Powerhouse

Powerhouse opened in mid-2006, hoping to give Yugong Yishan a run for its money as East Beijing’s live music heavyweight title. But the venue fell a little short of the mark.

Make no mistake, the Powerhouse is a great space and has a great location, it is just that the owners erred on the side of caution and opted to go with the lowest common denominator rather than take a risk with something innovative. One Time Out visit coincided with the house covers band murdering Tina Turner’s cheese anthem, ‘Simply the Best’, which is ironic, as the tune itself should have been strangled at birth.

The outside patio makes the best of the traffic-choked and tree-lined Gongti Bei Lu and features a big screen TV. The staff are pleasant enough to be forgiven for being slow and a bit giggly. The drinks are bog standard (25RMB Tsingtao, 45RMB imported beer, spirits and mixer 38RMB) for any Sanlitun bar that isn’t knocking out fake booze. One would be advised to avoid the Margarita (38RMB) unless you are working for the Guinness book of records and hunting for the world’s smallest cocktail; ‘fun-size’ doesn’t quite do its tiny dimensions justice.

In its current guise Powerhouse is somewhat a waste of a great space – it’s an OK bar that will no doubt do a roaring trade with those that don’t know better, but one can only dream of what might have been if only someone with a bit of style had got hold of the place.