BEIJING - What can you get with the legal names of all five Spice Girls, the country with the lowest population density, and the location of the annual Old Ivy tournament?
If you can recall all three quickly, the answer might be a free bottle of Jack Daniels. That's the prize for winning the weekly Quiz Night at Lush, a popular bar crammed in the second floor of a Wudaokou bookshop.
The place is famous. It's mentioned in Wudaokou's Wikipedia article: "Wudaokou's popularity as an international student area is reflected in its large number of bars and nightclubs (including Bar Loco, Lush and Propaganda), which generally offer cheaper prices than many similar clubs in more central areas, such as SanLiTun." I knew about Lush before I ever went to China, as people returning from summer language programs would discuss legendary nights out that began or ended at Lush.
I even popped in for a drink during my quick visit here last summer, chancing on the bar by accident, but stopping because I'd heard so much about it. I thought once I moved to Wudaokou I'd be here quite a bit.
I wouldn't be the only American to do so. Lush is so American that during the middle of last week's round two people stood up for no apparent reason and yelled, "Pitchfork sucks!" This is probably the only place in China where the majority of people would even know what was being referenced, let alone have an opinion on the matter. (It doesn't.)
But all is not well in Lush-land. First off, the quiz night is in transition, with this week seeing a new host replacing the other guy who's name I never learned. The new hosts were a chubby American and quite-fit Australian girl, who managed to piss off most of the crowd by insisting that the Black Eyed Peas single "Don't Phunk With My Heart" be spelled with a "ph" to receive points.
People are also complaining on the Lush Facebook group, which has nearly 1,000 members. One person wrote,"i go every wednesday but us new yorkers hate the questions...first off the music selections are all punk rock/indie rock etc etc...there were like 6 teams with zero points and all the punk/indie fans were taking over...the same with the movie quotes it seems like the questions are fit for only one type of person haha a punk rocker or an AE/Abercrombie wearing midwestern kid..."
Even more troublesome is the appearance of an "Lush is Not Cool" Facebook group, and another person posting, "Lush is a place for people who hate China," on the normal Lush Facebook wall.
That's a little harsh. Even though Lush makes few efforts to acknowledge that it's in China, especially during its extremely American Quiz Night, it's only following a very successful business plan. After all, outside the bar is all of China. It's not exactly like Lush is depriving people of China, only giving a change of pace for slightly homesick expats. I don't live at the place, but I certainly don't mind regular visits.
So far our team has managed a pair of third place finishes and one second place. But this week I'm studying my geography and girl group trivia, and perhaps next Wednesday, the Jack Daniels will be ours.
