Shanghai, China

Wednesday, June 24
Ten hours later, we woke up to a new city. Consistent with the amazing treatment we have received on this tour, we were greeted outside of the train station by a representative of the St. Regis Hotel in Shanghai-- a five-star hotel that would host all the Whiffs for the next three days.

That night, we sang a concert for the local Yale Club. Some of us went out to a local restaurant for food, drinks and hookah. After that, about six Whiffs went to a crazy club called Soho. One of the Yalies we met that night had dozens of free drink vouchers. We danced up a storm and then returned to our hotel.

Thursday, June 25
Starting on Thursday morning at around 9:15 AM, we became the property of the Shanghai Expo, the modern-day equivalent of the World's Fair, and its marketing firm. We went on a short tour of the Expo's plans for its debut in 2010. We also had to sit through a Powerpoint presentation that actively criticized the United States for not agreeing to participate in the Expo. Frustrated, I asked, "What would the US gain from participating in the Expo?" The non-answer I received from the official didn't convince me that the US should spend hundreds of millions of dollars for a six-month festival.

Later, we sang for a high school graduation-- a terribly awkward ceremony that we had no business attending.

We also had to rehearse for the next day's gigantic concert that featured around thirty media representatives.

Friday, June 26
I have no qualms about saying that this day was the worst day of tour. I don't blame Elizabeth, a sweet woman from Atlanta who worked for the Expo to plan its music festival. Still, the Whiffs were simply treated poorly.

The plan was for us to sing at the Shanghai Expo's music festival preview show. Rather than show up to a performance an hour or so in advance, as we have for virtually all 150 concerts we have done this year, the Expo sequestered us in the performance hall for hours upon hours. For three of those hours, we were forced to all sit in a moldy storage room. Granted, the Whiffs have been treated exquisitely for most of this tour, but this experience was just ridiculous.

All in all, the concert went well. The Whiffs' Chinese speakers talked to the media folks. Ostensibly, the whole experience was a success.