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Sunday, May 25, 2008

Rock for Sichuan







Helter Skelter (with HK's youngest rocker!)



My little airport .The Pancakes...










Edmond Tong
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Hong Kong Fringe Club was packed on Sunday 25th May to be part of a special concert organised to raise funds for the victims of the Sichuan. earthquake.In this city we're normally so time -conscious but today everyone freely gave their time and support.

The gig was a six-hour marathon event and in that space of time there were no less than 10 local artists playing all shades of music from cool jazz to postpunk rock.First band on at the early hour of 4.00 p.m. were A For with some jazz grooves,our blissful Sunday afternoon calm then shattered by the arrival of Gong Wu with their 'in-your-face'rock.Next up were Consent ,a young hip hop band,who are starting to gig regularly on the local scene,followed by So What with some medium tempo rock.

On a day when most people's thoughts were with the families in Sichuan,it seemed appropriate that Helter Skelter not only morphed from the wild blues rockers that they usually appear as into a gentler,acoustic sound and provided the evening with its most cute and youngest rocker (something to share with his kindergarten classmates-My First Gig!).

Edmond Tong maintained the chilled-out vibe of the afternoon with his gentle rock covers of classic songs like 'You've Got a Friend'.

Next on was The amazing Dejay Choi or The Pancakes.The innocent,tweepop style of this DIY performer just fitted the mood of the gig and showed another facet of the Hong Kong indie scene.

For serious indie addicts ,though,the evening was just getting into a rockier groove with the arrival of My Liitle Airport who opened their set with a track from their last album'J'ai Peur'The band played a set of refreshingly downbeat songs in their own eclectic style with a version of 'Stephanie Says' by The Velvet Underground and their own material including great versions of 'Victor ,Fly Me To Stafford','Dee,It may All End Tomorrow'.
Mylittleairport

Born To Hula are a great new britpop style outfit with lots of passion,energy and some great upbeat songs in the style of Vampire Weekend and other new wave bands.The sound is an intriguing blend of the passionate vocals of Harry Thompson,the pounding double bass of Angus leung and the crashing drums of June Ng.They played a blistering set rounded off with a great version of 'We Tigers'.
Born To Hula

Next on were The lovesong.Don't let the name fool you..the band are a torrent of energized drumming,pounding bass and thundering guitars with punk style vocals.The band are Nic and Ben Tse(guitar,bass and backing vocals),Ibraihim(vocals,guitar )and Stephen Suhail (drums).They stormed their way through a great set with'Worlds Collided','Eastern Moments,Western Skies','Starlight Shine Us So Bright'and 'Take Another Year To Rise'.
The lovesong live at The Fringe

Just when we thought it couldn't get much louder,onto the stage stormed the phenomenon that is DP.Just two guys but they can really rock! paul the drummer is well known for his sessions with local shoegazers The Yours.
The Fringe Club should be thanked for their generosity in supporting the event.Lets have more gigs like this where we can see good indie bands and help others!











Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Underground 58 at Club Cixi

The Fragile...Hungry Ghosts ...Gong Wu...Consent...Killersoap.....TheSinister Left....all at the Underground .....review with videos...




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The show powered up with Killersoap,a young band who kicked off with an upbeat number before slowing the pace with their next song.By the next song which was an upbeat rock pop song with a big and catchy chorus,everyone seemed to be relaxing more and they finished their set on a high.The vocalist has an expressive voice and the band played well but look as if they're still finding their sound.

http://myspace.com/killersoap

Killersoap at Club Cixi





The Fragile have definitely found their own unique sound.it's a haunting post rock that shows influences of shoegaze,especially the aetherial vocals and fuzzy guitar sounds of My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive.They are a 5 piece outfit who play emotionally expressive indie that takes you far away.It's wistful,dreamy and beautifully played.You must check out their EP listen on myspace.http://www.myspace.com/hkfragile
The Fragile at underground 58




Gong Wu 's arrival ensured that we would all leave our sheltered postrock haven with a bang as they set about deranging our senses with some rhythnic,intense crashing tunes.http://myspace.com/gongwu
http://myspace.com/hungryghosts
Hungry Ghosts live at Club Cixi



Consent sound like their influences are more from the USA,hip hop and R&B.http://myspace.com/consenthk

The Sinister Left are an experimental indie band.their sound is a little like the heavier rock we associate with The Editors and Interpol.http://myspace.com/thesinisterleft

The Sinister Left at the Underground show