The Heroes

時勢做英雄,英雄做音樂

THE HEROES 香港獨立樂隊, 成立於2009年1月，成員包括：主音結他手James、結他 手Tung、低音結他手Nelson、鼓手Sam。
英雄給人迄立不倒、打不死的印象，他們有改變環境的力量，有捨己為人的堅持，有不會 被出賣的意志。
樂隊取名THE HEROES，期望以音樂發放正向能量，喚醒人心中的英雄，重燃對生命的熱愛，讓眾HEROES振作起 來。
樂隊音樂風格以Pop Rock為主，成員各自偏好不同的音樂類型如 Blues, Rock, Funk, Jazz, Country等來刺激並堅持以原創歌曲帶出THE HEROES的獨特風格。

Time makes heroes, and heroes make music

THE HEROES was established in January 2009. Members are lead vocalist and guitarist James, guitarist Tung, bassist Nelson and drummer Sam.

Heroes are strong and invincible, they have the power to turn a bad situation good, persistency to sacrifice for others, and staying loyal when times are tough.

We named our band THE HEORES, hoping that we could spread out positivity through our music, awaken the hero inside everyone’s soul, relight people’s passion for life, let all the heroes stand up and make this world a better place.

The members of THE HEROES have their own preference when it comes to music, like blues, rock, funk, jazz, country, etc. We have put together different genres of music in our songs and created a unique kind of “pop rock” music, THE HEROES’ style.

Eli

eli consists mike (drum), sun(vocal + guitar) miu (guitar), mann (bass guitar).Their sound is a contrast between of shouting and gentle soft,
Influence include Alternative rock, electronic music, jazz,  experimental, hard rock, grunge and among many another styles.
They believe in…only music!

www.myspace.com/elihk
www.facebook.com/elihk

Six Pack of Wolves

Leave behind your former wide-eyed idealism and the bands that played
your school dance; forget teenage chemical imbalance, the desire to
burn or break everything or fall in… and then straight out of… love.
Now is the time of indignation, jaded cynicism, strained friendships
and hair-trigger rage caused by the soul-crushing days you spend
corporate whoring. It might not be what you think you’re looking for,
but driving rhythms and big choruses are exactly what you need; we
aren’t here to lift your spirits, we’re here to drink them.

Quasar

Quasar was well hidden in the misty mountains of Nepal before it finally rose to shine on the sky of struggling Hong Kong Music Scene. The former front man of the Nepalese Band The Boffins’98,Singer/Guitarist,Sanjeev Gurung is the core of Quasar, as well as the principal songwriter of the band,who has been described as “a Nepalese version of Bruce Springsteen with the angst of Bob Dylan.”

Originally a solo act during his early days in Hong Kong, Sanjeev then decided to build up a full band to maximize  the impact of his epic stories and soaring melodies.With the help of Chris.B., queen of the Hong Kong Underground music showcase, Sanjeev found bassist/lyricist Ben Bair who had recently arrived from the U.S.after a stint with indie band Fellaheen. After a few line-up changes,Quasar hooked up with Sarad Shrestha,former lead guitarist of popular Nepalese rock band The Axe,and Alexander Bedwell,a script writer by profession,from the U.K.,as a drummer.

Despite full-time jobs,families and fans more used to irony than sincerity in popular music,Quasar gradually fused together rock styles from the 60’s through the present to form their own combustible brand of ”Revolutionary Rock”.After performing throughout Hong Kong and recording two songs on Chris.B.’s Underground Compilation 2-Straight Ahead…Back to Roots, Quasar knew it was time to take the show on the road.

Check Quasar out and discover that truth,love,hope and fun all have a place in Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Quasar

Sanjeev Gurung:Vocals/Guitars

Ben Bair:Bass Guitars

Sarad Shrestha:Guitars

Alexander Bedwell:Drums

www.myspace.com/quasarhk

The Cambodian Space Project (Cambodia)

Biography: SreyThy vocalist with The Cambodian Space Project. Srey Thy was born into poverty and famine around the time the Khmer Rouge were finally driven from power by the invading Vietnamese liberators. Srey Thys father then a tank driver lives today in the same impoverished village in Prey Veng province (Cambodias poorest) where he proudly points to a faded photo, hanging from the flimsy wall of the familys thatched hut, of a handsome young officer in 70s flares and sunglasses, standing next to a naked baby girl, both listening attentively to a transistor radio and a tank is parked behind the young soldier and his baby daughter Srey Thy. Five years ago, Srey Thy fled poverty and a violent husband and moved to Phnom Penh to seek out work as a Karaoke singer. Since arriving in Phnom Penh where she has struggled to make a living but by working for less than $100 a month, she supports her entire family with the little money she sends back home. Srey Thy has worked all the Cambodian singing bars in Phnom Penh and has a repertoire of hundreds of songs but has often been cheated out of the small fees for her work and at times felt like quitting the city and returning to life in the village. Late last year, Srey Thy had all but given up working as a singer and had just begun working in a bar, with her very limited English, entertaining foreigners hello you likeeat drink one more beer? It was around this time she met Australian musician Julien Poulson (The Green Mist) who was in Phnom Penh to create music and film and looking for Cambodian musicians to work with. Poulson heard Srey Thy sing a Pan Ron song and was instantly taken by Srey Thys voice as well as her obvious passion for the singers from pre-war times. But Poulson was about to leave Cambodia and had to make made a promise to return sometime to work on a music project with Thy, perhaps exposing her voice to a wider audience and coming up with an interesting cross-culture rock band in the process. Now, The Cambodian Space Project is ready for lift-off. Its all ready been described as a tripped-out, cosmic mix of space rock coupled with the deliciously golden voice of Srey Thy For Srey Thy, the opportunity of working with a band mixed with foreigners and Khmers playing to create exciting new music, is not only fun but is truly a life changing experience. For the band, the thrill of offering audiences something new as part of Phnom Penhs flourishing music scene while embarking on a very cosmic space odyssey, is what it’s all about.
La Voix D’Or de Srey Thy une chanteuse en mission avec The Cambodian Space Project Srey Thy est né dans la pauvreté et la famine au moment où les Khmers Rouges furent finalement écartés du pouvoir par l’invasion des ‘libérateurs’ vietnamiens. Son père qui était conducteur de tank vit toujours dans le même village, dans la province de Prey Veng (la plus pauvre du Cambodge), où il montre fièrement aujourd’hui une photographie jaunie, accrochée sur un mur fragile de la hutte de chaume de la famille. Une photo sur laquelle on voit un bel officier avec des lunettes de soleil et les pattes d’éléphant des années 70 à côté d’un petit bébé tout nu. Srey Thy et le jeune soldat avec un énorme char en arrière-plan qui écoutent attentivement un poste radio. Il y a cinq ans, Srey Thy fuyait la pauvreté et un mari violent pour déménager à Phnom Penh à la recherche de travail en tant que chanteuse de karaoké. Une fois sur place, elle dut batailler pour vivre, travaillant pour moins de 100$ par mois, parvenant néanmoins à subvenir aux besoins de toute la famille avec le peu d’argent envoyé à la maison. Srey Thy qui a travaillé dans tous les cabarets cambodgiens à Phnom Penh dispose d’un répertoire d’une centaine des chansons, mais elle a souvent aussi été escroqué sur les petits contrats pour son travail, et a dû quitter la ville pour retourner à la vie dans le village. À la fin de l’année dernière, Srey Thy avait arrêté de travailler comme chanteuse et juste commencé à bosser dans un bar, celle qui dit aux étrangers dans un Anglais approximatif : “bonjour…, voulez-vous…, manger ou boire une autre bière ?” C’est vers cette époque qu’elle a rencontré le musicien australien Julien Poulson (The Green Mist), qui était à Phnom Penh pour filmer et à la recherche de musiciens cambodgiens avec lesquels jouer. Lorsqu’il entendit Srey Thy interpréter un morceau de Pan Ron, Poulson fut instantanément captivé par sa voix, mais aussi par son évidente passion pour les chanteurs d’avant-guerre. Sur le point de quitter le Cambodge, Poulson lui fait alors la promesse d’y revenir pour travailler sur un projet musical, un mélange transculturel intéressant avec un groupe de rock dans le processus pour peut-être exposer sa voix à un plus large public. Parfois décrit comme “un mix barré et cosmique de space rock couplé avec la délicieuse voix d’or de Srey Thy” The Cambodian Space Project est maintenant prêt à décoller. L’opportunité de jouer avec un groupe composé d’étrangers et de Khmers et de créer une nouvelle musique excitante n’est pas quelque chose de seulement marrante pour elle, mais une expérience qui change vraiment la vie. Pour le groupe embarqué dans une odyssée vraiment cosmique, le frisson d’offrir quelque chose de neuf s’inscrivant dans la musique florissante de Phnom Penh, voilà ce dont il s’agit. Trad Vincent Hanon
http://www.myspace.com/thecambodianspaceproject

Shepherds The Weak

The loud, abrasive and in-your-face world of Shepherds The Weak was unleashed upon Hong Kongs underground in Jan 2005 through the demise of a well-respected local band called Milk N Cookies. Though the second guitar position was temporarily filled by Ah Ho (of local metalcore Irresistible Hearts fame), a permanent second guitar player finally completed the picture when JR was invited to join the STW camp. The line-up of this 6-piece barrage of metal infused hardcore is Terrence and Richie (Vocals), Mushie and Jay R (Guitars), Glenn (Bass), and Mike (Drums). Before signing to Start From Scratch Records, Shepherds The Weak released an independent EP entitled Strength in Numbers in June 2006. Their future is bright as they move on to begin the writing process of two new songs that will be on the upcoming Start From Scratch Records CD compilation and then their first full length album destined to drop in 2007. Packed with a LIVE show second to none in Hong Kong, Shepherds the Weak is here proud to represent Hong Kong hardcore for the world over. Terrence - Vocals Richie - Vocals Mushie - Guitar Jay R- Guitar Glenn - Bass Mike - Drums Riz - bench guitarist hehehe www.myspace.com/shepherdstheweak

Eve of Sin

Eve of Sin is a 5-piece metal band made up of 5 unique personalities with a unified goal of awakening the beast that hides in everyone. The band’s music, inspired by the world its members live in, is brutally unforgiving at times and is aimed at people who enjoy the near-to-ringing sensation your eardrums get after a good adrenaline rush of blast beats and raw guitar riffs. Contrary to the seemingly haunting sounds the band produces, the lyrics aim at delivering a positive message (without sugar coating though). Eve of Sin is really 5 guys having a good time and wanting to share this spirit with anyone willing to join the party!

Flame Of Abyss

Flame Of Abyss, which stands for a strong power which has potential to erupt, was formed by Amber, Ray, Zippo, Rico and Zacko in late 2009.

Although the underground world of Hong Kong seems to be an abyss, bands’ great power and spirit still exists.

We hope to bring all of you our composing along with the enthusiasm towards true music from heart, also as a chance to let you get in touch with Hong Kong indie music.

It will be our pleasure to see the development of Hong Kong indie music which may maintain more recognitions and supports.

Embryo

- Embryo is a Hardcore band, set up in 2002. The original members include the Vocal : Tai ,Guitarist : Ray , Bassist : Tung Drummer : Shum. Up to 2006, another Guitarist : Mike join the band and make’s their music become more powerful and complete. After a year of cooperation with Mike, he leave the band, And a new guitarist TF join the band to replace Mike and current the line-up, and more new elements into our band.

During embryo in Hong Kong had participated in a number of event and performance with Kinglychee , Shepherds the Weak , Die in Velvet , Los en Found and more…. In the summer of 2007, Embryo and Die In Velvet launch their first tour of China, visited Guangzhou, Beijing, Wuhan, Changsha and Chengdu, a total of eight cities. In addition, Embryo have been supporting band and share the stage with Comeback Kid (US) , Parkway Drive(AU), Conquest for death(US), The Greeks(Korea) and Voodoo Kung Fu(Beijing), The Raving Radio(Beijing)……..

Qiu Hong

Qiu Hong are:
Jan (vocals), Lun (guitar), KC (guitar), Hippo (bass), Hin (drums)

We formed in May 2002, fate bring us together, the band name is inspired by a title of a book; “QIU” is “autumn” in Chinese, the season full of emotions and thoughts. “HONG”, “red” in Chinese, represents the hot blood inside us, and also the color of the fire, warm and bright, just like the characters of us and our music attitude.

We hope all of you are ready for the voice from our heart, hope our melodies can touch you. We are shouting to keep our blood flowing, which can keep us alive. Nothing can change our eager devotion to music.

The thing we love most, is MUSIC, the thing that we can’t live without, is MUSIC.

May the music of Qiu Hong be with you, now and forever.

秋紅是：

JAN（主音），倫(結他)，KC(結他)，河馬(低音結他)，Hin(鼓)

我們於2002 年 5 月組成，緣份將我們聯繫在一起，樂隊名字是來自一本書的詩題；「QIU」的中文是「秋季」，充滿情感和想法的季節。「HONG」的中文是「紅色」，代表在我們心中流動著的熾熱血液，以及火的顏色，給人溫暖及明亮，就像我們自身和我們的音樂及文字一樣。

我們希望大家為我們心底的聲音做好準備，希望我們的音樂能夠打動你。我們用吶喊去保持我們的血液流動著;使我們活著。我們對音樂的熱誠是沒有任何東西能阻擋的。

我們最喜愛的，是音樂，在我們生活中不能失去的，是音樂。

願與您同在,直到永遠,我們,秋紅!

The Corners

Setlist:

1.    I Can’t See
2.    Defeated
3.    Goodbye Note
4.    On Again
5.    Experimental Feelings
6.    Hopeless (The Wrens cover)
7.    Fire

Underground second-timers, The Corners, began the night with I Can’t See, featuring some ska-influenced chords and interesting backing vocal arrangements to parallel the lead vocals. Immediately, one was reminded of the clean and meandering sound employed by (the late) Robert Quine, mixed with the popping drums in the vein of Marc Bell, in the Voidoids. Singer Jehan’s voice being the very archetype of the post-grunge era, served well to complement the clean and slightly delayed guitar sound employed by Clement. Defeated exhibited even more of a ska influence, with a moody build-up to the chorus’ call-response flourish, also featuring an impressive falsetto bit, and some nice monster-bass lines. The slightly slowed down Goodbye Note was of a dramatic mood, with a sudden 180° change of mood in the chorus to a deep Noughties’ one; this change of gears was employed several times during the song, topped up with an almost Eddie Van Halen-esque solo.
On Again was introduced as a new song, with a highly conversational tone to the lyrics (which seem to be the kind most suited for Jehan’s voice) and dredging guitars, akin to Blur, followed by the sparkling guitar fills of Experimental Feelings, which also had the bass nearly overtake the melodic duties. It was pointed out by Jehan that all their songs that night were of a somewhat ‘low’ mood; in keeping with that claim, their cover of the Wrens’ Hopeless was suitably despondent, in particular highlighting Clement’s ability to switch seamlessly from rhythm to lead. The most intense beginning and most percussive drumwork started off Fire, a heavy bass-driven number having a rather drastic change of pace and mood mid-song, and a catchy call-response style chorus. As it turned out, drummer John dropped a stick during this song; an unobvious foible, as they ended their set on a moody high.

Shashwati

Of Moths & Stars

Setlist:
1.    Waterbird
2.    Cosmic Waves
3.    Lost Amongst the Leaves
4.    Polyphonic Rust
5.    Ghost Vibrations
6.    Closer
If these guys’ act had to be summed up into a word,it would be- intense. The duo came on with their usual assortment of things you’d never imagine would be used as musical instruments, accompanied by the lone guitar. There are certain advantages to having only one melodic instrument and the percussion of only a tambourine (and a grill, and what I think is a timpani mallet), one of which is that changes can easily and rapidly be effected on the pace, mood and feel of the song; Waterbird was a classic example of this, with the rapidly strummed opening being slightly more ‘up’, but being delightfully tempestuous in its feel. As the best acoustic musicians have, guitarist-singer Chris has been able to mesh rhythm and chorus into one unbroken attack of guitar, a la Steve van Zandt at his peak. The laudable decision of using mostly major chords serves to round out their sound excellently, avoiding an all-too-common pitfall. Cosmic Waves has overtones of John Frusciante’s best acoustic solo-work, with the pattern of chord changes exploring some subtle nuances in feeling. Lost Amongst the Leaves was lighter in mood, but no less intense, and almost stream-of-consciousness in effect- a testament to their knowledge of what a chord can do to the psyche.

Not to editorialise, but if there is one group that they parallel, it is Suicide; not in terms of sound, but as an act, especially in terms of visual impact. A classic dynamic of chemistry, Chris’ staid form is the Martin Rev contrasting the semi-possessed Nate’s Alan Vega. Polyphonic Rust was specifically reminiscent of Frusciante’s Forever Away; fittingly enough, a string was broken during the song, and the guitar replaced rather than the string, as is Frusciante’s wont as well. The trash-can lid was finally out in Ghost Vibrations, crashing to tame the irreverent, drunken chords, topped off with a spoken-word bit to make the song a moody Byron-esque one, finishing off to a yelled request to father a certain audience member’s offspring. Closer was a slower number (although, it may just have been Chris’ apparently injured thumb) with some very high notes touched in the bridge, and a lovely, flowing barre progression to boot, after which the Suicide of Hong Kong lazily cleared off. Not for one moment during the set did these guys’ heady yet light-handed power fade; a testament to the unassuming astuteness of their composition, and the deserved novelty of their act..
Shashwati

The McCadden Place Collective

Setlist:
1.    Chicken
2.    Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
3.    Pick Up the Pieces

Underground debutantes MPC took the stage next definitely looking the epitome of a jazz-funk band (especially guitarist Kenneth), with an all-Fender axe attack (and a keyboardist who looked remarkably like surf-skateboard pioneer Jeff Ho). Their tuning up left even less to the imagination, with some Alan Parsons/Ray Manzarek organ tones being used. Chicken began with a classic Grateful Dead sound, covered in sax, followed by a very Parliament/Funkadelic bridge. Being possibly the best-suited to exploit the range of the sound system, they had some impressive sonic variety, with all the bases covered in terms of instruments. They keys mirroring the sax added some delightful nuances to their sound. They followed this up with the jazz standard Mercy, Mercy, Mercy; the classic groove-based number, featuring some awesome slap-bass. The structure of the song involved the guitars and sax doing some groove-riffing on the melodic foundation of the keys and other guitar, with the groove changing periodically as the jam went on, even finding its way into bluesy territory. However, at points, one wished they would sustain their grooves a bit longer, as the improvised groove needs a bit of time to infect the listener. There were also some classic crunching grooves and accents, reminiscent of Phish, that were simply a joy to listen to. The most funky beginning thus far heralded their rendition of Average White Band’s Pick Up the Pieces, hearkening back to P-Funk and Johnny “Guitar” Watson. Again, their jam brought in a little of the spirit of the blues into the song, moving subtly on to the more heady mood of the jazz bands of the 70s, to almost Sun Ra-like proportions. The set was finally closed with some lovely noodling guitars and a flourishing groove thoroughly imbued with the spirit of George Clinton.

Shashwati 

Logo

Setlist:

1.    Tidal Waves
2.    I Saw Your Eye
3.    Miss Your Voice
4.    Lights Are Out
5.    Escalator
6.    Marlene
7.    Non-Stop Paradise
8.    Temple of Smoke

The all-sunglassed Logo proceeded to take the stage, and the coy intro to Tidal Waves was played, with a wonderfully strange mix of delays, funky bass and Television-esque guitars that Alan Parsons would have been proud of. The eclectic minimalism of the guitars was rounded off by some catchy riffing, and was topped off with singer-drummer James’ vocals being remarkably reminiscent of Joe Strummer. I Saw Your Eye featured a winding bassline, and 2nd-gen Hendrix influence, combined with the more contemporary tendencies of bands to use a Kinks-ish sound (especially in terms of beats) with more diverse arrangements. The lyrics, indeed, were in the spirit of Ray Davies, with their tongue-in-cheek tone set against honest conversational speech-patterns. A very middle-eastern feel was typical of Miss Your Voice, a trippy little ditty with lots of modification to the guitar and near-atonal chords in the bridge, followed by the cold-open into Lights Are Out, strongly reminiscent of the Replacements.
Escalator featured some remarkably trippy lyrics, along with a very early-Smashing Pumpkins-style drum-bass combination. The structure of most of Logo’s songs seemed to be to have an anchoring rhythm section, with consistent vocals, allowing the guitars to be as moody as they like, combining the glibness of shoegaze with the confident groundedness of David Byrne/Talking Heads. Non-Stop Paradise featured some Dylan-esque sociak commentary, and a penchant for memorable phrases, not unlike the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. The closer was Temple of Smoke, with the guitars mimicking the bass, and almost-metal feel to the song, and having some chords that are rarely touched in the regular course of pop music, hearkening back to MC5’s Fred Smith’s guitarwork, certainly leaving the foot-tapping crowd asking for more.

Shashwati

F.B.I.

Setlist:

1.    Don’t Quit Your Day Job
2.    Lan Kwai Fong
3.    Gonna Make Love
4.    Loneliness
5.    Man Love
6.    Fu
7.    The Masquerade
8.    Ghouls and Ghosts
9.    F.B.I. (or F.B.I. Theme Song)

Playing the Underground for the 6th time, their tuning up featured some tantalising, mean-sounding slap-bass. An epitome of the Noughties’ rock sound, Don’t Quit Your Day Job featured a very lostprophets’ attitude combined with Hillel Slovak-era RHCP guitars ripping through screamed vocals. Lan Kwai Fong, undoubtedly meant to be the party-goers’ anthem, positively reeked of the Stooges’ 1969 and LedZep’s Black Dog, along with the crowd-participative chorus of “When I say LK, You say” – “F!” . With the bass up to bone-rattling levels, there was heavy use of delay and wah, and semi-military beats in the songs. Loneliness being their slower song, featured the almost-sparkling guitars of 3rd-wave punk, and moved into double speed with its’ leading bassline; in fact, the bass got so fast towards the end that you could scarcely see bassist Jerald’s fretting fingers- always a good sign. Evidently the crowd felt this as well, as the crowd was well into every song as was the band.
Man Love caused some of their more Rancid (and other 3rd-wave punk) roots to show, suddenly changing direction mid-song to a more Noughties’ feel. The screamed opening of Fu was followed by some classic punk chord progressions. With the crowd definitely on their side, they proceeded into The Masquerade, with some some stop-start Iron Maiden influences and a melodic coordination between the vocals and guitars. The crowd actually began headbanging to the single-strummed bits of the chorus – a classic hardcore ruse, which worked very well for F.B.I. in Ghouls and Ghosts, which also had some classic solos that reminded one of Tony Iommi, if he had played in the Noughties. With an mock-offhand comment to the guitarist about not needing his guitar since he couldn’t “sing and play at the same time”, their set closer had a bass-line reminiscent of Paranoid, and it was a song in the spirit of RHCP’s What it Is. Despite the lack of melodic accompaniment, the crowd really got going to the Bootsy Collin-like, insanely-wahed bass, and singer Cain’s encouragement to join in with the “When I say FB, You say” – “I!” They ended the night in the best possible way- with a long, flourish to heavy applause and a very tired but fully satiated crowd.

Shashwati

photos © Copyright 2010 by ANGUS LEUNG

poster by ANGUS LEUNG

Dark Himaya

Setlist:
1.    Subtle Knife
2.    Across Morpheus’ Palm
3.    Giving Away Gizmo
4.    Distraction
5.    False Hope
6.    Papercut in Your Eye
7.    Personal Demons (Encore)
The kind of music that Dark Himaya plays could be said to rest on one thing – atmosphere. Every element of their music is essential in contributing to a moody, synaesthetic soundscape that unquestionably stems from their very canny use of instrumentation and vocals, set against the rudimentary pop-song structure. This was clearly something that had connected with their past audiences, as there was the biggest turnout I’d seen for the first band of a night. Subtle Knife began with a very mellow intro on the keys, and it is immediately evident that Ivy has reallygot a set of pipes, moving into some nicely structured harmonies between her and Aileen, with the bridge having mainly downstroked chords (– some punk roots showing, perhaps?)
Across Morpheus’ Palm was introduced as being loosely based on the character, and was followed by some very John Frusciante/Lou Reed –esque use of the guitar; i.e. not as a leading instrument, but for backing effects, really underscoring the brevity in their music. Further accentuating how clued in they’ve been to pop culture in the past 20 years, Giving Away Gizmo was announced as being based on the character from Gremlins. Unlike the mogwai, however, the song was less cute than it was deep and brooding, beginning with a smooth bassline and contrastingly abrasive guitar work, and a very hummable bassline during the chorus. Distraction and False Hope served to further emphasise the synergy created by the band – semi-minimalist in terms of ornamentation, making every effect used significant.

Papercut in Your Eye is one song that could really be taken up several notches by using some deliberately set up lighting or video, a la the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, with some frantic chords and very dark/murky notes, backed up by a solid backbeat. The encore which they said they’d “try to do”, began with a highly delayed guitar, and the notable use of drums for only accents, and not fills, set against very smooth bass, really bringing out the ‘maya’ (Hindi for illusion/magic) in Himaya.
Shashwati

Transnoodle

Setlist:
1.    Tony Chan
2.    People Aren’t Bad
3.    Pousada
4.    Obama
5.    Referendum
6.    Huddersfield
7.    Body Snatcher
8.    Big Parade
9.    Monkey Magic
10.    Polonium 210 (Encore)
When a band walks on with a keytarist among them, you know they’re gonna polarise your opinion. When they walk on with a bassist who looks exactly like Geddy Lee you get the feeling that you may really enjoy the music to come. And thoroughly enjoyable it was (although, to be fair, who’s ever heard of a boring ska band?), with the place almost reeking of third-wave ska. They were evidently seasoned veterans of playing live (and that’s not just at the Underground), and singer John’s verbal dexterity at keeping peoples’ attention and enthusiasm immediately shone through. They jumped into their set with the bass-drum opening to Tony Chan, proceeding into People Aren’t Bad (apparently about “how disappointing life is”), which had an almost standalone walking bassline, and the horns coordinating with the drums to create some great melodic rhythm.
To follow, was a ‘ballad” about a Filipino sailor who gets lost, featuring the clever repartee of the lines “ ’Darling I’ll never leave’; ‘I know- you’d never dare!’ ”, and an array of fascinating tempo changes (like, going from a 3/4 beat to double speed, in a mere 6 seconds!) Some light was shed on their initial worry over lack of further material upon the end of the Bush presidency, and Obama followed, highlighting their knack for coming up with memorable vocal phrases in their songs, a la the Clash. The conversational tone of lyrics, local references aplenty, and notable subject matter (“sex and politics”, crimes with dead bodies, the CPC and their 60th, and general social commentary) made them highly relatable, and their fans (who had long since moved right upfront) could not help but move to the music.

Having played the kind of music that puts fluid into shoulder- and hip-joints, Monkey Magic was a bit more rocky than the rest of their songs, with some Chuck Berry showing up in the melody, and a bit of Cab Calloway’s big band tendencies. They were also joined by Ivy, who lent her sizeable vocal skills to the song. After actually trying to walk off without doing an encore, the stop-start, highly Latin-oriented Polonium 210 brought their set to a close at an insane pace, stopping with a classic R’n’R flourish, and making it clear to all and sundry why these guys have played for the Underground 9 times already.
Shashwati

Nocturnal Rose

Setlist:
1.    Heart of Flame
2.    Green Fairy
3.    Dream Catcher
4.    Lost
5.    Cynthia Poison

It was just before these guys’ set that the versatile nature of the crowd that night became clear to me- each band had a fairly different-looking set of fans, moving up to the front as and when their preferred band came on. With their significantly more Noughties-rock look, Heart of Flame began with an immediate hearkening back to 70s arena rock, with plenty of keyboards and minimal lyrics, moving into a highly distorted guitar backing, reminiscent of ELP or Brian May. The solo for the song was taken from the intro to, paradoxically enough, Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd, but played as though by Tony Iommi – their roots were certainly showing. Green Fairy began much faster, with some absolutely blistering drumwork, and shades of Black Sabbath’s Crazy Train. Sadly, though, the guitars were a bit buried when playing rhythm, along with the violoncello (which answers the age-old question o f ‘Why soundcheck?’), but more than made up for by the drums. If the Germs (especially Don Bolles) had had John Doe as their singer, they would probably have sounded a lot like Nocturnal Rose.
It must be said that their varying influences seemed to be pulling their sound in sometimes conflicting directions, making the song’s progressions become a bit lost at times. The addition of a second guitar, or perhaps a more virtuosic style of bass may help to this end. However, playing more being the only way to get over this, they’re already on the road to remedy. Drummer Milk showed some staggering skills on the bass-drum, playing them 4 times a second with just one pedal (a la Chad Smith.) On Cynthia Poison, you could hear the Metallica/Misfits roots, with the song’s structuring being reminiscent of Cough/Cool. Some marvellously balanced axework combined with finessed keyboards provided a very good end to their set; a build-up of classic and arena rock on a bedrock of solid punk.

Shashwati 

Velvette Vendetta

Setlist:
1.    Too Late
2.    Passion of Silence
3.    Black Star
4.    Intentions Renewed
5.    A Very Pale Rose
6.    Perfect Murder of the Queen
7.    Ashes
8.    [Encore: This is Our Rotten Love

Another set of Underground veterans took the stage, with the instantly commendable set-up of having the drummer in the back-centre stage, with the axemen to either side of the stage. A slap piece was being played on a 5-string bass that was so punk you just wanted them to start playing. Which they did, with the fast-strummed start of Too Late, with off-beat accents, and simple but hard-hit drums in the vein of ROBO. Their method of amplifying the guitar with a mic on the amp allowed for a good bit of feedback to mix in with the highly flanged and distorted opening to Passion of Silence. The keys made themselves apparent, in a deceptively soft song with minimal guitars. The call-response vocals in the chorus allowed to mood to change to a darker, more metal-like mood just before the solo.
Opening Black Star with a loud wave of uncomfortable feedback for everyone, the keys were slightly more dominant here, showing their more melodic side (as an interesting aside, the vocal progression was similar to that of Charlie by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.) Intentions Renewed was introduced as a new song, and opened with almost a croon, moving into an angry yet bright bridge, with military beats.

The bands’ sound can be compared to My Chemical Romance (as, indeed, has often been done) not so much in actual style, which is sufficiently different, but more in terms of how they achieve their sound through a careful concoction of influences; exemplified in the bone rattling bass and sitar-like guitars on A Perfect Murder of the Queen, or the haunting, almost atonal melodies set to a jazzy bass with frequent tempo changes on their 8th song. They walk the line between metal, punk and Noughties-rock with great élan - sure, there’s some Muse in there too, but then again most cakes have salt, so… An encore requested by about 5 people, only served to further highlight their ability to not lose themselves in a variety of sounds, with a moody, downstroked intro, Hendrix-y solo, but Metallica-esque bridge and punky outro. Having proven themselves to be more than a set of influences thrown in a pot, the tired band walked off, ending the night on a high note.

Shashwati

photos © Copyright 2010 by ANGUS LEUNG

poster by ANGUS LEUNG

Ding Ding & Shi Shi

Setlist:
1.    Think About It
2.    Exit
3.    Dictator
4.    Sunday Morning
5.    It’s a Rainy Day
6.    Perfect Life
As is my wont, I walked into a quite hectic Melting Pot to find someone tuning up. This time, it was the group from Taiwan, spending their last night in HK. Melodic chords wormed their way into the relaxed yet buzzing ambience. The (extremely proficient) sound engineer was advising them to stick with the chorus pedal over the distortion. A half hour later, after they were announced on, a mellifluous voice was catching us up to their recent ill-health. To be fair, while they looked a bit worse for the wear, they were still enthused by the sizeable gathering.
The mood-creating chords along with the lilting bongos on Think About It began, paved the way for the singer’s unfathomably tranquil voice to come in and take the leads. With Tori Amos-like restraint, her voice rose and fell, while some clever fingerpicking of barre chords created a charming soundscape. The guitar’s pickup was very sensitive indeed, bringing out the bass notes with great clarity (helped, of course, by the ace sound engineer.) That said, one humbly feels that they should consider adding a bass player, to counterpoint the vocals and round out the sound. Using a megaphone towards the tail-end of Dictator to mix things up a bit, the singer informed us of a songwriting glut they had after graduating.
After asking for the bongos to be turned up, it was increasingly clear that they were having to pull this performance out from elsewhere than their now-depleted energy-reserves. The proceeding songs were, perhaps consequently, deeper; three fairly soft instruments created an atmosphere of marvellous intensity; the sing-along bits on It’s a Rainy Day being good illustrations of this. Finally, and fittingly, Perfect Life – a song about following your heart and being free – had some moments of Steve Van Zandt-esque sweetness. As the lyrics became more despondent, the distortion on the guitar ramped up, finishing off in a calm harmony of guitar and voice.
Shashwati

The Reply (formerly – Fruit Basket)

Setlist:
1.    Eyes (Rogue Wave cover)
2.    Problems are Potential (P.A.P.)
3.    Into You
4.    You are the Best
5.    Shadows Passing By
6.    Wide Awake
7.    Fireflies (Owl City cover – “Self-proclaimed encore”)
The stage was handed over to a duo of very young boys, who clearly had their own legion of adoring fans there. Setting up with two acoustics, an electric bass and a tiny ukulele, they were greeted to thrilled screams of the (probably equally young) girls in the crowd. In evidently au fait territory, singer David began the set by talking the crowd into their cover of Eyes by Rogue Wave. They displayed the utility of having two guitars, with lead duties being intermittently exchanged. Some simple yet clever arpeggiations combined with the bongos had the crowd singing along in P.A.P., followed by the self-critique of “Not all our songs are that cheesy.”

The following Into You had some clever nursery-rhyme beat lyrics, with some deft uke added on to give the song a unique touch. David’s voice was reminiscent of a young Bryan Adams, with a tinge of rasp about it, proving an interesting counterpoint to the unruffled backing of Kuya Justin’s voice with some interesting melodic counterpoints on guitar as well. Giving credit where it’s due, David knew how to control his crowd – between songs he made a surprisingly nondescript announcement that they were changing their name to “something that means something” – The Reply (a move with some foresight – having a picture of Honda Tohru pop up in peoples’ heads when introducing the band is probably not the way to progress musically.) Following this with the faster Wide Awake, the set finished 5 minutes or so earlier. Laudably, they took advantage of this with their “self proclaimed encore” of Fireflies. As with the others, their crowd was busy singing along, and when they ended, they were serenaded off stage to the sounds of cheers and fervent clapping.
Shashwati

F.T.T.

Setlist:
1.    Intro.
2.    Sunday Morning
3.    I Am Standing Where I Belong
4.   What a Waster
5.    Opinion
6.    I Feel Fine
7.    Leaving on a Jet Plane (John Denver cover)
8.    Ride with Me
Even before these guys had started, the prospect of an all-Fender axe attack (two beautiful Telecasters and a P-Bass) was tantalising. The vista was made even more enticing by the rapid-fire bass notes emanating from the stage. Looking every bit the Brit invasion-inspired young Turks, they began with a solid, bassy opening, with a lot of distortion and a mean salvo of downstrokes (a.k.a. heaven) in the form of the Intro. Singer Po Kei, with his penchant for jumping around, combined exceedingly well with the ball-of-energy bassist, and were quite the spectacle. There was a fire-and-ice dynamic among the axemen, with Jonathan standing gentleman-like aside, hammering away at his strings. Po Kei was increasingly reminiscent of Billy Idol as the night progressed, leaping and headbanging with a cheeky smirk, while with their wall-of-sound, with delayed and heavily fed-back solos, hearkened back equally to the early days of punk and bands like the Banshees or the Damned, as it did to the Kinks and the Yardbirds.

What a Waster (with the appropriately punky title) featured some prodigious, Geddy Lee-esque bass work, while some powerhouse drums formed the rock solid foundations for the distorted riffs. There was a small delay when Donald busted his bass jack and had to have it replaced, before Opinion, which was marked with a cool walking bassline and semi-jungle beats; notably, at the end of their songs, they all let the feedback continue just long enough to make listeners’ ears pound with anticipated pain before stopping. Their rocked-up cover of Leaving on a Jet Plane, was graced by some near-ska upstroked chords (a la The Clash). The guitars on (sadly) their last song had some near-atonal chords, in the vein of (the late) Bob Quine of the Voidoids, before they almost ran off stage. If you hadn’t known that this was a one-off show they were doing after a very long time, you’d never have guessed it; their chemistry was alive and well, with the playing fluid and electrifying.
Shashwati

Kris Lao

Setlist:
1.    Little Voice
2.    Samson (Regina Spektor cover)
3.    Machine Gun
4.    What You Want
5.    Fill Me Up
6.    Sebastian’s Bowl
Kris Lao’s people filled the stage next (literally) with a massive double bass and cello. Proceeding smoothly to set up and begin playing in just a few minutes, the somewhat bohemian set of instruments (cello, double bass, keys, acoustic guitar and djembe) was a complete change of pace; however, it turned out to be a good one. With her crisp, clear vocals and sweetly laidback voice, Little Voice had some pure acoustic folksy overtones, complemented to perfection by the other two deep-toned instruments. Her remarkably unforced presence on stage (evocative of Cat Power) was one of an experienced pro; part of this demeanour was informing the crowd that her very apt glasses were not, in fact, prescription and that she was taking them off ‘cause she couldn’t see the crowd. Her cover of Regina Spektor’s Samson was eloquent, with reserved instrumentation, and a subtle display of her considerable vocal skill.
A mixture of haunting notes with intricate yet uncomplicated arrangements were the order of the night, with meandering, restful melodies coming from the two big stringed instruments, while the simple strumming of the guitar and ornate keyboards made for very interesting listening. In no song was this more obvious than on Machine Gun – mixing vaguely pan-human issues with personal themes, with some firm bass-work. Interestingly, Sebastian’s Bowl saw the keyboard almost leading the song’s melody. Kris had a unassuming command of the crowd chatting effusively to make the delay between songs seem minuscule, and was certainly the most able lyricist of the night, with the rare propensity to tell a weighty story without the song getting self-conscious. Combined with some solid instrumentation, it was a thoroughly mellow and refreshing performance.
Shashwati

GriN

Setlist:
1.    Alone
2.    Life is Simple
3.    Nosy
4.    Can’t Take My Eyes Off You (Frankie Valli)
5.    Without Him
Grin walked onstage with the night’s most extensive pedalboards, full of distortion, tremolo, fuzz, overdrive and phasers. The axes were pretty impressive as well – with a P-Bass, a Tele and a Gibson SG. Their set opener was drenched in quintessential Noughties rock – post-grunge, post-punk and classic-rock-esque at the same time. Alone and Nosy had some very well executed stop-start moments, with the band demonstrating some great coordination. Drummer Wah was most redolent of Mike Chiplin (the Lostprophets’ ex-drummer) and was highly skilled at bringing out the salient features of the otherwise almost indistinguishable guitars; in particular, his extensive use of the bass drum contributed to this end.
Life is Simple began with an arrangement reminding one of Iron Maiden’s “Run to the Hills”, moving on to meld fascinatingly with a Brit-poppy riff; parallel to the early days of Blondie (certainly, singer Jenny’s vocals too were not far off from Debbie Harry’s rich, full voice.) Their cover of Frankie Valli’s classic was done especially keeping non-Cantonese-speakers in mind, and received with thanks (however, at points they could revise their rendition a bit, for while Jenny’s voice if strong, it needs to be stronger for this song, but nothing a little reinterpretation of style won’t put right.) Moving into without him with the classic riff from the Courageous Cat theme song, it was a dark-hued and fast number to put an end to their set, with the band’s second-prefect coordination on full display, before they packed up (remarkably quickly) and hurried off.
Shashwati

Helter Skelter

Setlist:
1.    Use it For What it’s For
2.    Seedy Cadillac
3.    I Don’t Wanna Have to Lose You
4.    Just Love
5.    I’m Still Alive
6.    Built for Comfort
When it’s an absolute joy to hear a band tuning up, you know that they’re good. They certainly had the aura of long-time campaigners who knew exactly what they were doing about them. With their Les Paul – Strat – (highly enviable) Firebird combination, they insouciantly began Use it For What it’s For, with its circular, winding bassline, positively reeking of a Johnny “Guitar” Watson-like blues-funk mix. Some fantastic slap bass took over the song in the in loops and whorls, complemented perfectly by some cool noodling, and singer Vincent’s soft rasp. Shades of Bo Diddley and the Yardbirds were seen constantly through the night,, as they often walked the line between rock n’ roll and the blues (and what an awesome walk it was.) A segue into I Don’t Wanna Have to Lose You, brought keyboardist Adrian’s voice to the fore, and his punchy vocals complemented the soloing (which bordered on being almost metallic at points.)
A song written for a friend’s wedding (but which didn’t quite pan out that way) Just Love was more pop-ish in its form, but with bone-rattling bass and unmistakably bluesy so(u)lo. Their unequivocal answer in the negative to a request from one of the audience for “something fast-paced”, I’m Still Alive was the kind of song that just makes the bystander go “These guys can really bend!” possibly invoking B..B. King while doing so. At this point, the gig was supposed to end while they continued to play into the night, but because the bar needed to close, they had a forced encore of Howlin’ Wolf’s Built for Comfort, only to reveal that they had been holding back (!) till now. But no stones were left unturned, as the palette of blues was covered across the board, all the while joined by the lead-heavy riffs and growling guitars. With a heavy heart, then, the night was thus curtailed, but with the quality of music having been played, I doubt anyone left unfulfilled.
Shashwati

photos © Copyright 2010 by ANGUS LEUNG

poster by ANGUS LEUNG

Bank Job

Setlist:

1.      Straight Jacket

2.      Newsbeat

3.      Let it Go

4.      Razor Dreams

5.      Chilled Out People

6.      Down in Mong Kok

7.      Win and Yang

8.      Hype

9.      Grandma’s Chair (encore)

I’d ambled in at 9 to find these guys doing a soundcheck, and the tantalising prospect of the bottom-heavy (YAY!!) system blaring the melodic stylings of some very expensive equipment was immediately engaging.  Later, when being introduced, we were all thrown the googly that apparently this was apparently their first outing together as band. They immediately proceeded to make that claim seem highly dubious by launching into Straight Jacket, beginning with the sax, proceeding to launch into a chordy, mellow, groove-based set, with overtones of funk, and even some shades of calypso. Some influences were evident, as there were some Hendrix-esque melodies, especially in the opening to Let it Go, pleasantly reminiscent of his “Hey Joe”.

Razor Dreams saw keyboardist Anita joining on vocals, and the contrast created by her throaty voice and lead singer Jason’s bluesy croon was effective, but at points seemed a tad under-developed (can’t really blame them, though). Down in MK had, cleverly, one guitar strummed with only upstrokes, and the other only down, simultaneously, profiting from their Les Pauls’ wont to just sing when plugged in to some good amps. The very funky closer, Hype, was capped by the (startlingly) undramatic throwing of seemingly pristine white undies on stage, followed the band’s (highly deserved) recall onto stage for their encore. They were a success musically, a tight live act (especially for a debuting band), and really set the tone for the crowd that night.
Shashwati

Revenge

Setlist:

1.      Sweet Revenge

2.      Jedi on the Run

3.      Heart on Fire

4.      Endless Shame

5.      Back in Black (AC/DC cover)

6.      Sweet Child of Mine

Looking very much like seasoned vets of rock, Revenge began their set with some major tremolo from guitarist Andy Cheng. Not wasting any time, they launched into the pacy, punchy Sweet Revenge. There was one minor detractor that surfaced during the song, though - singer Donny’s voice was somewhat buried by the thick bass; a real pity in light of that fact that he has the classic rock vocalist pipes, in the vein of Ronnie James Dio and Bon Scott (very fittingly, he had on an AC/DC tee.) Their next song saw some remarkable displays of left-hand shred-sterity by Andy, replete with fretting from both sides of the neck and some cool pentatonic licks, making him reminiscent (musically and visually) of the great Paul Gilbert. The crowd’s reaction was enthusiastic, and there was quite some rockin’ and tappin’ along in time.

Unlike most bands of their ilk, however, these guys did not fall into the trap of being one-trick ponies by displaying impressive versatility in their following songs, with some jazzy bass runs, walking basslines and spider picking thrown in. Following this minor departure, though, they went back to flaunt their chops at pure hard rock, with two of the most accurate versions of two of the most hackneyed rock standards. To their immense credit, they made the songs still seem fresh, and the changed-up solos were admirable (and the fact that both the aforementioned bands had twin-guitars!). They finished up with bassist Mark’s parting shot about the Sleeves being “a bunch of loonies”, and the Dirty Deed was Done (but not quite Dirt Cheap).
Shashwati

The Sleeves

Setlist:

1.      Sex Museum

2.      Weekend

3.      The Killer

4.      Stockholm

5.      Totalitarian Love Song

6.      Space Dogs

7.      Mirror

The “loonies” proceeded to take the stage, but like some of the best acts they made you wait (okay, that was mainly because they had some technical difficulties, but they didn’t seem too cut up about it, so…) When they began playing, the numerous Stooges comparisons I’d read in relation to them seemed to be appropriate - there was a fuzz aplenty (Big Muff was king), akin to the late, great Mr. Ron Asheton. But dare I say, they bear an even closer (much less obvious) kinship with the New York Dolls of yore. The dynamic between the two axmen was reminiscent of that between Syl Sylvain and Johnny Thunders on stage (it also helped that Special K’s guitar sounded remarkably like Thunders’…oh, and that he was wearing what seemed to be a black skirt. Very fetching.)

Now, despite there not being their usual hoi polloi, it would be an understatement to say that they really got the crowd going. Certainly, the singer’s willingness to don the undies (which had been through a torrid time, being buffeted around constantly on and off stage), and dancing in the crowd to face the band, and get the audience singing along, helped their cause. By the 3^rd song’s end Special K was persuaded to take off his t-shirt, revealing the “skirt” to be a black dress (not exactly Audrey Hepburn, but not far from it either). There were jungle beats scattered around in some songs, with some remarkably versatile moods to each song reminiscent of Mink DeVille at their peak. Stockholm in particular, had an anthemic chorus (with shades of The Ramones’ Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World.) We were treated to Space Dogs, apparently written the previous night, followed by the closer, Mirror, sung by their (very good indeed) second voice, and all too soon, it was over.

Shashwati

Live Fast Die!

Setlist:

1.      New One

2.      Nation

3.      Get Out

4.      Acetone

5.      Skate Song

6.      Extra Life

7.      Brains

8.      Not Tonight

The Sleeves’ set had left me wondering how anyone could possibly not follow their set and bomb. Unjustified, though, these apprehensions were proven from the moment I heard Live Fast Die! tuning up. Like any good punk/hardcore band they displayed that schadenfreude for the audience’s eardrums, with the bass dangerously close to ripping them open. I was further reassured when they began playing their “first” song (cue: wall of sound of simply acerbic punk), to promptly stop a few second in and get the order of their setlist clear. Yup, like the Misfits and the Ramones and D.O.A., their set began in a fittingly punk fashion. The few headbangers in the crowd were extricated, and there was some banging worthy of metal arena gigs. (A small group even began to mosh, officially stamping the band’s success.)

We were informed, some way in, that the drummer was unwell that night and it was their guitarist playing for them. That seemed very difficult to swallow, as the drums that night were very much in the Chuck Biscuits/Bill Stevenson vein; blindingly fast, deafening and aggro-filled. The caustic, no-nonsense music fell neatly between punk and hardcore (sometimes at odds with each other) with perfection, and the guitar leads were remarkably reminiscent of Rich Kids on LSD, a compliment of the highest order. So, even though the singer’s belt had Johnny Thunders’ low-life slogan of “Born to Lose” on it, these guys certainly did not.
Shashwati

Staway

Setlist:

1.      Bizarre Love Triangle (New Order cover)

2.      Not Pain Enough

3.      Uncertainty

4.      Nobody Hurt, Nobody Die

5.      Ep Impression

I feel compelled to admit that, generally, any band that describes themselves as “emo” usually attracts my ire (for falling to this hideous misnomer). However, Staway was a far cry from the typical whingeing, faux-melancholic bands that usually crowd into this pigeonhole. With sounds that were definitely more in the style of post-grunge modern rock, they were significantly younger than all the other bands. And although this translated into their overall sound being still mildly derivative, they have the chops to overcome this. Beginning with their modern twist of New Order’s B.L.T., they sounded like the early Lostprophets, with melodic yet short solo lines, and an anchoring bass.

The singer’s presence was quite impressive, and her melodic voice worked very well to round out their sound, especially where the higher register of frequencies was concerned. The “emo-ness”, if any, was in the mood of the lyrics, whose subject matter was mostly concerned with emotional dealings and the machinations of the mind, as evidenced in their songs’ pointed names. Singer Zoe Wong described their set closer (which was in Cantonese) as being about “getting through from sad times to happier ones”, and that this was typical of their subject matter. The heavier, slower tunes were a good chaser to Live Fast Die’s set, and was an effective closer to the night, leaving everyone there with only one more mission - to herd to the bar.
Shashwati

 photos © Copyright 2010 by ANGUS LEUNG
Poster by Ross S. Seizure

pUrpLe fRuit

This night’s Underground promises to be interesting, as it’s the very first in the “Girls with Guitars” series of gigs.  The only requirement for any band to play is to have at least one female member performing either bass or guitar!
The first in the lineup is a band called “pUrpLe fRuit” – formed in the summer of 2009.  The band is made up of Bonnie & Sammy on Guitar and Janice on vocals.
An interesting trio, as their aim is to explore the acoustic sound with experimentation.
It became evident that their exploration involved the use of additional electronics, from a vocal processor of some kind in the first number, to a type of pre-set harmony to partner with Janice’s vocals in the second. I was quite impressed with their male guitarist’s rap in the third number.
Overall, their music this evening is acoustic latino-style-Cantopop chill, with a dash of electronics.
Musically, their ideas are unique, but I can’t help but feel they need to play more gigs and perfect their performance.  A promising band, my favourite bits of their songs are their experimental parts.  A good warm up to the rest of the night.

Click here to watch pUrpLe fRuit playing their original song: That’s My Way to Love You!

Joves

Dovey

The next band is called “Dovey”.  An all-girl band consisting of Ami & Kay on guitars, Ting on Bass, and Sogun on lead vocals.  Their original drummer Mamui was taken over by a male friend of theirs whose name I didn’t quite catch…
I have to say, their first number, although an excellent song, sounded very disjointed, but that’s understandable, it’s the warm up song.
And after the second & third number, I felt like more rehearsal time was in order as, again, they sounded quite disjointed and lacked cohesion.  I like their guitar riffs and the melodies of their music, but they’re out of sync at times, which is quite distracting.  I wonder if it’s to do with the new drummer??
Don’t get me wrong, I really like their music.  Their fifth song is an English one which my Scottish friend “K” says is “reminiscent of THE SLITS in the 80’s but with more guitars, and more rockier than the reggae stuff THE SLITS used to play.”  So there.
Dovey is a band with a large sound that rocked the house!  I guess I’m just a perfectionist.  I think they can do even better!

Click here to watch Dovey playing their original song: Mulan 花木蘭!

Joves

Hungry Ghosts

Next on the lineup is “Hungry Ghosts”.  Band members are Mike on drums, Luke & Paul on guitars, and Tiff Laue on bass.
I do enjoy watching “Hungry Ghosts” perform live.  Their powerful performances to every song brings out the passion for their music that can be lacking in some bands.
I would describe their music as Pop Rock with a quite a few chord changes and melodies, my Scottish friend “K” seems to think there’s way too much of it.  Didn’t they say the same thing about Mozart’s music?
Tiff Laue plays an intro to their fourth song which is an instrumental piece that’s atmospheric and emotional.  Well played.
A combination of excellent riffs and a tightness to their performance, “Hungry Ghosts” is, in my opinion, one of the best indie bands in Hong Kong.

Click here to watch Hungry Ghost playing their original song: You & Me!

Joves

Hard Candy

The final band in the lineup is “Hard Candy”.  Their current band members are Yanyan & JT on guitar & vocals, Renee Ko on drums & vocals, Jody on synth keyboard, and Tony on bass.
Another excellent indie band.  I still recall when my brother called me up a couple of years ago and asked if I’d seen “Hard Candy” as he was blown away by their performance at the time.
Tonight’s no different.
As a band, “Hard Candy” brings out the fun in Hard Rock,  Ska,, Punk, etc.
Their first number sounded like a Ska mixed with 80s techno-rock piece.  Which got quite a few people jumpin’ off their seats to the beat.
From then on, the rest of their songs continued to keep the crowd moving.  I was impressed by their music and thought it was a fantastic end to the night.  My friend “A” wasn’t.  He believed they lacked the technical brilliance of “Hungry Ghosts.” To each his own, I guess.
All in all,  a very good night of entertainment, and an impressive showcase of local talent, with the femmes on guitars!  Can’t wait for the next one!

Click here to watch Hard Candy playing their original song: 962!
Joves

photos © Copyright 2010 by Marcus Johnson

poster by ANGUS LEUNG

David & Kyra

alright!!!!  this is Underground 91 (cannot believe it’s ALREADY 91?!) and the night started with “David and Kyra”, an acoustic duo formed by two youngsters David Shurr and Kyra Santiago, who write about everything and everyone in their age.  I did enjoy their songs almost as much as I enjoyed the songs in the movie JUNO, very well written and nicely sung, especially when we consider how young they are, most of us didn’t even think about singing like them when we were 15, did we?!  Without question they have a lot of potential in them, and they showed that “acoustic music” is a genre, but not playing what you’d play on electrics using acoustics.

And when they “acoustified” some of the dance floor anthems including GaGa’s “Bad Romance” and Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” into a medley, and then with Kris Allen’s version of Kayne West’s “Heartless” ending their set, it’s obvious which way they are going to.  With more experience and dynamic in their writing and performing, I’m sure they will have a lot more good times performing ahead of them.

Click here to watch David & Kyra playing their original song: Digging Holes!
Marvin - In Love And Pain!

Daniel Martin

Singer songwriter Daniel Martin originated from Denmark, and with loads of commerical writings under his belt, it’s not surprising that he and his mates brought us some of the finest tunes of the evening.

The songs are mellow and tender, with Daniel himself sitting and singing comfortably with his acoustic guitar,  and the violin and keyboard accompanists adding the right amount of heaviness to the songs, which definitely made the songs more tasteful.  If you enjoy the like of James Blunt, Rialto or Kent, you’ll probably enjoy his set as much as I did.  I can imagine enjoy listening to his songs while driving or chilling out at home, and like i said about David and Kyra before, Daniel here as well defined “acoustic” genre for the night.

Click here to watch Daniel Martin playing their original song: Jealousy!
Marvin - In Love And Pain!

WhyOceans

All the way from Macau, 5-piece rocker WhyOceans is no newcomer, I first heard of them from the Linkin Park contest in early 2009, then Macau Undergrounds and I also had the pleasure to share the stage with them while I was drumming for GongWu when we both performed for the Esprit Hong Kong Flagship Grand Opening.  Veterans, that’s how we normally called experienced musicians.

Right from the beginning of their set, we knew the rest of the night was going to be different.  The instrumental ballad opening set up the tone, and the rest of the set we were all drowned by this giant Ocean, their music is very open, very atmospheric, it’s not hard to find some New Grave and Post-Rock influences through out their music, if they could roll out the bass a little bit, I’d say the vibe would be even better.  With most of the slow songs in their set list, we cruised along nicely through the WhyOceans.

Click here to watch WhyOceans playing their original song: At Land!
Marvin - In Love And Pain!

Good Fellas

This is going to be the shortest review in the history of The Underground.

If you are not dancing, nor head-banging, nor foot tapping with these Good Fellas, that is YOUR PROBLEM, not theirs, they are just THAT good! Period.  =)

Click here to watch Good Fellas playing their original song: Move On!
Marvin - In Love And Pain!

OneLastFall

Closing Underground 91, is OneLastFall.  My band In Love And Pain! played with them once at Underground 85, and that, was love at first sight.  The fivesome lead by guitarist Faro, vocalist Sheila, second guitarist Rob, bassist Charles and drummer Maijd fused every single essence of heaviness and became OneLastFall.  They are pure heavy, with unquestionable vocal skills and range, catchy hooks, adrenaline driving grooves and riffs and great stage presence.  They once again tore The Melting Pot apart with their immense energy and intensity, sadly since they are the last to play, the audiences size gets abit smaller, personally i think they definitely deserve a bigger crowd but apparently they enjoyed the set and so did we!!! OneLastFall is not “pointless”, and they had proved it with actions, as the Steel Panther anthem goes, “Death to All but Metal!!”.

Click here to watch OneLastFall playing their original song: Pointless!
Marvin - In Love And Pain!

 photos © Copyright 2009 by ANGUS LEUNG
except photos of Good Fellas by ANGUS LEUNG and Carina Ho
Poster by ANGUS LEUNG

In Love & Pain

So this is my attempt to write a none biased review about In Love & Pain. These guys are my boys, and I love their work, every time I watch them (which I’m sure I can count on two hands now). This Screamo/Punk group, are in my opinion, the hardest working act in town. If you have these guys on your Facebook, you see basically a post a week from them promoting their latest gig. IL&P are a four piece act that interestingly all share the vocal duties. The best thing about them, is their ability to perform a high energy show and spread this onto those who come out to see them. On this particular evening, IL&P struggled a tad with their general sound. Whether this was out of their hands or not I am not sure, but they will probably agree that they didn’t sound as powerful as they usually do. Most bands, would probably be dejected by this, and thus merely ‘go through the motions’ for the rest of the set. Not an industrious band like IL&P though. They powered through and still rocked out as if they were playing at Wembley. Their six song set contained many great sing-a-long anthems, that all get the blood rising. They go in and out of melodic and heavy moments. All their songs with have just the right balance of both. Check these guys out.
Tim - Hong Kong Independent Music Blog

Protoss

The next beast to take to the Rock School stage was the 5 piece Metal crew known as Protoss. Which of course is a race in the popular video game: “Starcraft”. Not the broom broom kind, but the people-identefier-er-thingy. You know what I’m talking about. The Protoss, are known for their advanced technology and their strict religious code of conduct. I’m guessing what the band took from the name, was the ‘take no prisoners’ in war time policy. And thus play some pretty brutal music. Good ‘fuck you’ screams were bellowed by their front man. They work best during their real sludgy cut tempo breakdowns. Recommended for those who are after an ideal head banging opportunity and those with an interest in badass riffing. The guys are very tight and also started the evenings first Circle Pit, which means they do their job in getting the crowd going. Kudos! The Protoss legion (referring to the band here) have interesting song structures and go places sometimes one would not expect. Dare I say , advanced, Protoss? See what I did there?
Tim - Hong Kong Independent Music Blog

Mensheng

Another 5 man strong group who are making their Underground debut appearance. I bet they were over the moon when they found out who else was going to be on the bill for their first UG outing. They took to the stage like seasoned veterans, well they have after all been going since 2004. They play a fairly straight forward mix of metal core, complete with all the expected tastes and trimmings. Good guitarists in this band who trade off quirky lead parts which is exciting to watch and hear. These guys have a good front man who is constantly bouncing round the stage and hyping up the crowd. Their songs are long in length and also move around in an interesting fashion. Everyone is completely engaged the whole time, and look to be having a real good time. During the outro stages of their finale, the singer switches from screaming to Thom Yorke trademarked soprano wailing. Which of course was a surprise, a pleasant one, which worked very well and rounded off a good set.
Tim - Hong Kong Independent Music Blog

Maniac

So it’s looking like the average players for a metalcore bands is 5, as confirmed by the 5 men of Maniac who are next to continue XmasMetalFest09. The start of their set had caught everybody by surprise. They kick off with an electronic song being blasted through the house sound system. For a moment, we could very well be at a hidden rave party! Just when you’re about to run to the closest 7-11 to get your value pack of glow sticks however, the distorted axes and beatings of the double kick riot through and we’re back to moshing and slam dancing. Well not me of course, I’m naturally at the back of the room tucking into Chris B’s Cajun French Fries. Which are amazing by the way. I’m constantly in fact waiting for Chris to go on another Cosmopolitan run so that I may jam a fistful down me. But no one wants to hear me go on about my barbaric feeding rituals. Speaking of barbaric however, Maniac are the first band of the evening to get the famous ‘wall of death’ going. If you are unfamiliar with such a feat, I highly recommend that you youtube it immediately. Not much to say about the music though. It is of course played very well, and you can tell the band have done a lot of work to get it tight, but it’s pretty much everything you expect. No real surprises. Maniac perform a good show, and I’ve realised that if you are to play real heavy music, you need to sell it, and each band tonight has done just that.
Tim - Hong Kong Independent Music Blog

King Ly Chee

From the very start of the night, their was a buzz about the room and I have a feeling it was largely due to the fact KLC were at some point going to unleash hell amongst the Rockschool sanctuary. All the other bands would mention King Ly Chee’s name at least thrice during their set and everyone would applaud with great enthusiasm. When the hour finally arrives, there is even a crew who take to the stage to help the guys set up and suddenly the room is quite packed. We are all informed that it is the bands 10 year anniversary, which is an amazing accomplishment for a band from this neck of the woods. The players, and roles within have changed, but the ideals and music have stayed pretty constant. To play heavy as possible, and have people captivated by it. KLC have a strong following, and its their fans which make it a complete package to watch, It is just as interesting to watch the musicians as it is watching some guy nearly breaking the lighting fixtures due to his crowd surfing participation. The guys must be the only band in HK who refer to their audience constantly as mother fuckers, and they lap it up. Riz is constantly running round the stage making sure everyone in the crowd is going nuts. True story here, I once had a guinea pig called Riz, and when the KLC singer is running round the stage, it would remind me of my once furry pet running round his cage. Pretty random I know, but that’s what was going through my head. The music follows a simple pattern of, head banging beats, then a freak out section, then repeating, with an occasional breakdown thrown in. It’s nothing special but KLC do it well. Very well. They also sound good, which is amazing. It’s no secret that the sound system at Rock School isn’t currently the greatest, but for some reason KLC sound real crisp and clear, whilst still being heavy as hell. Everyone is singing along to the songs and getting well and truly involved. For me it’s an awesome sight to see a band in HK have such a dedicated following. It’s like we’re watching an international headliner. During the last song, Kevin from Hardpack who has been drumming in this town for ages takes to the stage, and rips out the ending with the band, while a massive circle pit is taking place. What a set, hail to the King!

Looking back on this night, I remember it being actually a lot more fun then I anticipated. The musicianship of all the bands was much more then I expected. Although not my main cup of tea, I truly had a good time. I may even be at the next Underground Heavy.
Tim - Hong Kong Independent Music Blog

photos © Copyright 2009 by ANGUS LEUNG
Poster by ANGUS LEUNG