BACKSTAGE WITH VICKY
 Green Coffee opens its 2008 performance season with Vicky Fung on January 4. Originally set to become a lawyer, Vicky turned instead to song writing and has composed for Cantopop superstar Sammi Cheng as well as releasing more than 100 pieces of work. She was also the creative force behind Ci Xiong Tong Ti for Juno Mak which met great praise from critics and went on to win the award for Best Alternative Composition at the CASH Golden Sail Music Awards. Her debut album, Never Home, came out in 2005 and this year she released the follow-up The Journey of Present. This Friday at Green Coffee on Wellington Street, you can see and hear Vicky for yourself. The night begins at 10:30pm. Tickets are $180 (plus two drinks) and available from 2167 8985.
MARCH IS SHAPING UP
March certainly looks like it will be a good month for music lovers. Not only will Maroon 5 be gracing the AsiaWorld-Arena, but Incubus will be hitting HITEC Star Hall a little over a week before that, on March 10, for their Light Grenades Tour 2008. The five-piece band from California has been around since 1991 and has three platinum albums in Morning View, Make Yourself and A Crow Left of the Murder to show for it. They’re also the guys who brought such instrumental landmarks as Drive, Wish You Were Here and Megalomaniac to the ’90s rock scene. The tour showcases the best of the band’s sixth album, Light Grenades, their first to reach no. 1 on the Billboard 200. The album sold 165,000 copies in its first week in the US alone in November 2006. Tickets are $590 to $320 for the show that starts at 8pm.
Nor are we done with March yet. Flash back a little over a week again from Incubus’ appearance and the glorious tenor of Placido Domingo will gild the halls of the AsiaWorld-Arena on March 1. Domingo, one of ‘The Three Tenors’, is known as one of the hardest working singers in the business, with an unsurpassed repertoire of 125 roles on stage. For one night only, he will be performing in Hong Kong. Tickets for his 8pm show range from $3,880 to $580. Tickets for both Incubus and Domingo can be bought from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288.
THE BLACK PARADE
My Chemical Romance will be marching into the AsiaWorld-Expo with The Black Parade Tour for their debut HK performance on January 29. They released their first album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, in 2003 but, although receiving huge acclaim all around, it wasn’t until 2004’s follow-up Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge that the quintet were hailed as the best punk band on the planet. And if anything sealed it, it was 2006’s The Black Parade with monster hits Welcome to the Black Parade, House of Wolves and I Don’t Love You that did it. Be enraptured by one of the best leading men in the business, Gerard Way, as he leads his men from 8pm in Hall 10 of the AsiaWorld-Expo. Tickets are $780 and $480 from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288.
 UG THE 51st
Underground just keeps on keeping on and opens up their first gig of 2008, and their 51st so far, back in the The Cavern on January 19. The roster features the Australian and HK connection three-piece Gray@Dream5, all-girl rock outfit Frozen Matches, gweilos Spodac, and Brit-pop locals Innisfallen. The Cavern is in Lan Kwai Fong and showtime runs from 8-11pm. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $100. www.undergroundhk.com
THE OTHER PUSS IN BOOTS
The Cat in Red Boots by The Windmill Grass Theatre is a fantasy musical centred on a young boy who decides to wear his father’s far too big red boots until his mother can explain why his father left them. Things take a turn for the weird, though, when his father’s cat dons the boots and takes the boy on a journey of wonder and discovery. Directed by Shaw Mei-kwan and composed by Charles Lau, this Cantonese musical will play on weekends only – the perfect opportunity for a family trip. The show starts at 8pm on January 5, 6, 12 and 13, with additional 3pm performances on January 6, 12 and 13. Tickets are $240 for adults and $150 for students from URBTIX, 2734 9009.
 LADY K LIVE
21-year-old Cantopop singer Kary Ng became famous when she joined girl band Cookies at the age of 15, making her the youngest of its nine band members. But it wasn’t until 2006 that she went solo with her debut album With A Boy Like You. Her song My Love Has Turned to Hate won a Commercial Radio Hong Kong Top Ten Gold Songs Award. Now you might recognize her as spokeswoman for Reebok HK or as the voice behind the Cantonese version of High School Musical 2’s Everyday. On January 11, 13 and 14, see and hear her in concert with Lady K Live at the HITEC Star Hall. Showtime is 8:15pm every night and tickets are $400, $250 and $150 from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288.
 STOP! POLICE!
On February 7, it is official, Sting, Stewart and Andy will be making a stopover at The Venetian Arena in Macau as part of the world reunion tour that has already seen them hit parts of North and South America. A raving success among fans and critics alike, the gang takes us back through all their greatest hits including Roxanne, Every Breath You Take and Spirits in the Material World. Beginning in May of last year, their tour has already sold over 2.2 million tickets. Get yours now from www.venetianmacaotickets.com or by phone on +853 2882 8818, tickets are MOP$1,200, MOP$800 and MOP$600. W suggest you book your ferry ticket at the same time
PANCAKES
bc favourite The Pancakes has sprouted some quite impressive wings since we last spoke and is now fully into her music. Don’t let the name fool you, behind The Pancakes is one woman – Dejay who started in 2000, around about the same time that she stopped changing her stage name from night to night and settled on The Pancakes. You might recognize a few of her tunes, they’ve featured in TV adverts including KIA in Europe, HSBC, CLP Power and San Miguel. She also wrote and sung Gum Gum Gum for the 2004 film McDull, Prince de la Bun for which she won Best Original Song at the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards. The Pancakes with be in Chan Shu Kui Community Hall in North Point January 12 for no. 7 in her Reverie Concert Series – Sing and Clap Your Hands with Us. Tickets are $150 and $120 and take a unique way to acquire, by calling Dejay herself. Visit her website www.thepancakes.com to learn more.
MAGICAL SOUNDS
The HK Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor John Harding bring their own touch of the fantastic to January with a concert appropriately titled Symphonic Magic. Master magician Harry Wong presents the music which includes Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite, Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture and John Williams’ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban theme and many more opuses with a touch of the magical. Two professional dancers will keep things fun as they help you move to the groove – though be warned, you may be asked to join in... Evening concerts on January 4 and 5 will be at 8pm and an additional concert on January 5 will play at 4pm. All will be held in the Shatin Town Hall Auditorium. Tickets are $180, $140 and $100 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.
CITY FESTIVAL 2008
Presented by the Fringe Club, the City Festival first launched in 1999 and casts a spotlight on a handful of delightfully different and enticing shows ranging from theatre, live music, art and exhibitions. This year’s festival, running from January 10-26, focuses on the creative forces of China, but old favourites including Australia on Stage will be making a return. Here are a few highlights on the live music side of the festival:
The Sydney Morning Herald called them “a skillful, affectionate tribute to Burt and Hal’s oeuvre”. The band in question is Australian trio Libby O’Donovan and Johanna Allen on vocals and Matthew Carey on piano paying tribute to Burt Bacharach and long-time lyricist Hal David with Flat on Your Bacharach at the Fringe Club’s Fringe Theatre. The cabaret show promises laughter, tears and wry humour. Showtime is 9:30pm on January 10-13. Tickets are $180 and $150.
 ‘Uncle’ Warren Wills joins the City Festival at the Fringe Club on the afternoon of Sunday, January 13. Titled Uncle Warren and his Magic Fingers, the show features keyboard wizard and composer Wills taking on requests and improvisation challenges from the audience. He has been known to play anything from JS Bach to Billy Joel. Time Out has called him “the Motown Janacek” and The Guardian described him as “Steve Reich meets Mike Leigh” going on to commend him for sending them off “in a state of perplexing yet sublime euphoria”. He’ll be performing in the Fringe Theatre from midday with tickets available at $120 and $99.
Then on January 15 and 16, Wills will be holding another show, Giants of the Piano, in which he’ll tour through everything from classical to Latin to jazz and rock, including pieces by Beethoven, Ellington, Jerry Lee Lewis and Brubek. Showtime is 8pm on both nights for the one-hour shows, tickets are $180 and $150.
Tickets for all shows are available by calling HK Ticketing, 31 288 288.
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