Though it may have been short lived, no one would deny that Specters' 10 months of revelry were anything shy of an era. The bar, founded by Morgan Short (formerly of SmartShanghai), Gil (of too many bands and things to mention but trust that this guy keeps busy), Lao Lu and Zhang Haisheng of Yuyintang, has become a staple in the city - a go-to for out of towners, a necessary waystation for people affiliated with the music industry and the best last, or first, stop on a long night out.
Glasses were broken, tables were broken (RIP that big ol' marble baby that lived by the DJ booth) and inevitably, hearts were broken when the bar released a statement on their WeChat just before 1am on October 24. Their building on Beijing Xi Lu has been reclaimed by the government and as of November 1, Specters' doors will close for good (and no, not just the red ones by the foosball table).
As of 10am, the WeChat post had over 8,000 views, a testament to the space the bar filled in the community. With RMB25 Asahi and cheap as shit shots of Fireball, Specters was one of the least pretentious, call-it-like-you-see-it places in the city. Every night you could count on killer music, familiar faces and that you'd most likely walk out of there with a new story or two, smelling like cigarettes. You knew exactly what you were getting into, though your evening was almost always inevitably filled with some kind of surprise(s).
Specters won 'Dive Bar of the Year' at our 2018 Food & Drink Awards. Photo by That's Shanghai.
While the bar is looking for a new place to call home, let's take a moment to remember all that happened in the forever house of horror. All the soul nights, the phones dropped behind glass, the beers splashed on faces and the incredible bar staff that put up with those doing the splashing. The video and countless number of foosball games played, the F&B beer boys that would squad up by the bar and the naps taken on tiger-throw covered couches. To remember Bar King Morgan singing Queen at 3am, the posters (that are anything shy of shitty), the nights that turned into mornings and all of the times Gil had to kick people out of the bar, baseball bat in hand - something we expect to occur several more times before their doors are shut.
In what has been declared "Death Week," Specters is putting on seven more days of dance, DJs, drinks and debauchary. Wednesday is Metal Night, Thursday Geo's last stand, Friday you'll find Robbie, Morgan and too many randos behind the DJ booth. Saturday they'll be putting on Goth Halloween with a live performance at 2am and Sunday they're closed, as always, so this is your last chance to make that mistake again. Monday you can find Doc Guan playing Badbadnotgood and too cool for the bar tracks, and Tuesday will be a warm up to their last night on Wednesday, with "Rocky Horror Picture Show." Come have a drink and burn it all down, but do yourself a favor and check out their official WeChat post. This bar meant a lot to a lot of people, and no one knows that better than the guys at Specters.
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