Category: music

CityU Band Society Opening Show 2015: Neonates, Smile With AYe, Dreamer, Carry Lighter, Mechanix

CityU Band Society Opening Show 2015: Neonates, Smile With AYe, Dreamer, Carry Lighter, Mechanix

The 20th Band Society of Students’ Union City University of Hong Kong boldly invite you… “No matter you’re into pop music or heavy metal, as long as you’re getting bored by what you’re given to hear from the mainstream media, don’t lose hope yet, the only way out is in – Come and let our five guest bands show you their unique facets of music.”

樂隊簡介 Bands:

Neonates (Hard Rock)
Neonates was founded on October 2014. All five of us have the same pure passion on band music, and this was how the name ‘Neonates’ came up.
www.facebook.com/neonateshk

Smile With AYe (Alternative Rock)
Smile With AYe 成立於2014年。其成員有John(主音)、阿 Mo(結他)、Matthew(結他)、Jerry(bass)、Marcus(鼓)。我們的歌曲風格主要是pop rock: 堅持使用粵語創作是我們的宗旨。
www.facebook.com/smilewithayehk

Dreamer (Melodic Hard Rock)
“We are dreamer. We dream big.”
Dreamer is a rock band from Hong Kong. Our music often contains hints of other kinds of music as we are influenced by so many different genres of music like 80’s Hard Rock, Jazz-Funk Fusion, Power Ballad, etc.

Why do we play band? To hopefully introduce new, different music styles to the public, thus encouraging everyone to be adventurous about listening to new music.
www.facebook.com/dreamerhkofficial

Carry Lighter (Pop-Rock)
人偶然也會有失去動力、死火的一刻，
希望我們的音樂，好比一個打火機，
把大家心中的燃料、能量再次燃燒起來。
www.facebook.com/carrylighterband

Mechanix (Metal)
Heavy Metal band from Hong Kong.
Brian Jericho Seto- Vocals, Guitar;
Oscar Chan- Vocals, Guitar;
Anson Leung- Bass;
Gary Tong- Drums.
www.facebook.com/1mechanix

CityU Band Society Opening Show 2015: Neonates, Smile With AYe, Dreamer, Carry Lighter, Mechanix
When: 7pm, 8th March, 2015
Where: Multi-functional Hall A, Student Residence, City University of Hong Kong, 22 Cornwall Street, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong
How much: Free
More info: Underdog 5107 2300

The Bollands Farewell Hong Kong @ Backstage – 28 February, 2015

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http://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2015/The-Bollands-Farewell-HongKong/47755523_GPSKQV#!i=3903494060&k=vPvjVBs

The Bollands bid adieu to Hong Kong at a packed Backstage supported by The Privateers & Rich Phipson. A great evening’s music
Click on any photo to see more images and videos

http://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2015/The-Bollands-Farewell-HongKong/47755523_GPSKQV#!i=3903439227&k=2NTfpjf

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http://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2015/The-Bollands-Farewell-HongKong/47755523_GPSKQV#!i=3903421120&k=nLWWgNR

The Bollands – Farewell Hong Kong @ Backstage Live – 10pm, 28 February, 2015

the bollands farewell hong kong

The Bollands wish Hong Kong adieu with a final gig at Backstage Live. The New Zealand folk duo, who have gained a well earned reputation for their passion filled live shows, have been performing together since 2011 when Joyce, a classically trained pianist, met Christian, a hairy folk singer, at a campfire jam on a remote beach in their home country. They clicked instantly. Since that fate filled night, they have been playing their passion filled and heartfelt songs across the globe.

The Bollands – Farewell Hong Kong
Special Guests: The Privateers, Rich Phipson
When: 10pm, 28 February, 2015
Where: Backstage Live Restaurant
How Much: $100
More info: www.thebollands.com

Belle and Sebastian Concert Review

belle+seb

Belle and Sebastian’s concert at Asia-Expo was so much better than my previous experience at this dreadful venue. For starters, there were real musicians on stage. Lots of them! The six band members were joined by what I assume were locally-hired musicians. I counted 13 people on stage at one time. This was no simple promotional exercise. The band was out to have fun. From the off, they engaged with the enthusiastic audience, an eclectic mix of young and old, local and expat.

The band started with Nobody’s Empire, quickly followed by I’m a Cuckoo and Expectations. The sound was good and the visuals were fun, light-hearted and entertaining. The Boy with the Arab Strap and Legal Man were my personal highlights of the evening. During these songs, members of the audience were invited up on stage to dance along with Stuart Murdoch and co. Being Hong Kong; plenty of selfies were taken by the dancers on stage.

During Piazza, New York Catcher a yellow umbrella appeared much to the enthusiastic cheers of the crowd. The tents maybe mostly gone, but the world remembers and continues it’s support.

For the well-deserved encore, Belle and Sebastian played a truncated version of There’s Too Much Love in response to an audience member’s request and ended the evening with a superb rendition of Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying, which left the crowd wanting more.

I went to this concert with low expectations simply because it was being held at Asia-Expo. I left on a high, ready to dust off and play my old Belle and Sebastian CDs. A great night’s entertainment.

Belle and Sebastian
When: 8pm, 10 February, 2015
Where: AsiaWorld Expo
How much: $760 from HKTicketing

Made in Hong Kong Music Festival @ The AIA Great European Carnival – 7-8 February, 2015

vs indie music festival

7th February:
Hey Rachel (Acoustic/Pop/SongWriter)
Tonyi Ng (Pop)
Gravity Alterstra (Electronic)
Rain in Time及時雨 (Post-Hardcore)
Shandy Gan 顏培珊(Bossa Nova)

8th February:
ChintungTse 謝芊彤 (Acoustic/Pop/SongWriter)
Sil Hung Mo 小紅帽 (Indie pop)
Jabin Law (Folk/Blues/Alternative/Rock)
大人之音樂 (Brainiac of Electronic & Looping Music Unit)
Tri-deuce (Jazz funk/Acid Jazz/Soul)
Lil’ Ashes小塵埃 (Acoustic)

Made in Hong Kong Music Festival
When: 7-8 February, 2015
Where: The AIA Great European Carnival
How much: $125
More info:

Lily Allen Concert Review

Lily Allen live

There is nowhere more soul destroying for a concert than the desolate Hall 10 of the Asia Expo Arena. Still, it’s Lily Allen and expectations are high. As always, getting anything decent to eat or drink was futile so I headed straight into the main hall. On stage a deejay was mixing a variety of sounds. The crowd seemed a bit thin on the ground but the atmosphere, nonetheless, was good. It wasn’t long before Lily Allen appeared, starting her set with ‘Sheezus’. She swiftly segued into ‘Not Fair’ and had the crowd singing along with her.The lighting and visuals were superb and Lily’s stage presence and interaction with the crowd were, as always, fantastic. But where was her band and where were the dancers? She performed several more songs from her latest album, ‘Sheezus’, along with a smattering of her older hits. Surprisingly she didn’t sing ‘Air Balloon’ and unsurprisingly turned down requests from the audience to sing ‘Alfie’. The visual arrangements continued to impress and there was a fun moment when she brought two hapless audience members up on stage to sing with her. The final song ’Fuck You’ had everyone singing along raucously.

It was a good concert but it did feel odd seeing her up there singing to a backing soundtrack mixed by the on-stage deejay rather than with a band. To be honest, it felt more like a glorified karaoke session than a real concert. Was this cost cutting on the artist’s behalf or by the promoter? If I had known in advance, I probably wouldn’t have bought a ticket for the concert. Is this a sign of the times? Will more artists coming to HK do the same and leave their band behind?

Lily Allen Live in Hong Kong 2015
When: 8pm, 31 January, 2015
Where: AsiaWorld-Expo

The Bollands @ Shelter Skelter – The Great European Carnival, 31 January 2015

http://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2015/The-Bollands-Shelter-Skelter/47246717_rBZF6m#!i=3852530170&k=rXZ6DmH

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The Bollands were out on a Saturday afternoon at The Great European carnival to support Shelter Box in one of their final appearances in Hong Kong before they set off on a massive US Tour. With Joyce on drums, the gig was great fun. I’d love for Joyce and Christian to be recording their gigs and releasing them online. The CD’s are great, but the live shows are fun and The Bollands will be missed when they head to the US.
Click on the photos to see more. My apologies for the video quality, the sound is fine.

http://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2015/The-Bollands-Shelter-Skelter/47246717_rBZF6m#!i=3852532381&k=qQnKkb2

http://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2015/The-Bollands-Shelter-Skelter/47246717_rBZF6m#!i=3852533775&k=dFZ5MsG

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http://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2015/The-Bollands-Shelter-Skelter/47246717_rBZF6m#!i=3852505314&k=gMpKm6Z