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Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck in Shanghai

belafleckabbywashburn.jpgMonday was good. Got a rare glimpse inside the historic U.S. Consulate here in Shanghai. Met a fellow Washburn. And saw one of the best musicians in the world perform. All in a couple hours. American folk musician Abigail Washburn — no relation, as far as we know — is in China promoting her new CD, which includes two songs Washburn sings in Chinese (she’s lived here off and on since 1996). The album, Song of the Traveling Daughter, was co-produced by banjo player and living legend Bela Fleck, who also joined Washburn on her China tour. Washburn, Fleck, a violinist and a cellist performed an intimate invite-only — thanks for the invite, Paul! — concert last night at the U.S. Consulate on Huaihai Lu and Wulumuqi Lu (you know, the walled compound with armed guards across from the British Bulldog, a bar worth boycotting). The consulate occupies a grand old estate which likely has a fair bit of history, although my initial Google attempts turned up no details. It was nice just to have a look inside the place. I’d show you pics if my phone and camera weren’t confiscated at the gate for “security reasons.” Had a front row seat for the show. It was great. Abby’s voice is strong and beautiful. And Bela’s picking is amazing — when he solos it sounds like three or four banjos playing at once. (Also, I’m fairly certain he played part of one song with his teeth.) The band is playing another gig, open to the public, tonight at the Cotton Club. I encourage you to come. Just don’t take my seat!

Photos: Abigail and Dan Washburn [2], Me and Bela Fleck

Brad’s camera was not confiscated. His pics start here.

11.29.2005, 6:38 PM · Music · Comments (7)

Soon, you too can compete in the Masters Cup!

andreagassishanghai.jpgI scored some sweet Masters Cup tickets on Monday thanks to Shamus — who always has a VIP ticket for something — and the friendly people at Haworth office furniture. The brand new Qi Zhong Stadium is nice, really nice, a proper stadium. It has air conditioning, which immediately makes it better than most of the sports arenas in China. You have to wonder, though — why is it almost in Anhui Province? OK, it’s just a 100 kuai cab ride from city center, but weren’t there some vacant plots of land or bulldozable neighborhoods, say, 20 minutes from the city instead of 50? It’s a hike. And what are they going to do with a tennis stadium the other 51 weeks out of the year?

Anyway, the building is worth seeing even if the tennis no longer is. I managed to see Andre Agassi’s only match before he joined Andy Roddick, Marat Safin, Lleyton Hewitt and Rafael Nadal and withdrew from the tournament. Really, the way he played, his exit from the tourney was only a matter of time. Nadal came out to court to apologize to the fans for not being able to compete due to a foot injury. He could of at least limped! So, now we are left with Roger Federer and these “masters”: Guillermo Coria, Nikolay Davydenko, Ivan Ljubicic, Gaston Gaudio, David Nalbandian, Mariano Puerta and Fernando Gonzalez. Half the field is from Argentina … not that there is anything wrong with that.

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11.16.2005, 5:38 PM · Photos, Sports · Comments (3)

HSBC Champions: Golf still an elitist pursuit in China

This story originally appeared on ESPN.com.

washburnespngolf11122005-2.jpgby DAN WASHBURN

Sheshan International Golf Club, site of this week’s HSBC Champions tournament, is about an hour west of Shanghai — if you are lucky. The only way to get there from downtown is a start-and-stop ride along the Hu Ning “Expressway,” an overcrowded stretch of asphalt that cuts through a grim part of the city you won’t find mentioned in any tour book. Most spectators are bussed in and bussed out and never set foot outside the picturesque private grounds. And if you were part of that crowd on Thursday and Friday, it would be easy to draw this conclusion: China loves Tiger Woods.

In a nation of 1.3 billion, crowds are not hard to come by. But on a golf course? That’s something new in a country with only an estimated 200,000 people who play the sport, a country that didn’t have a golf course until 1984. The gallery following Woods for the tournament’s first two rounds easily topped 1,000. Some guessed it was closer to 2,000. That’s more than four times the number of fans who followed Ernie Els during the final round of the BMW Asian Open here in May.

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11.15.2005, 11:04 PM · Featured, Sports, Stories

HSBC Champions: Ian Poulter’s ‘funny looking pants’

This story originally appeared in the November 13, 2005 edition of the South China Morning Post (subscription only).

ianpoulterpantsshanghai.jpgby DAN WASHBURN

While the hordes were hovering behind Tiger Woods as he practiced at the driving range Saturday morning, Ian Poulter worked on his putting a couple dozen meters away. There was no crowd surrounding the Englishman, but nearly everyone who walked past him did a double take, stopped and took a photo. Why? Poulter’s pants, of course.

Much has been written about the maverick 29-year-old, his outlandish attire, spiky highlighted hair and reflective sunglasses. And, pants-wise, Poulter brought his A-game to Shanghai — four pairs spun from ornately embroidered Chinese silk.

“A lot have said ‘nice pants’ — the ones who could speak English, anyway,” Poulter said of the fans at the HSBC Champions tournament. “I find it good fun and I don’t want to be boring. There are loads of guys out here who just wear standard stuff, and that’s not what I’m about. I want to be different. And the silk pants were a nice way to do it out here in China.”

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11.15.2005, 10:15 PM · Sports, Stories · Comments (1)

HSBC Champions: Tiger who?

This story originally appeared in the November 12, 2005 edition of the South China Morning Post (subscription only).

tigerwoodswhochina.jpgby DAN WASHBURN

While some 2,000 golf fans weathered rainstorms to track every move of the world’s best golfer Friday in the second round of the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai, Yao Guang Mei swept leaves with a bamboo broom. She just might have been the only person at Sheshan International Golf Club who had never heard of Tiger Woods.

“All I know is that foreigners will come here to compete,” she said.

Yao, who lives in a village 30 minutes away from the course, gets paid five dollars a day to work at the club, where a lifetime membership costs $148,000 and furnished villas average $2 million. And she’s happy to do it.

“It looks great,” she said of the grounds. “But all of these big houses look the same. Sometimes I get lost.” Yao stopped to chuckle before adding, “Back home, I don’t get to see much of this modern society. When I got the chance to work here, I was very excited to see all of these new things.”

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11.15.2005, 9:59 PM · Sports, Stories

HSBC Champions: Hope lies on Hu’s slender shoulders

This story originally appeared in the November 11, 2005 edition of the South China Morning Post (subscription only).

humu.jpgby DAN WASHBURN

The boy who has been dubbed the future of Chinese golf spends 11 months of the year in Florida, and he appears equally comfortable conducting interviews in English and Mandarin. Sixteen-year-old Hu Mu, the eighth-ranked junior golfer in the world according to Golfweek magazine, has a lot resting on his slight shoulders, he’s used to it. He’s been the future of Chinese golf since he was 11.

“There is a bit of pressure to be called that,” admitted Hu, who looks toward the ground when he talks and speaks just above a whisper. “There are so many talented Chinese golfers out there. I do want to be the future of Chinese golf, though. I want to inspire other young kids to learn the game in China.”

Hu is the only amateur participating in the HSBC Champions tournament this week at Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai. He opened Thursday with a disappointing 6-over 78, closing with a triple bogey in the rain on the final hole.

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11.15.2005, 9:54 PM · Sports, Stories

An American wedding, Tiger Woods and sleep deprivation

washburnespngolf11122005.jpgSo sorry for my silence recently. Been pretty damn busy. Went to the States a little while back for a week, caught a cold and attended a wedding (photos). Sleep patterns screwed up, several deadlines converged and now I’m pulling long shifts while filing stories from the HSBC Champions golf tournament, which is an annoying commute out to Songjiang District. Why people buy million dollar villas this far from downtown is a mystery to me — Thai Food Station doesn’t deliver out here. Anyway, here’s a story I filed for ESPN.com last night. I hope to get back to regular sleep and posting patterns soon.

11.12.2005, 12:56 PM · Diary, Sports, Stories · Comments (1)