M Shanghai String Band are an Americana act in a hipster neighborhood, named after a Chinese restaurant in Thai-overrun Williamsburg. When non-leader Austin Hughes sings the titular line of the band's hymnal "No Home in This World," it seems self-referential, except that he's part of the homiest show going. It's so comfortable, in fact, that I didn't mind spending time in the basement "den" of the M Shanghai Restaurant on a sweltering June evening. The band's monthly shows have an informal feel: Regulars crowd the fold-out seats and snake up the stairs, while band members crowd around one mic, Grand Ole Opry–style, and the... More >>>