http://newindiemusichongkong.com/So,what's your idea of a great indie show?Noisy guitars,pounding basslines,crashing drums and indecipherable lyrics?In this case you're wrong on all counts.
Rave reviews from indie expert Steve Lamacq and the fact that she was also fresh from an appearance at Glastonbury prompted me to check out this gig as my idea of indie is also generally along the lines of noisy electric guitars and shouty lyrics from either sullen or over-energetic performers in great bands like The Arcade Fire,Vampire Weekend ,Radiohead or local versions of those bands,unless it's someone experimental like Deerhunter ,Animal Collective etc.Emmy follows none of these paths but seems content just to let her acoustic guitar,amazing voice and complex,literate songs about relationships stand alone.
Using the set mainly to highlight material from her new 'First Love' album ,she launched into 'We Almost Had a Baby', 'Easter Parade', the hard-hitting 'Dylan' and 'First Love',just taking time out to sing one Faye Wong cover song in Chinese for her Hong Kong fans ,an uptempo version of 'Edward is Deadward ' and a (very brief')Michael Jackson mini-tribute after someone called out on her second encore for 'Billie Jean' finishing with uptempo versions of 'Where is My Mind?'and 'On the Museum Island'.It's the first time in Hong Kong that I and I guess many of the crowd have been so captivated by an acoustic indie performance.Emmy may not have come home to a reception like the wild crowds at Glastonbury last week but by her third encore it was clear that Lamacq knows a great performer when he sees one. Girls with acoustic guitars-indie fans ,it's the new way forward.
Emmy the Great live in Hong Kong
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