Tag: concert

ANISONG World Tour Lantis Festival 2015 @ HKCEC – 6-7, February, 2015

ANISONG World Tour Lantis Festival 2015 @ HKCEC - 6-7, February, 2015

Record label Lantis has all the big names in anime song and their coming to Hong Kong as part of a 6 city tour.

7 February
Megumi Ogata, Minami Kuribayashi, Sayaka Sasaki, Ryoko Shintani, JAM Project, STAR☆ANIS, Faylan, Kenichi Suzumura, milktub

8 February
Megumi Ogata, Minami Kuribayashi, Sayaka Sasaki, Ryoko Shintani, JAM Project, STAR☆ANIS, Faylan, Aki Hata, Aki Misato

ANISONG World Tour Lantis Festival 2015
When: 6pm, 6-7, February, 2015
Where: Hall 3, HK Convention and Exhibition Centre
How much: $980, $680 from HKTicketing
More info: www.facebook.com/ANISONGWorldTourLantisFestivalinHongKong

Bel Canto Singers: Yu Kwang-chung’s Words & Music @ Hong Kong City Hall Theatre – 8pm, 4 February, 2015

Bel Canto Singers: Yu Kwang-chung’s Words & Music

Born in Nanjing in 1928, Yu Kwang-chung work’s have long been hailed as poignant expressions of emotions and are extremely popular with composers in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.  They have been set to music to express nostalgia for the motherland, concerns for mankind, feelings of being at one with Nature, and reflections on the facets of Life.

The concert programme features vocal works written and re-arranged by composers inspired by Professor Yu’s poems including Titita (in two different versions by Taiwan composers Chen Mao-shuen & Ma Shui-lung), Nostalgia in Four Rhymes (in three different versions by Taiwan composers Lo Da-yu, Yang Hsien & Chin Shi-wen), The Sunflowers (Hong Kong composer Tang Lok-yin), What is the Rain Saying through the Night (pianist of the programme Julie Kuok), The Night Watchman (Hong Kong composer Hui Cheung-wai), Nostalgia (Mainland China composer Chao Daijian), On Such a Windy Night (Taiwan composer Chen Mao-shuen), The Answer and Your Smile Last Night (Taiwan composer Jenny Chou), The Blind Fortune-teller (Bel Canto Singers Artistic Director & tenor David Quah), Firefly (Taiwan composer Tai Ching-chuan) and And When I Die (Hong Kong composer Richard Tsang) and the Hong Kong premiere of Hong Kong composer Victor Chan’s Strange was the World.

The concert will be performed by tenor David Quah, soprano Margaret Yim, mezzo-soprano Emily Liu and bass Edmund Kwan, accompanied on the piano by Julie Kuok, with readings by veteran radio presenter and music critic Dennis Wu, hoping to transport the audience to the world of the Muse.

Bel Canto Singers: Yu Kwang-chung’s Words & Music
When: 8pm, 4 February, 2015
Where: HK City Hall, Theatre
How much: $280, $180 from URBTIX

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

Émilie Simon @ Grappa’s Cellar – 26 March, 2015

Émilie Simon @ Grappa's Cellar - 26 March, 2015

With her unique mix of electronic, pop, and Bjork-like vocals, Émilie Simon has performed at sold-out shows across the world. Now, following on from her sold out show in Hong Kong in 2010, Emilie Simon is back this March.

Surrounded by music from an early age, Émilie Simon won critical plaudits as early as 2003, when she recorded a debut album largely written, composed and produced by herself. The self-titled record, Émilie Simon, won Album of the Year at Victoires de la Musique, France’s most prestigious music award ceremony.

Born in Montpellier in Southern France, Émilie grew up bathed in the Mediterranean sun and immersed in the sound of clarinets and electronic melodies. Wishing to imbue her second album with a more wintry and polar vibe, she began to record sounds that related to coldness.

Coincidentally, in the midst of her search for sounds for the album, she was contacted by film producer Luc Jacquet to compose the original soundtrack for his Oscar award-winning documentary film La Marche de l’empereur (March of the Penguins), concerning the annual migration of emperor penguins.

In 2009, Émilie started writing songs arranged for accompaniment on piano, rather than a computer. “I even forbade myself to go near a computer for a year and a half,” Emilie said, “I wanted to see what I was capable of without my usual comforts around me.” The result was a collection of sounds reflecting Émilie’s impression of New York City — an urban, black and white musical that became her most recent album, The Big Machine. On this album, Émilie’s experimental inclination involved the clever use of traditional Chinese instruments – together with keyboards – as a vestige of her long stay in the heart of Chinatown.

In 2011, the album Franky Night, (dedicated to her late fiancé) won her many more fans in France as most of the tracks were sung in French, as opposed to English. Her latest album, Mue, hit markets in 2014 and includes tracks like Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Games” cover, and other heartfelt songs featuring both English and French lyrics.

Émilie Simon
When:– 8pm, 26 March, 2015
Where: Grappa’s Cellar
Tickets: $420 (inc one drink) from Ticketflap
More info: www.emiliesimon.com

This Week at The AIA Great European Carnival

vs indie music festival

The VS Music Indie Festival will take place at the AIA Great European Carnival on Saturday 7 February and Sunday 8 February from 4pm until late. Sponsored by VS Music, the Indie music festival will feature up and coming performers from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Included in the line-up is Hey Rachel, Merry Go Round, Tri-dueces, Jabin Law, and Gravity Altestra.

A number of charitable organisations have enjoyed the carnival in recent weeks. Mother’s Choice, Po Leung Kuk and Shelterbox have held days inviting their members to enjoy the different experiences at the Carnival. The ShelterBox held a concert last Saturday featuring bands from Hong Kong such as Shepherds the Weak and Shotgun Politics as well as New Zealand group The Bollands.

Carnival organisers, along with title sponsor AIA have made the community programs and accessibility to underprivileged a feature of their event. “It’s recognised that not all members of the Hong Kong community can access the carnival so easily, so we have created unique and bespoke programs to enable both those less fortunate and those in need, to enjoy a great day out,” said Alex Gibbs, Director of Community Programs. On Tuesday, the Nesbitt Centre will have a day at the carnival and will also perform on the Live Stage at around 2pm.

If you are interested in having your school or charity participate in one of the programs please email Alex at [email protected].