White Rabbit is Watership Down, but promises to hop again
During its near two years of existence, Lucky Street’s White Rabbit club has become Beijing’s beacon for basslines and electronic beats, a safe harbor for the hardcore electronic music lovers. But capital clubbers were dealt distress in mid-July when the Rabbit was shut down for an indefinite period of time due to alleged fire code violations.
“Now where can I go to dance?” chuckles Thomas Gaestadius, one of the club’s owners. As the Rabbit was the default option for after hours dance music, many Beijing music lovers share his sentiments. Never relying on gimmicks, outlandish décor or toga nights to draw crowds, the Rabbit has been the place for heads-down dancing, the place where international DJs playing other Beijing venues go to get a feel for Beijing’s best beatsmiths.
“It was obvious we filled a gap when we opened ... because we’ve always tried to push the sound and have music events we believe in,” waxes Gaestadius.
But in this David and Goliath story, I believe that consistent aim rather than one-off events made White Rabbit the venue of choice for the capital’s top dance music promoters like BaiCai, Yen and my group, The Syndicate.
“The Rabbit’s been consistent in booking DJs that otherwise might not make it to Beijing, allowing the scene to experience new sounds,” adds DJ Blackie, Syndicate badman and City Weekend 2009 “DJ of the Year.”
The élan surrounding the Rabbit name is such that its founders have been able to move many of their events to other clubs in town, all after a slice of Rabbit’s regular crowd. Many Rabbit events like drum ‘n’ bass dons Total Science & Riya’s show on August 7, have moved to ChinaDoll 3.3.
The upside to temporary closure may be that White Rabbit nights at other clubs spread the musical virus, convincing venues craving Rabbit crowds to broaden their musical horizons.
In the meantime, White Rabbit is planning an autumn relaunch. Adds Gaestadius,“We’re doing all we can to re-open soon.”
Want to get the latest gossip on Beijing’s clubbing and live music
scene? Visit The Beat blog at www.cityweekend.com.cn/bjbeat
By Dan Stephenson
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