|
|
| live music |
| sweet note 5 favourites |
|
Band Marathon (still)
And the bands play on. The Lab Yellow live series continues this week with Primary Shape on January 19 and Unixx and The Swamp on January 20. Both shows start at 8pm. The finale of the series will kick of a bit earlier at 4:30pm on January 21. That line-up includes Queen Elephantine, S.T., [A], Malfunction, Ghost Style and The Darlings. Tickets cost $50 on January 19 and 20, $90 on the 21st and all include a bottle of beer.
We asked avant-garde pop duo Primary Shape what we can expect from them in the Lab Yellow series…. Here’s what they said…
Tell us a little bit about the upcoming gig?
This time we’re going to give an acoustic/unplugged live performance because we want to focus on the songs and melodies more. We think of it as a kind of ‘back to the basics’ approach.
Do you prefer to play in big stadiums or small, intimate venues?
It doesn’t really matter to us because we believe the vibe of the show is the most important.
What is in your head when you perform on stage?
Gals… Sexy gals.
What was the worst concert/gig you have done?
It was the music festival we did in Toronto in 2005 because all the guitar gear was totally out of order and it really pissed us off.
What do you think about Lab Yellow?
Coincidently, our debut album’s title is bELL LAB and the first single of our second album is called Yellow… interesting enough?
What is your favourite album at the moment?
Damien Rice’s 9 |
|
 |
Golden Boy
Pay some respect, Sir Cliff Richard is coming to town. Some called him the Brit’s Elvis Presley, but the man called himself “the most radical rock star there has ever been” – because he adopted a no sex, drugs and alcohol policy in his music. Whatever you call him, he has sold more than 200-million records in the last six decades and is one of the most important pop artists ever. Here are a few more-than-trivial facts about Sir Cliff:
• He was knighted in 1995, even earlier than Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Elton John.
• Move It, released in 1958, was his fist single to top the UK charts. In fact, he has sold more singles in the UK than any other artist, even The Beatles and Elvis Presley.
• More than 150 of his records have reached the top 20 on the UK charts.
• All the profits from Millennium Prayer, which he released through an independent label in 1999, went to charity organization Children’s Promise. It brought him his 14th No 1 single.
• He was ranked 56 in the 100 Greatest Britons list in 2002, a poll sponsored by the BBC and voted on by the public.
Sir Cliff Richard is taking the stage on February 5 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. Tickets from $390-$1,390 are available at HK |
|
 |
Blues Night
Blues guitarist Tommy Chung, also known as the owner of Hong Kong’s first blues bar – 48th Street Chicago Blues – is teaming with harpist Henry Chung, pianist Jason Cheng, bassist Ricky Tsui and drummer Lawrence Tsui for a night deep, deep, deep in the blues. Join the five-piece for a jam on January 26 at Innonation (Rm 402, One Hysan Ave, CWB)
at 9:30pm. Entry is
$95. For more info, call 3188 2466.
An album that
changed my life
by Tommy Chung
Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled debut album released in 1968, with Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer but not the candy-pop line-up of latter years. Before this, my staple music diet was basically rock music. Peter Green’s album had a sound and energy I had never experienced before, it just strung my heart. I knew instantly that this was what I was looking for in music. It is difficult to explain what is so special about blues, as the saying goes “You will never know if you have to ask”. But that’s exactly it. |
 |
Mahler at Waart
Edo de Waart continues his ambitious cycle of Mahler’s symphonies with the Fifth, arguably the composer’s most glorious and challenging. The great conductor Herbert von Karajan is reported to have said of this symphony “You forget that time has passed. A great performance of the Fifth is a transforming experience. The fantastic finale almost forces you to hold your breath.” Also on the programme are HKAPA graduate Rupert Pang Chun Ting’s When the Time Comes… and the second and fourth movements of Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat Major. Edo de Waart conducts the HKPO in Mahler’s Fifth Symphony on January 21 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets from $100 to $250 are available from URBTIX, 2734 9009. |
 |
Spooky Sound
Who says a music show in Hong Kong can’t be experimental? Trot along to Lona Records’ 3” CD Single Series Live – Take Off The Headphone and Turn to 10 on January 10 and you’ll get a load of Splinter VS Stalin from Italy who describe their music as “a mixture of retarded pop, harsh noise, totalitarianism” among many other things. Others making radical sounds will be electronic musician Zenlu from Shenzhen, local music critic and sound artist Sin: Ned and the mastermind behind Lona, Alok. Enough of hiding in your room listening to all that ‘weird’ stuff that makes your friends think you are a freak. Time to meet people with the same taste as you. The show starts at 7pm at Videotage (Unit 13, Cattle Depot Artist Village, 63 Ma Tau Kok Road, To Kwa Wan). Call 2573 1869 for enquiries or visit www.lona-records.com. |
 |
Classics Reborn
In part five of 3721 Productions’ Replay and Rewind series, local indie bands Atomic Bubbles and AirTub are set to pay tribute to the great Canto-pop star Roman Tam. Morphic rock band AirTub will rearrange and perform some of Tam’s most popular songs, and have already recorded their own version of the campy classic Bad Lover. Bass player Edwin describes the cover as “almost like listening to the Cantonese version of AirTub’s original tunes” – so keep an eye on the radio station! The show starts at 10pm on January 26 at Phonograph (A&B, G/F 2 Austin Avenue, TST). Get tickets from Phonograph or The Panic for $100 each, which includes a non-alcoholic drink. Email productions3721@gmail.com for enquiries. |
 |
Canto-pop Fever
If you don’t know the Coliseum that well by now, you soon will. For the next month it has a full-on programme that starts with the recently crowned Female Artist of the Year at the Commercial Radio Music Awards. Denise Ho invites us to be all collective on January 19 and 20 in her HOCC Live in Unity – We Stand As One concert. Then pop trio Grasshopper contemplate infinity with Forever Grasshopper from February 1 to 3. You might remember how quickly it was really difficult to get tickets to their concerts last year. Be warned. Justin gets all gooey with the HKPO on February 9 and 10 in his Justin Live In Love with the Philharmonic concerts. Expect ballads with bassoons. The evergreen five-piece Wynners, with lady-killers vocalist Alan Tam and bassist Kenny Bee, decided to have a reunion on their 33rd birthday. So fans can recall the wonderful time they had with this band in the ’70s at the Wynners 33 Live In Concert gig from February 18-25. Tickets for all shows are available from URBTIX, 2734 9009. |
 |
Looking Forward
A friendly reminder: John Legend has re-scheduled his show to January 20 and Il Divo will be performing on January 22. Also look forward to Roger Waters’ Dark Side of the Moon live on February 15 at HKCEC, British power-trio Muse on March 3 and the first lady of musicals Elaine Paige on March 23. |
|
Gig Guide
Extreme Metal Festival 2007 @ The Warehouse (116, Aberdeen Main Rd), January 20, 7pm Go for: The name says it all: extreme metal. The line-up includes Bereavement, Evocation, Hermetic Silence, Orthon plus a special guest. Tickets $75 at door.
Underground 37 @ Les Visages (1/F, 42-46 Gloucester Rd, Wanchai), January 26, 8:30pm Go for: Bands including The Dragon Army, Sunset Coke, SHIT, Dr. Eggs and The David Bowie Knives. Tickets priced at $40, for details click www.undergroundhk.com
The Me?... We! Movement @ Fringe Club, January 26, 10:30 pm Go for: Papa Jack, Dull Figure and the up-and-coming Guang Zhou rock band Wu Liao Qi. Tickets are $90 with one standard drink. Book yours at info@j-sonic.net. |
| |
|
|
