Underground 54 at Club Cixi Hong Kong

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Saturday night in Lan Kwai Fong.A chance to check out some new indie music from Hong Kong .Underground 54 gave us high energy rap from Leo 37,fuzzed out indie rock from Hazden,numetal from Zoundz and polished britpop from Skindeep and David Bowie Knives.
Underground fans are an eclectic bunch, just like the bands that play there.At Underground 54 we had everything from rap to britpop with some numetal too.Maybe we didn't love all the bands but we had a chance to find out more about the new indie music scene in hong kong.Often the opening acts here ease us gently into the main show.Not this time with Leo37 ,a young Canadian rapper full of energy ,charm ,an amazing gift for improvised lyrics with the help of 2 turntables and a microphone.At the start the crowds were barely arriving and he moodily yelled something about it being 'livelier at his grandmother's'.However as the place began to fill up ,and his song/rap 'Move It!' got us going the place started to come to life.Leo was like a combination of Kanye West with the funk of LLCool J .In fact he was so good that he was asked to do an end of show encore with Hazden!





Hazden were a revelation.In spite of the fact that they were second on,they amazed me and a lot of the audience.Faye's vocals are excellent with good range and she can move from chilly,etherial to full power rock style in a way that combines well with the band's discordant,raucous,fuzzed - out guitar sound.I think the songs ranged from subjects as wide as surfing and suicide and her vocal style fitted well with the fuzzed - out ,slightly punk sounds of Cheong on lead guitar,Yiu on rhythm,Lun on bass and Lok on drums.This band were also so good that they came on again at the end of the show!It's amazing that the band only formed a few months ago-I'd love to see more of them.




Next on was numetal band Zoundz who besieged us with some raw heavy sounds,anguished vocal yells from Ivan,high volume fast guitar from Frankie,David and Wil and crashing drums from Ray with a whole range of influences from Korn to Incubus on display.
Zoundz are Ivan (vocals),Frankie(guitar,David(guitar),Wil (bass)and Ray (drums).They played a raucous set with classic metal riffs and touches of punk on songs like 'Hate You,Hate Myself'.




Skindeep consists of Nick (vocals,guitar,keyboard ),Mike (lead guitar,vocals),David (guitar,bass),Brendan (drums.The band experienced and have a smooth,polished sound but still maintain some darker elements like bands they cite as influences,Del Amitri and The Killers as some of the song titles might suggest like 'No One's In','Leaving','Twist of Fate'.The band had some good britpop style songs and a rocking sound.The band are Nick (vocals,guitar,keyboard),Mike (lead guitar,vocals and Brendan (drums).






David Bowie Knivesare Brendan (vocals,guitar),Shaun (vocals,bass) and Gabe (drums).
The band has a polished ,britpop sound with just enough of an edge to keep it interesting.The Knives had a pleasant sound and their songs like 'She's The One'(fortunately not a Robbie Williams cover!),Nice Problem' and 'You Want Me'ended the evening on an upbeat indierock note at least until the endshow when Leo37 and Hazden gave us some freestyle jamming and rapped(!) up another Underground.

Lonely China Day-Sorrow

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Lonely China Day had a good year 1n 2007,and there's a real buzz about the band in Asia and also the USA where they featured in the famous SXSW festival.The band have been hailed as an Asian Sigur Ros but although the texture is definitely post rock there's still a pure rock feel to the band.The album is an exciting mix of folk rock with new age electronica and post rock.Just like The Arcade Fire's 'Neon Bible ',the titles and lyrics may be downbeat but the overall mood is celebratory and upbeat.
The album lifts off slowly with 'Prelude',all delicate synthesizer and wistful lyrics ,followed by 'Thou 'with its brooding electronica and
haunting lyrics about a 'land of wealth,a man begging'.
One of my favourite tracks is the beautifully titled 'Red Blossom of plum and Me'.The song,based on a traditional Tang dynasty poem,is a perfect blend of tradition and modernity and the expressive lyrics are a perfect match for Deng Pei's expressive vocals.'One'is much more simple as if to reinforce the directness of the passionately sung lyrics ;'Land of wealth/A man begging'.

LONELY CHINA DAY 'The Child' LIVE




Songs like 'The Future' and 'Foraging China ' are much more upbeat.almost straight indie rock numbers and more like the band's live sets.

Underground 53 at The Cavern

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Underground 53 opened with an excellent set from Pick Pak Zhai who played a freestyle set with influences of jazz,funk and pop.The band are winners of Asia Beat and are Angel/Fiona (vocals)Nick (keyboard),Michael (drums) and Arion (bass).....They opened their set with 'Get Drunk ',a punchy ,funky number and then continued in a more jazzy,Norah Jones style with catchy guitar hooks on 'Out of the Mouth'.Next song 'Impatient ' was upbeat,with an infectious melody.The band then changed mood with 'Winter Swim ',a more romantic indie pop style number with a latin feel over which Angel's vocals lazily drifted.Next song 'Famous People 'was more jazz funk before the band finished their set with 'Without Him ',a bluesy uptempo song with clever basslines,crashing drums and excellent jazz rock guitar.
All in all,an awesome opening set for a band with great promise.






The Ember played a set that was dark,moody and passionate and with a much more rock feel.
The set opened with 'In This Hole' an emo song with lots of passionate vocals that went down well.Next song 'Thursday ' had a slower intro but progressed to an impressively raucous climax.In the following songs ' No One ' and 'Forgive' the pace and emotional intensity picked up and the band left the stage to loud applause.




Bone Table were a revelation to me.They play an accomplished,dark country blues style that reminds me of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.They have some great songs from the bluesy opener 'Black Sedan' through the Clash type punk of' Taxi to Wanchai' to the rockabilly blues of 'Sugar Baby' with Van Morrison style vocals.The band's second song was the 'SF country blues' Giant Electric Flying Insect' followed by 'Takematsu Joe ' a tale of a Japanese yakuza, and 'Like a Man',a tight rocking country blues sounding like the soundtrack to a Roberto Rodriguez western.'You're Wrong ' was more country rock before the uptempo ,punk style 'Taxi to Wanchai '.'Get Moving On ' was country ,bluesy rock before the band hit us with 'Sugar Baby ' ,a racing country rock number in a rockabilly style before racing to a climax with 'Sorry'.





Helter Skelter have little connection to the Beatles song of that name except for a strong desire to rock out.They played a blues based rock that really got the audience jumping after the delayed arrival of their lead vocalist.The band opened with some blues jamming in the style of The Yardbirds or John Mayall on 'Funk Ass Jam ' and 'Ten Past Ten ' but after the main vocalist arrived on stage the set got rougher and rockier like some classic early American R&B and country rock on 'Say You say Love' and 'the rockier 'Delusions'.Keyboardist Adrian took back the vocals on the more romantic 'Don't Wanna Have to Lose You' before the band brought their set to a close with the uptempo rock of 'Hey ' and 'Honest With You' by which point the audience were going crazy with all sorts of wild dancing on the floor.

Underground 52 at Club Cixi Hong Kong

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Les Ailes live at Club Cixi
First band on were were Les Ailes,a local band influenced by Japanese outfit L'Arc en Ciel.They have been around since 2002 but their latest line-up ,dating from 2007 is Marvin (vocals,guitar),Kinyat(lead guitar),Arthur (bass),Eddy (drums) and Sayaka (keyboards).The band played a mixture of indie pop and rock set with a very emo flavour.The sound balance between vocals and could have been better.Favourite songs were Rebirth and their closing number The Simple Days. They look promising in this format but still need to work on their material and live act.





F.T.T. were next on but for me this band were the highlight of the show,even though Transnoodle played a great set.
The band are Po Kei (vocals,guitar),Jonathan,(guitar),Donald (bass) and Edmund (drums).In Po Kei the band have a charismatic lead man and their rhythmic pop,rockabilly style set soon got the audience jumping.Po Kei had great rapport with the audience and was a highly energetic frontman.The band are influenced by 80s /90s guitar bands and they play in a driving rock style very similar to the Strokes but with a lighter feel and the band obviously loved playing their set almost as much as the audience did.The band started off in top gear and kept going with songs like 'Let Me Go','I Feel Fine' as well as some new material.Donald the bassist told me later that the band have lots of songs.Lets hope the band are playing soon so that we can hear some more!






Luxury have been playing together since 1998 and have one EP as well as several other recordings .The band are Leong(vocals),hang (guitar),Kee (bass) and Simon (drums).They opened their set with a fast-paced song with jagged guitar,followed by a radioheadish song with downbeat vocals and melancholic guitar accompaniment.Next song was more upbeat with a driving beat,some great hooks and a big chorus.By this time the band seemed to really be getting into their set and finished with an indie rock song with a driving rhythm and a relaxed,garage band feel.



Headlining were Transnoodle whose brand of ska/punk really blew the crowd away.Just think Madness/Pogues Hong Kong style! punk mixed with reggae won over the the crowd.The band eased into their set with a bluesy version of 'Port Royal' with some Beafheart type gravelly vocals from Josh and excellent backup from lead guitar,rhythm,bass,drums,trumpet and saxophone!With songs like 'Ferry Pier' and 'Hong Kong' ,'Poh Wah Yuen',"Down the Deli' and the band's feelgood,infectious ska
punk mixed with reggae soon won over the audience who were jumping,dancing and generally having a great time!

Me..... We at The Fringe Club Hong Kong

A-Day ..Tonick and Grin at The Fringe Club
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At the start of the show Jenny of local band GRIN told us that this was the last 'Me....We' show at the Fringe because of the lack of support for indie music locally.If that's the case then I suggest they should look to local promoters The Underground who are now increasing their monthly shows.What's their secret?I think it's at least in part due to the fact that they realise that with such a small target audience ,bands will do better with an expat as well as a local fan base and that means using a more international language.Even looking further afield to Beijing we can see that most of the best known bands like Snapline,Carsick Cars,Hedgehog, use at least some English in their songs and use English or American 80s or 90s bands as inspiration.
Grin opened their well received set with a fast paced number with a retro feel followed by a more downbeat ,blues based song.The band have a powerful rhythm section and they upped the tempo for the next song which was more upbeat with a big chorus.The band then played one song in English ,a cover of 'You're Just Too Good to be True',an unlikely choice for an indie band but well received by the crowd.The band's last song for me was the best as it had a more complex structure and more emotional intensity,bringing out more of the band's strengths of Jenny's vocals and a tight rhythm section.

GRIN at The Fringe Club


Now for the good news-punk is back!Tonick play in a neo-punk style that really got the audience moving.It may be difficult to make out the words but the band play with such energy and intensity that it really didn't matter.
Tonick live at 'Me...We...'


A-Day are a local indie outfit with Angus on vocals and some great playing by Day on guitar.The band play a mix of upbeat indiepop and more downbeat,emo songs.While Angus has a good voice for both types of material,I'd say that in live gigs,the upbeat material is better.


A-Day live at The Fringe Club






Next review.....Underground 52 coming soon.....

Underground 51 at The Cavern

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Underground 51 at the Cavern Hong Kong








Underground 51 at the Cavern Hong Kong .......

















Gray @ Dream 5 live at the cavern


















Underground 51 opened with some melodic ,upbeat indie from Gray @ Dream 5.The band members are Samson(drums),Kristal(bass) and Chris(guitar,vocals)of Gray@Dream 5.The band eased us into the evening with some upbeat ,britpop -tinged r&b on songs like'Riding with the radio' and slower more soulful numbers on 'Island Girl'(HK island?)...The band has a tight,blues -based sound a little like the classic bands of this genre.





Frozen Matches played a good set despite losing their vocalist 2 days before the gig! They bravely decided to play their set and even dedicated a song 'Shoot them down'to their ex-singer!The band are Bonnie(guitar),Karen(keyboard),Eunice(bass) and Kapo(drums).They played mainly their own material and one cover by The Killers.There were understandably some rough edges without their lead singer but I look forward to seeing this band again with a new lead vocalist.I think their best songs are mainly the upbeat electro pop that made me think of 80s bands like Erasure,Soft Cell and also the upbeat,indiepop style of Canadian duo Tegan and Sara.


Spodac are quite well known on the local scene.They are a band in the modern rock style and play tight, no nonsense rock with a punch.As usual they were a big hit with the crowd with songs like'Breathtaker' and 'Gravity'and my favourite,a new song the palindromic 'Madam,I'm Adam'.The band are Nick(vocals),Bryant(guitar),Tommi (bass)and Jason (drums).Sounds a bit like Foo Fighters.Powerful,accomplished sound and a big hit with the crowd.



It looked like lots of indie music fans were there mainly to see Innisfallen.They have established a reputation as a great live act and gained lots of new fans since the release of their debut 'REALlusion' at the end of 2007. The band opened their set with 'Hours of rain' from that album with its intricate guitar riffs and haunting lyrics,followed by 'Winter'and 'Of a Beautiful Soul'.Innisfallen have a great lead vocalist in Eric Cheung but the band's popularity owes just as much to the other band members,Sam(lead guitar),Chun Lung (bass) and Sui Cheong (drums).The band have some great material,well crafted indie with shades of light and darkness,all delivered with style and lots of jangly guitars.THere are lots of good up and coming bands in Hong Kong but Innisfallen are one of the best.The band finished their set with a storming version of 'Butterfly Effect' and a huge response from the crowd.Definitely one of Hong Kong's best indie bands and I wished their set was longer.If you haven't bought their album 'REALlusion' then look out for it.










Up Dharma Down was for me the most interesting of the night's bands because their music is so freestyle and difficult to categorise moving from soul through rock to jazz.The band have been featured as one of Asia's most promising bands in Time magazine and also featured on MTV. The band are Armi (vocals,keyboards),Carlos (lead guitar),Paul (bass) and Ean (drums)The singer Ami has a great,soulful Amy Winehouse style,voice and the and the band behind her,especially Carlos on lead guitar,can really kick up a sonic storm.Most of their material was medium -paced but they can also rock it out.Highlights for me were 'Only for a Second' ,'We Give in Sometimes' and 'I Apologise'.This is one band I'd love to see again.

Beijing Explosion at The Fringe Club Hong Kong with Snapline,Carsick Cars and Dreamlike

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Snapline at The Fringe Club

Carsick Cars live in Hong Kong

Dreamlike debut at Beijing Explosion 2



The Fringe Club,Hong Kong was packed on Sunday night to check out the latest new indie bands from Beijing and to see how they compare with our local bands.First time round , last year Beijing Explosion gave us indie pop in the form of New Pants and Hedgehog and new punk with PK 14.




This time round the sound was totally different although Yang Haisong,vocalist of PK14 was the producer of Carsick Cars' album.We had 3 upcoming bands Dreamlike ,Carsick Cars and Snapline with a much more art-rock,edgy sound..
First band on was Dreamlike who made a promising start with their set.
The band are Johnny (guitar,lead vocals),Wang Zhe (bass,vocals) and
Chou Yun (drums).The band's sound was a mixture of punk and the classic blues guitar fuelled by the energy of the excellent Chou Yun on drums but became closer to a lighter, Brit-pop tempo on their final songs.I think the sound balance wasn't perfect for their set but I look forward to seeing more of the band.



Dreamlike live at The Fringe Club





Carsick Cars at The Fringe Club

Carsick Cars are one of the leading bands of Beijing's indie scene.They are gaining recognition outside of their native city and were asked to support Sonic Youth on their last world tour.The band members are Jeff Shouwang(vocals,guitar),Levis(bass) and Li Qing(drums and guitar).In this set the band more than lived up to expectations.From the opening song "Zhe yuan de ren ' to the closing 'Zhong nan hai' the band impressed.They are challenging but in Jeff Shouwang ,they have an outstanding guitarist and they know how to craft songs with big hooks.There's distortion and feedback galore on songs like 'Gum' and 'Hui shou' but more than enough massive guitar riffs to keep the audience involved in 'Hou dao','Xiong mao' and many others.The band finished their impressive set with 'Zhong nan hai' one of their best known songs.

Carsick Cars at The Fringe Club





There's a great buzz about this band and it's not surprising.Like the best classic indie bands they make a sound that is both exciting and challenging.Although sharing 2 band members Li Qing and Li Weisi with Carsick Cars,Snapline's sound is completely different,much darker and more introspective and brooding with a more synthesised avant-garde feel.Songs deal with topics as wide ranging as the origins of the universe on S*2 to pornography on 'Pornostar'.The band is fronted by vocalist Chen Xi,with his jerky,eccentric dance moves and passionate vocals and the sound is strongly reminiscent of early Joy Division and The Fall.
Snapline at Beijing Explosion




The band kicked off their set with agitated,synthesised rhythms and simple (but impenetrable) lyrics before launching into the more upbeat 's*1'('-Snapline 1)you need an explanation /that I can't tell' with its massive,anthemic guitar,followed bythe more downbeat 's*2'-Snapline 2 (every circle is a door to the end of the world).After 'Close your cold eyes' the band played their only love song,'Hey Jenny'.The sound became again more upbeat when Li Qing exchanged guitar for synthesiser on the next few songs before the band brought the set to an almost rocking finish with 'Holy comments'.Fascinating,intriguing,complex but above all ,challenging new music from Beijing and you can even dance to it too!

Beijing bands,please come back soon to Hong Kong!
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Underground 50 In Club Cixi Hong Kong

Underground 50 opened with some introspective songs from Fourteenbirds like 'I don't want to love 'and 'We built ourselves'.Wistful vocals with a hint of Thom Yorke,moody lyrics :'rip open your heart,insert a diamond 'and some excellent guitar from this ex-member of UK postrock band They Don't Sleep......

Mimi Yeah! (aka Mimileung) continued the solo theme with her electroacoustic set.Mimi writes great songs like 'Sunkinsun','Sky is Never Grey' and 'Closer Then'. You can check out her Myspace site at Mimileung at myspace.
Underground 50 opened with some introspective songs from Fourteenbirds like 'I don't want to love 'and 'We built ourselves'.Wistful vocals with a hint of Thom Yorke,moody lyrics :'rip open your heart,insert a diamond 'and some excellent guitar from this ex-member of UK postrock band They Don't Sleep......An interesting set.

MimiYeah! at Underground 50
Mimi Yeah! (aka Mimileung) continued the solo theme with her electroacoustic set.Mimi writes great songs like 'Sunkinsun','Sky is Never Grey' and 'Closer Then'. You can check out her Myspace site at Mimileung at myspace

Fistiwave ,another new band on the hong kong indie scene,showed a lot of potential in their set ranging from the opening song 'Numb' which is funky,danceable with a strong rhythm and flowing lead guitar launching into a 70's style blues explosion to the bluesy atmospheric 'Achilles Heel' and 'Someone Else',with funky bass lines,jazzy guitar sultry vocals and drums.Ko on vocals has a good voice which can go from jazzy to sultry or bluesy but for me the guitarist Mo is the core of the band as his amazing guitar lines effortlessly merge rock,jazz and funk.Another great new hong kong band with their own unique style!

Fistiwave live at Underground 50



F.B.I.(Firebirdinternational are an explosive mixture of high energy,classic rock and punk.Cain on vocals has an excellent voice for the material and he also won over the local audience with his Cantonese, although almost upstaged by the extrovert bass player !The band were a hit with the crowd who gladly participated in the band's exhortations to clap,wave their arms and even jump!
Highlights for me were the punk metal 'Fools and Ghosts' ,'the dual vocal 'Gonna Make Love' and the cover of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers(Californiafication)


Velvette Vendetta at Club Cixi

Velvette Vendetta's set was much more moody and intense.With a range of influences from dark classical to grunge their sound is always interesting and exciting.The vocals may not be perfect but the intensity and virtuosity of Jack's vocals is always compelling.The band was formed in 2006 by Jacky (vocals ,guitar)after his return from Toronto. Their sound is powerful and exciting very punk/grunge but with an added dimension and more complexity in the song structures with a great rhythm section and a mesmerising vocal delivery by Jacky.The strong bass lines and driving percussion really complement the lead singer's vocals.On songs like 'A Very Pale Rose' and 'Velvet Dream' the band showed their intensity and they were big favourites with the crowd. You can check out some of their material at the myspace site but nothing can convey the intensity of their live set especially the power of Jack's voice and the amazing drummer!

Velvette Vendetta live at Underground 50



Highlights for me were 'A Very Pale Rose' ,and the Nirvana cover of 'Teen spirit'.







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