We scheduled this show at the last minute as we so wanted to showcase the amazing talents of Fairchild to Hong Kong audiences. We were also delighted
to sample the sweet delights at Saffron on the Peak and enjoy a post-Christmas night out. Thanks to Operator who opened the show despite lead vocalist
Ben suffering from Pneumonia! Great way to end 2013! Onwards and forewards to the live music scene in Hong Kong!

love Chris B xx

Operator

1. Red Light
2. Hurricane
3. Fire in a Sweet Shop
4. She’s the Devil
5. I Had a Name
6. The Miracle
7. Sandfly
8. Evergreen
9. Ear Poison

It’s rare that the location of a show is as pretty to look at as it was this night at the Peak. Nor are they usually as delicious-smelling (and there definitely aren’t cookies available). Good as that was, it doesn’t exactly fit well with the sort of harder rock that a band like Operator, plays – the ideal ambience for them would be darker, more beer pub-like. Still, this was only a peripheral concern; the main issue was much more important to the band, which was that singer Ben was down with the flu. This threatened to be portentous of not-so-great things, as Operator’s songs actually require good singing; combine that with a clashing atmosphere, and that would be no way to begin the show. However, despite the apparent problem, it barely showed in the songs, and aside from a couple of parts in some songs that went unsung (wisely, I think; it’s demoralising to hear a good singer try to hit a note and fail), the singing was not bad at all. Kudos to Ben and the band for actually playing the set and not backing out; it was a brave move, and dare I say, it paid off.
In the few years Operator have been around, as I have said before, they have progressed by leaps and bounds in the quality of their live shows. Now on the verge of releasing their first album, they’re in good form. The band is remarkably tight, and while their usually infectious energy was a little abated on this night, they were still good to watch. The Jet-like riffs are still there as the main riff for She’s the Devil, with Zeppelin-influenced solos interlaced with U2-like guitars to give depth to their music. The rhythm section is propulsive and was solid as ever. There were a couple of new songs I hadn’t heard before, which had a more Killers-y sound. The broody I Had a Name was had some Weezer-like punch, although it felt a little raw because the music and the vocals were playing different styles at the same time and pulling in different, incompatible direction. Evergreen was the new grand-sounding song during which the band really shined, although I thought it went on a bit long. The only thing that truly put a damper on their set was the tinny sound from the tiled room, which undercut the rhythm a bit, but not enough to make them less enjoyable. A commendable job indeed, and I wish them the best of luck with their CD release.

— Shashwati Kala

當晚演出先有獨立樂隊Operator現身支持Fairchild，共演繹了9首作品。開首的Red Light 及Hurricane風格相近，明朗充滿活力，但主音因嚴重感冒幾乎喪失聲線，令歌曲完整度大打 折扣。接著的Fire in a Sweet Shop依然明朗，但感覺相對輕盈，電結他的effect運用增加了歌 曲的空間感。She’s the Devil則利用結他作一個穩定節拍推進全曲，伴奏以一個簡短的主題作中心營造了搶耳的效果。到了I Had a Name時曲風一轉，變得柔和，主歌部份以和弦堆砌起來，懶慵中帶少許dreamy感覺。這裏結他部份出現了少許聲音上與整體不協調的情況，令代入感 大打折扣，但表達歌曲感覺方面則不太受影響。The Miracle比前者來得更加溫暖；Evergreen感性開朗，是當晚演出的9首曲目中最富畫面感。總體而言當晚演出主音受聲線困繞而未能 發揮水準，雖有其他樂器部份補足，但完整度始終稍有折扣。
– Becky Wong

Fairchild (Australia 澳洲)

1. Strangers
2. Outside
3. Burning Feet
4. Not in Love
5. Collide
6. Escape
7. Dancer
8. T.I.D.
9. F.I.O.
10. Arcadia
11. Villages

I should start off by admitting that I probably don’t have the best, or most relevant, references to talk about this band. Indie has never been a side of pop music I’ve ever been very interested in; the jangly variety I find underwhelming, and the side of the genre that has roots in the New Romantics sound sacrifice punch for ambience, I find. This was worrying me as the band was about to start its set; that they would be the ambient-type of indie, and I would have no idea what to say. The fact that they didn’t quite fit on the (somewhat meagre) stage didn’t particularly buoy my spirits either. It gave me that tight, claustrophobic, vertiginous feeling of being unsure that many audiences display at the beginning of a show, which requires a firm hand on the till to remedy.
As it turns out, I needn’t have worried. The second they began, all of the band had a calming self-assuredness about them, as if they would scorn the tiles and the resulting tinniness. And, indeed, the tin in the air didn’t seem to matter. The band’s sound is soothing, polished, shimmering, occasionally soaring tones which they combine with swaying, undulating, syncopated beats and goosed up with a solid rhythm section (the best kind). It helps a lot that singer Adam has a properly good voice, as opposed to what seems to pass off for “good” among many bands, and this helps the melody in their songs a lot; having someone who has real singing skill and a pleasing timbre to their voice can advance a band’s cause by leaps and bounds.
If I were to crudely sum it up, their sound goes in the general direction of Kings of Leon (the little I have heard of them), but this would be to do their skill at creating the sound an injustice. There were shades of many different kinds of sound, from the danciness of Blondie on Burning Feet to the Madonna-like feel on Dancer, to the poppy guitar flashes on Escape that echo Kool & the Gang (what’d I tell you about the dated references?), it’s a little like if REM mixed with Depeche Mode. The unabashed peppiness of the composition actually works in their favour, by making their sound sweeter, and this is backed up by the close harmonies, interlocking guitars and tapping on the guitar, a technique that I fail to understand why it isn’t used more in this kind of music. In all, a terrific set that added to the cool agreeableness of the evening, and totally justified the trip to the Peak. I’m glad I got to hear them and prove my misconceptions about indie music wrong.

— Shashwati Kala

澳洲6人樂隊Fairchild風格屬流行搖滾，主音、2支結他、keyboard、bass、鼓的編制令聲音組合有更多變化。全晚共演繹了11首歌曲，首先以抒情搖滾Strangers作開首，接著的Outside用結他點綴主旋律，編曲對營造推進感起了十分重要作用；帶懷舊感的Burning Feet旋律性依然十足，鼓點亦十分穩定，轉換節奏顯得頗為輕鬆。Not in Love以ambient影子的前奏開首，配合運用了effector的電結他令聲音感覺層次更豐富和平均。Collide時經常出現feedback問題令演奏歌曲受到阻礙，未能表達應有我感覺；期後的Escape各部份發揮平均，副歌部份加入了和聲，發揮亦十分穩定，但音色的細節部份稍稍給低音結他及鼓組蓋過。T.I.D的鼓樂部份的編曲於當晚曲目中屬變化最多的一首，與節奏感強勁的低音結他配合成了全曲的亮點；終曲Stay Young與歌名一樣，充份呈現了對未來盼望的感覺，尾段長音伴奏構成了不斷廷伸效果。Fairchild雖然在曲風和聲音上實驗性元素不強，但6人編制有利營造出平均且豐富音色的編曲，配合度不俗的樂器令聲音十分集中及穩定，在聲音較反彈的場地上演出仍保有一定水準。
– Becky Wong

Poster by Angus Leung
Photos by Sunil Khiatani
海報由Angus Leung。
由​Sunil Khiatani攝影。