Today was a very special day for me in Shanghai. It was the day that 5 of the worlds best magicians would perform at The Shanghai Art.., something of Shanghai. Never the less.., this was a great evening for me. When we got out of the cab, the 5 performers (including world famous Lennart Green, Shoot Ogawa and Rocco Siliano) were taking group photos in front of the theatre!
I had a brief conversation with Lennart Green (who is one of my favourite sleight of hand magic performers). It went something like this:
Kim: "Excuse me sir", "I'm a huge fan of you".
Lennart Green: "Ok".
Kim: "Can I take a photo together with you"?
Lennart Green: "Well of Course" (thick Sweedish Accent).
Kim: "I have all of your dvd's".
Lennart Green: "Do you have number seven"?
Kim: "...I thought there was only five.."?
Lennart Green: "There is seven..."?
Kim: "Ok"
Lennart Green: "...".
Kim: "Good luck with the show"...
Inside the lobby I showed a fellow magician a card trick, and within thirty seconds I had (unwillingly) gathered a crowd of twenty curious chinese people. It was nice to experience this eagerness to experience astonishment.
(After the show (in the restroom), an elderly chinese man came up to me and said; "you forgot to go on stage and perform". He had seen me doing magic in the lobby before the show, and thought that I was one of the performers. I asked him to say that to the people in charge of the event : )
The show was great (not thanks to me) an we went to Tai Kang Lu for Mojitos. It turned out to be a quite a many mojitos, beers, gin and tonics and brazillian coffees (you should try this... They're are really good). Brazi'es where recommended by Geoffrey the Doc, who specializes in herbs. I had a very good conversation with Geoffrey, about everything from asthma to logics.
As allways, I ended up doing a lot of magic. This photo shows the owner of "The Bell" and her employee, trying to bend spoons with the power of their minds.
Det her billede er taget i en park på en hverdag. Så er der dans og træning for alle de ældre.
Fantastisk mur ved Old Town. Jeg er vild med hvordan man forsøger at reparere hullet med store sten : )
Her har vi en improviseret vandhane fra Tai Kang Lu.
I had a brief conversation with Lennart Green (who is one of my favourite sleight of hand magic performers). It went something like this:
The show was great (not thanks to me) an we went to Tai Kang Lu for Mojitos. It turned out to be a quite a many mojitos, beers, gin and tonics and brazillian coffees (you should try this... They're are really good). Brazi'es where recommended by Geoffrey the Doc, who specializes in herbs. I had a very good conversation with Geoffrey, about everything from asthma to logics. 
At the restaurant, they had the greatest menu card of all time!! I obviously ordered; "He Bang Fried Meat".
I brought Play-Doh.
Enter Battles. Guitarist Dave Konopka (left) and singer/guitarist/keyboard Tyonda Braxton greeting some fans.
I saw Battles last year at Roskilde, but it was cool experiencing them up close. If you look in the left side of the photo underneath, you'll see John Stanier's (former Helmet drummer.., I learned yesterday) characteristic drum setup. He actually stands up when he needs to hit that cymbal. Have a listen at the bands myspace: Here
A great concert and a bruised toe (after an unwelcome mosh-pit) later, we find Simon actually stretching, to hinder soar loins... I'm pretty sure Slash never stretched.
These are pictures from where I had my gig last night. I'll try to get some video up soon. The two guests in the photo below kept wanting to have pictures taken with me, so I decided to have on taken as well. It's was "Gambai" night at the party. This involved all the chinese "pressuring" the expats (foreigners) into downing their drinks every five minutes or so. Too bad I couldn't join in. 
This last photo is taken at around four in the morning, in a bar called Windows Scoreboard. An american guy talked me into giving a close-up show for the bars staff. I ended up doing magic in the smallest kitchen in the history kitchens... They didn't understand a word of what I said, but I think we all had a great time. At least I finished the evening drinking gin and tonics on the house : )
Just next to the Noodle House is a small café. It was really nice just sitting and relaxing while reading in my lonely planet about opium and mob-wars. Did you know that opium used to be referred to as "foreign mud"? Neither did I. This was one of the few places where I've actually felt that I could relax in this often chaotic and stressful city. The owners weren't hiding their dreams of an "American" style café. I Love NY stickers on the cash register and episodes of Friends playing on a big TV. But non the less this was a quiet and peaceful place. 
I just needed to include this photo. As far as I could see, it's a packet of condoms. "DAD. Effect is very good". I would like to talk to that company's brand manager.
This photo is taken in my favorite labyrinth of Shanghai. It has the coolest little cafés and the worlds, probably, most expensive coffee : )
I got lost a couple of days ago and accidentally found myself in Barbie-land (you'll stop laughing when you realized I've signed you up for their weekly news letter and "dress-up" offers). Four floors of Barbie-mania!! It was the most disgusting place that I've ever set my foot in... So I left
