Young Knives live in Hong Kong

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Good to see that Hong Kong is now attracting younger indie bands from the UK to smaller,more intimate venues as well as the superstars like Oasis,Coldplay to mega-arenas.

Multi-national band Poubelle International (Trashcan International ),now resident in Hong Kong, kicked off the show with a tight,rocking set that livened up the audience before the main attraction.,UK band Young Knives.

The band,dressed in matching white T-shirts with the numbers '1','2' and '3',have a raucous ,garage band sound with a retro-60's feel and they really had the crowd moving with songs like 'School Reunion' and 'Disaster'.
Poubelle International live @ Grappa's

http://myspace.com/poubelleinternational
After touring the UK and the US,Young Knives made a welcome return to Hong Kong and Asia,having headlined the Clockenflap festival in Hong Kong last year.The band have been steadily gaining fans and critical plaudits on the back of their first two albums with a bunch of great songs and some mentoring by Gang of Four's Andy Gill.The band eschews the intensity of bands like Bloc Party or the nu-rave of Foals for a playfully serious style on favourites like 'Weekdays and Bleak Days (Hot Summer)' and "Turn Tail' and Grappa's is soon a mass of fans grooving or just leaping about wildly to their jagged ,infectious rhythms.It's an impressive set from the trio as they power their way through a set of ridiculously brilliant songs.Hong Kong promoters,more new young bands please from the UK,US,China,Japan!
Young Knives live in Hong Kong



http://theyoungknives.com/

Hong Kong Flash

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Sammy's Kitchen may not yet have the ring of CBGB's in New York but it's a welcome addition to the Hong Kong indie scene scene with just the right amount of grit and character to be a credible rock venue.There was lots of good indie on display and not one clone band in sight.On the down side there were some major problems with the sound system.
Wilson Tsang and Kung Chi Shing opened the marathon show with a fairly low-keyset featuring Tom Waits-style piano blues and violin.
Hungry Ghosts took the stage next with a disappointing set for the band and their many fans due to sound problems which continued to aanoy throughout the night,leading to numerous delays and bands appearing about an hour later than scheduled.To their frustration,the band even had to cut their set before they really got into their stride to the disappointment of the band and their many fans.
Hungry Ghosts'Chinese Families'

One of the first highlights of the night was an appearance by local britpop band Innisfallen who already have a pretty large fan base following the release of their debut album and some awesome live shows.The set showed them getting back to their best live form with some new songs and some material from their debut including 'Beautiful Soul' and 'Butterfly Effect'.
Innisfallen 'Butterfly Effect'

The show gave us a chance to see some Macau-style indie in the shape of Evade,with their cool electronica,a bit like Belle and Sebastian meets Portishead with aetherial vocals from Sonia and aetherial,complex guitar melodies from Brandon.
Evade @ HK Flash


Born to Hula provide punk-style pop which always drives audiences a litle crazy but this was their best gig I've seen ,sending the crowd into a frenzy and pleading with the band to play more and more encores after a set of punkish,hard-edged pop with some favourites like'Goner' and 'The la la song' and some new material in 'Young Pirates' and 'See Me After'. Punk with a sense of fun.
Born To Hula 'We Tigers'

Modern Children.Definitely one of the best young bands playing in Hong Kong with lead vocalist Kenneth's energetic delivery and a set of addictive songs like 'Mongolian Song' (with Mongolian lyrics) and Map dealer.They also have an Arcade Fire like addiction for adding unconventional instruments to a standard rock band set-up of guitars and drums with violin,accordion and rainbow bells.I'd love to see lots more of this unique -sounding band.

Modern Children @ HK Flash

YanYan Pang was the 'mystery guest' with her all-female band Hard Candy with some raucous garage punk and a slightly heavier tribute to Elliot Smith to finish the set.

Hard Candy @ HKFlash


Chochukmo are one of the most sought after live bands in Hong Kong with their catchy garage style indie.They come on about an hour late but with guitars blazing and no one's ready to leave as straightaway the band launch into a freaked out version of 'Caroline' followed by a crazy ,revved up 'Number One' and 'Head to Toe.' It's a kind of punkish dance crossover with lots of sweet riffs.
Chochukmo 'Head to Toe'

Hk Live @ The Fringe Club with Innisfallen,Chochukmo and Empty Tomb

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Another of the Fringe Club's Hong Kong Live events saw some alternative rock from Innisfallen,Chochukmo and Empty Tomb.Empty Tomb play jangly,melodic,wistful indie.Highlights of their set were 'This is You'and 'You'll Be Home.' It looks like they just need more gigging experience to be a very good live band.

http://www.alivenotdead.com/emptytomb

Empty Tomb @ HK Live

Chochukmo are already one of Hong Kong's best and most loved bands.Frontman Jan's vocals are soaring and ecstatic and the songs begin simply but bloom into melodic crescendos of guitar and drums.Fans were interested to see how the departure of bass player Yan Yan Pang would affect the band's sound but new bassist Regina filled that role excellently and any missing vocal harmonies were well filled by Mike Makai as the band played a raucous,exhilirating set featuring "Head to Toe' and blistering versions of 'Number One' ,'Caroline' and 'One,two ,three,four'.

The band's sound is hard to pin down and freestyle might be the best word to cover a sound that ranges from powerpop to indiepunk,songs that begin with simple melodies and then climb to ecstatic choruses ,driven by Jan's soaring vocals.The set ticked all the boxes for a great live indie band:original material played with passion and a sense of fun.Hong Kong indiefans-you must see this band live!

Chochukmo with'Number One' @ HK Live

http://www.alivenotdead.com/Chochukmo
Headlining were Innisfallen,whose well reviewed album debuted only last year but here they were after a few months break with lots of new material and getting ready to release some more new material. The band have a distinctive Britpop sound sometimes compared to Radiohead,although the sound is lighter.They opened with some new material which is a little darker than what we expect of this band and it looks like the new stuff needs to be played a few times before it becomes as addictive as songs like'Butterfly Effect'and 'Beautiful Soul'.
Innisfallen @ HK Live 'Beautiful Soul'

http://www.myspace.com/innisfallen

HK Live with Innisfallen,Chochukmo,Empty Tomb

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Iconic founder member and front man of artrock band Talking Heads gave a lesson in how to be a rock legend when he made his debut in Hong Kong.Having a back catalogue that would make many rock artists envious didn't faze him at all and he made joking reference to his previous incarnation as 'another band I was in before.Although  the audience went crazy for classic songs like 'Take Me To The River' and 'Once In a Lifetime'  this was far from a greatest hits show and his set was just as mercurial and mesmerising as the man himself,invoking classic American styles like jazz and blues and mixing them with some world music and his own special alchemy.In fact the gig was proof that he still has a lot to give as a performer and added to the fire of his Talking Heads material with lots of material from his new album 'Everything That Happens Will Happen Today',co-written with Brian Eno,his collaborator in earlier more experimental albums like'My Life In the Bush of Ghosts.'
David Byrne live in Hong Kong

This was far from a one man show though.The singer was backed by a powerful rhythm section, a solid backing trio and some jazz style dancers who almost seemed to embody Byrne's languid,jerky on-stage movements.This may already be the best gig of 2009 unless someone really special comes to town.

David Byrne Encore in Hong Kong

Mogwai live in Hong Kong

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Iconic instrumental band Mogwai revisited Hong Kong to the delight of their many local fans for an evening of beautiful,exciting and above all loud music from the band who seemed to be following in the footsteps of My Bloody Valentine with some ear-bending volume.The band may have little time for labels such as postrock but rightly or wrongly they have been labelled as one of the defining bands in this genre and showed in their set some moments of delicate beauty as well as deafening, distorted sonics.

A sell out crowd were gathered to witness this gig and excitement was at a high as the band took to the stage and alternately delighted and assaulted our eardrums with a set comprising versions of some of their best loved songs including 'Hunted By A Freak',''Fear Satan'and 'I Know You Are but What am I?' as well as some material from the critically acclaimed new album'The Hawk is Howling' like the eerily beautiful 'Im Jim Morrison,I'm Dead.'

Mogwai 'I Know You Are but What am I?'


http://myspace.com/mogwai

Whence He Came Reunion:Nostalgia is a Lonely Road

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What a great gig to welcome 2009.Blasted into the New Year by the post punk indie of The Lovesong and 22 Cats was like a sonic version of Chinese fireworks to illuminate the coming year in this Whence He Came Reunion show.This gig was a chance for those of us new to the band to check out their sound and to find out what all this nostalgia for a local band was all about.

Excitement levels were already rising outside the venue as we waited in line for what was a sell out show with lots more people clamouring for tickets.
The Lovesong (risen like a rock 'n 'roll phoenix from the embers of Whence He Came) are now one of the best live bands in Hong Kong but with a distinctly punkier sound than in their earlier incarnation and they blasted their way through an opening set with only one song from their debut 'Deux Mille Sept' and lots of newer material.The band play with a passionate intensity that usually takes audiences by storm.The set opened with 'Morning Redemption' and 'Celebrate' then an excellent version of 'Starlight Shine Us So Bright' and one of the Shorter Story songs 'Here's To Hope' before wrapping up their set with '1978'. A great set from one of Hong Kong's best bands.
The Lovesong 'Irina'

http://myspace.com/thelovesong
22 Cats play in a modern retro style difficult to categorize and reminiscent of bands like Pavement and Deerhunter.Songs usually open gently with Por's laconic vocals before building to a crescendo with Kit's falsetto vocals and clashing guitar,the band kept on course all the while by the amazing bass riffs of Yin and the heavy drum beats of For.The songs are all heavily ironic and almost impenetrable but this band can really rock out and have a unique (but completely uncategorizable)sound.For indie fans who like challenging urban rock with asense of fun.
22 Cats @ Whence He Came Reunion



http://www.myspace.com/22catshk
Whence He Came are a band who have cult status in Hong Kong and this set showed some of the reasons why.They have a bunch of great songs with lots of images that linger in your mind,warm vocals and jagged, lyrical guitar riffs backed up by heavy bass riffs and ferocious percussion.The band opened to rapturous acclaim from the packed hall with 'Finer Lights and Fairy Tales' and 'The Curtain Call' playing most of the songs from the album 'The Shorter Story' in what was more or less a love fest between an outstanding local band and the fans who supported them.
I guess everything in this city is speeded up.According to the liner notes on their album 'the Shorter Story' the release date was 2004.Wow,four years is almost instant nostalgia but after seeing the band and listening to the album a few times,I already feel nostalgic as hell about this band and lucky to have been at this gig.
Whence He Came (Encore)

http://myspace.com/whencehecame

Taiwan Explosion in Hong Kong

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Local band Zarahn played a solid set with passionate vocals from and some kickass guitar to open the show followed by punk band Climax.

Once again I was impressed by the quality of our local bands and ,even more so, the Taiwanese headliners.

Judging by this show,it's no surprise that Endy and his band Zarahn have picked up a lot of awards and already recorded two albums.They play hard-edged indie rock with lots of melodic hooks.
Zarahn @ Taiwan Explosion 2

Hong Kong bands may label thememselves as punk but their outfits are usually designer chic light years away from the original punk second hand clothes ethos.The sound is more garage band and a little like some of the original new wave bands like Bow Wow Wow,Adam and The Ants.

Climax @ Taiwan Explosion 2


http://facebook.com/group.php?gid==11410229

FiFitwo play fun-filled,sunshiny indiepop designed to give you a feelgood glow and get you moving.For a 3 piece combo with guitar ,bass and drums they have a big sound and the songs are jangly and melodic with lots of hooks.

FiFitwo @ Taiwan Explosion 2

http://www.myspace.com/fifitwo
White Eyes have won lots of awards and it's easy to see why.The band took the Fringe Club by storm with their rocking,slightly retro,punk-garage style.Definitely one of the best bands to visit Hong Kong this year and the club was packed to see them The band played songs from their EP "Got My Body If You Want It',kicking off their set with the high tempo 'No!No!No!'Xiao Gao's vocals can range from a whisper to a shout on songs like 'Narcissistic Personality Disorder' and the rhythm section is tight and rocking with some driving lead guitar from Telecat that takes the band to ecstatic sonic levels .It's not surprising that the band have The Yeah Yeah Yeahs on their friendspace as both bands play a similar garage style postpunk and Xiao Gao's vocal style and Karen O's have a lot in common.At the moment there's a lot of expectation about this band.On this showing they really are a band worth checking out .

http://www.myspace.com/whiteeyeslovesyou

White Eyes @ Taiwan Explosion 2