it's entertaining to be here listening to a good live act. while the locale itself is on the small side of things, it still fits 40 to 50 people comfortably. The staff cares about music with most of them picking up guitars/tabla after hours for impromptu jam sessions.
It does tend to get smoky and crowded rather quickly but that just adds to the atmosphere.

the bands that play there love it and i guess that's a good thing as they get their fair share of worthwhile acts once or twice a month.

that said, I now stick to tonic water everytime i go there because I can get myself to trust their liquor. Whiskey tasted watered down, rum tasted wrong, etc... and that happened more than once.

quite unpretenious and very down to earth - this little bar offers some of the best live experience in town. there is not much space to use - the stage is tiny, the seating capaciy very limited - so it is very often jam-packed, and some of the audience almost sit with the band... so lots of interaction takes place. bands like sand, buyi or hanggai live off this and have some of their best performances here: you can feel how much they enjoy this, so expect extended sessions with lengthy dialogues between band and audience going on...
some unpleasant surprises sometimes when the announced band does not show up, or concerts are completely cancelled without notice, but once the bands are performing and you got in, then it's quite the place to feel the pulse of the beijing music-scene.

Jiangjinjiu host everything from the throat-singing and horsehead fiddling of Hanggai to the funky Ziyo on their tiny little stage. There aren't many seats, so get there before nine if you want a comfy seat - though you can normally squeeze in somewhere at the back if you get there late. Best of all, no cover - though they do expect you to buy at least one drink, any with zhapi starting from RMB 20, that's not going to put too much of a dent in your wallet. Usually an interesting crowd too.