJs. In 2006, Ah-Q played classic funk for two straight hours, Sambasia stirred up tribal feelings with some Brazilian drumming, and two DJs had people getting down until the wee hours.
- In 2005, there was one fur-trimmed miniskirt-wearing Santa’s elf as emcee. In 2006, there were three sexy Santa’s elves selling shooters (say those last five words five times fast).
- In 2005, many people sat or stood and chatted. In 2006, they grooved to the music and some popped onto the bar to dance.
- In 2005, I wore my nerdy Timberland outfit. In 2006, I wore my nerdy gold jacket, super-sized collar and funk-a-licious sunglasses.
- In 2005, no one stood beside me all night claiming he paddled a canoe to Somalia or Samoa or wherever. In 2006, someone did.
- In 2005, that’s Beijing’s nightlife head Ollie R was in the British navy, in a Xinjiang jail, in school or gainfully employed – pick your rumor. In 2006, he donned an afro wig and boogied on the bar with a Virginia Slims in one hand and a Jagermeister and Diet Coke in the other, repeatedly yelling, “This place should have been our editor’s pick as bar of the year!” (At least, I think it was he.)
- In 2005, many patrons argued their way out of paying the entry fee or got in free with the management’s permission. In 2006, only a *few* did. (Hey Scrooges, if you figure in the drinks that come with the ticket, you saved yourself a whopping 40 kuai.)
- In 2005, that’s Beijing’s GM Mike W was so bummed out post-party that he set his head down at Midnight Bar for ten minutes and required baijiu as “smelling salts” to be revived. In 2006, he capped the night by dancing on the bar top and going to The Den for breakfast and four-cheese pizza.

You get the point: the party this year was better than last. True, that’s Beijing could have done a better job handling the door (posting a sexy shot-selling elf there would have helped) and Browns needs to figure out that a Gin Tonic has 1.5 ounces of gin (not 0.5 ounces), but these are minor issues. It was an excellent night, and how could it not be, given that Agent Red Wolf (and almost Eddie O) boogied on the bar and for a good cause at that.

(From Beijing Boyce XXVIII, first emailed on December 23, 2006)