Free Duo
Electro-folk, guitar-pop or rock… whatever you call them, at17 are reliving their history of the last five years in Threesome + at17 Live. On each of the three nights they will perform all the songs from one of their three albums, meow meow meow, kiss kiss kiss and bian bian bian, plus compositions written for other artists and personal picks from their music influences. People say good things come in threes, so we asked the hyper-energetic girls to pick three albums they love to sing along with.

Eman Lam
Justin Timberlake’s Justified
“He blends pop with other elements like hip-hop and R&B so smartly.”

Cheer Chan’s Let Me Think
“It’s the first album I listened to from the first till the last track.”

at17’s Meow Meow Meow
“It is a relaxing album yet can take people into thought.”

Ellen Loo
Jeff Buckley’s Live at Sin-E
“He plays his guitar as if there is a whole band backing him. I didn’t realize he was alone until the middle of the gig, and I like singing songs that are emotional or expressive.”

Josie Ho’s Hell’s Kitchen
“It was my favourite album last year. Rarely does a rock album like this appear in Hong Kong.”



Fiona Sit’s Electric Angel
“It is the perfect album to sing along with! It is pop yet classy.”

Super Riff
ASGP – Asian Super Guitar Project is Eugene Pao’s latest venture. He teams up with rising Korean guitarist Jack Lee, Japanese jazz superstar Kazumi Watanabe and percussionist Lewis Pragasam for this year’s Arts Festival. Shows on March 9 and 10 start at 8pm at HK City Hall. Tickets from $150-$360 are available from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

Currently on Eugene Pao’s stereo?
“Metheny Mehldau, a collaboration of guitarist Pat Metheny and pianist Brad Mehldau. Their performance in the album is great. It is original and the recording sounds really fine.”

Beauty Jazz
Rated as “one of Washington’s top jazz and blues musicians” by the Washington Post, blues harmonica player Henry Chung says when he first heard Genevieve Marentette sang, his jaw dropped. The two forged a musical connection which plays out in A Jazz Diva Sings The Blues on March 10 in a line-up that also includes Dan Lavelle on guitar, Alex Quirino on piano, upright bassist Sylvain Gagnon and drummer DC. The show starts at 9:30pm sharp at Innonation (Rm 402, One Hysan Ave, Causeway Bay). Tickets cost $100 at door. For enquiries, call 3188 2466.

He has shared studio gigs with Bob Dylan, BB King says he is “one of the great players”, Houston Post called him “one of God’s guitarists” and he is a four-time winner of the Best Blues Guitarist in the Blues Music Awards. This talented musician is Duke Robillard, whose Guitar Groove a Rama was also nominated for the Best Traditional Blues Album at Grammy 2007. Before he takes the stage in Hong Kong this month, we asked how it felt to be at the Grammies…

Reaction when he knew he was nominated…
I was both thrilled and humbled. A lot of artists I truly admire have won this award and it is a great honour to be among them.
How he felt sitting in the ceremony...
I was due to play my Hong Kong dates on the weekend of the ceremony but had to postpone so I could go. I didn’t want to miss the awards and I had a ball. I would have liked to have sat a little closer to the stage where all the big stars were, though!
Young jazz/blues musicians we should keep an eye on…
On the blues front there are some great young guns like Derek Trucks, Doyle Bramhall and Kirk Fletcher. Charlie Hunter is a great jazz guitarist too.

Shows on Mar 9-10 start at 9pm at Grappa’s Cellar (Jardine House, 1 Connaught Rd). Tickets cost $350. Enquiries: 2521 2322.

CATSUOMATICDEATH, a Tokyo-based trio started out as a cover band of American pop songs, but front man Catsuomann decided to switch the direction of the band to a mixture of English prose and a heavier sound after landing a PhD. The band have toured Japan and Germany, and are planning another European tour this summer. But before that, they are touching down in Hong Kong and will share the stage with Monogel, Kissing on the Dance Floor and Velvet Violet. We talked to vocalist Catsuomann about philosophy and why he called himself and the band after a common fish found in Japanese sushi bars.

Catsuo – you love the fish right?
Yes, we love eating catsuo just like any other Japanese. It’s an essential ingredient in Japanese food. Without it, there would be a riot at a national level. Catsuo need to swim along the Pacific Rim throughout their lives to survive, and that is similar to the way we play music. We’re going to live and die on the stage. That’s why we named ourselves CATSUOMATICDEATH.

You studied philosophy at Columbia University, New York. How did the Big Apple change you?
Yeah, NY gave me many things. I learned how to read books in a really short time, like 500 pages a day taking notes at the same time. In NYC you just can’t simply be there. You have to define yourself. I learned how to sell my appeal to the world, I guess. The ‘squeaky wheels get the grease’ sort of attitude you know.

Who is your favourite philosopher?
I liked reading Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre and Michel Foucault. I think philosophy is about the methodology and procedure of exercising one’s critical faculties.

What was the craziest thing you have done on stage?
That would be a gig in 2005 where I got really thirsty, but had no chance of getting any water. The bassist saw me looking for a drink and later, when I was lying on the floor playing my guitar, he came to me with his legs wide opened and stood above me. All of a sudden he opened his mouth and water poured from it… and I swallowed it all.

Well, okay. Has your audience done anything close to that?
I had beer bottles coming at me from the crowd throughout one show, and people kept shouting, “I love you goddam’ it! F**k you!” I still don’t understand what the hell that was. I think it’s a kind of expression of love in a rock ’n’ roll way.

Muse will also be playing in Hong Kong. Do you
like them?
I heard one of their songs during our European tour last summer. I think I was sleeping in the bus with the radio on. I thought I heard Bono’s voice in a new song from U2.‑I still believe secretly Bono is the lead singer of the band. But yes, I like their music.

CATSUOMATICDEATH plays at Phonograph (A&B, G/F 2 Austin Avenue, TST) at 8:30pm on March 2. Tickets cost $100 with one drink.

Gig Guide

Underground 40 @ Les Visages (1/F, 18 Fenwick St, Wanchai), Mar 2, 8:30pm. Go for: Mad Mud, Defiant Scum, Evocation, Sinister Left and Psalm. Tickets at $50.

David Cheng & Friends @ Fringe Gallery, Mar 2, 10:30pm. Go for: Bassist David Cheng plays fusion jazz with friends. Tickets sell for $90 with one drink.

When the Plug is ON @ Log-On, Festival Walk, Mar 3, 3pm. Go for: Opening show for the exhibition by Lona Records from Mar 1 to 14. Experimental music from Sin:Ned, Wilson Tsang, No One Pulse and ZenLu from Shenzhen. Free.

Drum Jam @ Fringe Gallery, Mar 6, 8pm. Go for: Drum jam led by Kumi Masunaga. Free.

Don’t Panic @ Fringe Gallery, Mar 9, 10:30pm. Got for: A ’90s rock night from John Prymmer, Collin Tillyer, Geoff Wheeler and Denis Brouard. Tickets at $90 with one drink.

Underground 41 @ Les Visages, Mar 9, 8:30pm. Go for: Wolfling from Amsterdam, The Ember, Audiotraffic, TheLoveSong and Homeless Alien. Tickets sell for $50.

Glitter Final Live @ C-D, 4/F, Lee Ka Industrial Building, Ng Fong St, San Po Kong, Mar 10, 8pm. Go for: Last chance to catch Glitter playing live. Ticket at $50 at door.

Rock the March @ Wei Hing Theatre, City University, Mar 11, 6:30pm. Go for: Bands including DSC, Luxuary, First of Trecember and Chorus. Tickets at $55.