Giggle ‘em: Cold beer, jazz flute and a fun open mic night in Beijing

January 15, 2013 - Uncategorized - 2 comments
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Open mic night over beer at Giggle

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When I used “best” in the headline, I meant in my own very limited experience. I’m not naturally drawn to these affairs, and have only been to a few dozen over the years, but the lineup at Giggle on Thursday night impressed. R&B, jazz flute, reggae, fifties classics, jazz flute, instrumentals, blues, jazz flute, and more.

Did I mention jazz flute? If your only exposure to this art form is via Ron Burgundy in the movie Anchorman, you need to flutter down to Giggle for next Thursday’s open mic night for the real thing. And if you plan to perform, be forewarned that — from singers to musicians — the skill level was generally high.

We actually ended at Giggle by accident. After chowing down at The Taco Bar and guzzling home brew at newcomer Panda Bar, we were contacted by our advance party, which had gone off on a liquid acquisition mission to 7-ELEVEN. Members of said party heard music from above the convenience store, climbed the stairs to investigate, found Giggle and summoned us.

Giggle was then in the midst of the competitive section of its open mic might, where the crowd votes for one act to go to the finals. As I had not slept the previous night, I decided to settle in a corner, drink one beer and go home. More than four hours and much more than one beer later, at just before 4 AM, the final piano key was plinked, the last guitar string was plucked.

By the way, I just saw 4corners is also doing an open mic on Thursday nights. Getting competitive out there.

Some Giggle pics:

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Jazz flute!

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This keyboardist — I think his name might be Nestor — was on fire.

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Jazz Flute vs Speed Pianist

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A forest of Vedett. This was round 3 or 4 (or 5). I lost count…

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An extended version of “Just the Two of Us” to take things down a notch.

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Still going strong at 2:45 AM…

About the author

Get my Beijing bars and restaurants newsletter by using the sign up form on the blog. I also write about the China wine scene at grapewallofchina.com.