Tag: music

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].

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

http://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2015/The-Bollands-Shelter-Skelter/47246717_rBZF6m#!i=3852536111&k=K4wBtBc

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

http://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2015/The-Bollands-Shelter-Skelter/47246717_rBZF6m#!i=3852511245&k=5qVkHqR

http://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2015/The-Bollands-Shelter-Skelter/47246717_rBZF6m#!i=3852512572&k=ZtKmK6F

http://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2015/The-Bollands-Shelter-Skelter/47246717_rBZF6m#!i=3852507071&k=RTwRzd6

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

This Week @ The AIA Great European Carnival

The AIA Great European Carnival

Star Performances, Live Entertainment and Community Events

The AIA Great European Carnival have announced an exciting schedule of entertainment, community engagement activities, and special guest performances that will take place over the coming weeks until the Carnival closes on February 22. The Carnival’s Live Stage will be the venue for many of the appearances which will range from professional, to youth group and school performances.

“Our aim has been to make the carnival and the Live Stage venue accessible to the entire Hong Kong Community, and in partnership with our Title Sponsor AIA, we are proud to provide an additional element of fun and entertainment to our event,” said Michael Denmark, CEO of The Great European Carnival.

“Many different groups have been given the opportunity to showcase their talents and we will witness a wide variety of entertainment from theatrical to dance and drama, Rock, Jazz and Folk. We want to see both seasoned performers as well as the stars of tomorrow. With performances in English, Cantonese and Mandarin, there is something for everyone in the Hong Kong public to enjoy,” added Mr Denmark.

A preview of some of the Performances:

Puss In Boots – Presented by The Hong Kong Players
The Hong Kong Players perform a traditional Christmas pantomime every year and have done so in Hong Kong for more than 50 years. Last year’s pantomime was Puss in Boots. The show’s setting is London: The once great city is in a sorry state: the bumbling Mayor Boris can’t keep control and the evil Queen of the Rats and her vermin followers are taking control. The only hope comes from an ancient prophesy says that when London is at it’s lowest ebb, an innocent stranger will arrive in town and save the day. His arrival will be signalled by the tolling of the bells. It’s up to our hero Puss in Boots to find this stranger and save London. Puss is joined in the fight to save the city by the very beautiful Alice, and the unstoppable great Dame, Sherry Trifle. Will Puss and Alice find the new mayor in time? Will Dame Trifle’s soufflé rise? Will the good guys triumph over the evil rats?

Puss in Boots
When: 2pm, 31 January, 2015; 4pm, 6pm, 1 February, 2015
Where: The Community Stage
How much: Free

Shelter Skelter – Presented by Shelterbox Charity
Taking place on January 31 from 4pm onwards, the Shelter Skelter is a line-up of some of Hong Kong’s best rock bands, brought together by ShelterBox, a Hong Kong Based charity that provides emergency shelter and vital supplies to support communities around the world overwhelmed by disaster and humanitarian crisis. Bands include The Bollands, Thinking Outloud, Shotgun Politics, LOGO, Sheperds the Weak, and the After Party. The aim of the day is to enjoy some of the best local music Hong Kong has to offer and raise awareness for this wonderful charity.

Shelter Skelter
When: 4pm, 31 January, 2015
Where: The Community Stage
How much: Free

VS Music Indie Festival
The VS Music Indie Festival will take place 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.

VS Music Indie Festival
When: 7-8 February, 2015
Where: The Community Stage
How much: Free

Youth Performance Groups
Hong Kong youngsters are also given the opportunity to shine on the Carnival’s live stage with a number of song and dance performance groups treading the boards during the matinee shows (between 12noon-3pm) on the weekends. Confirmed already are

31 January – Twinkle Dance Company
1 February – Isla School of Dance
7 February – Island Dance
15 February – The Island Glee Club

The Welsh Male Voice Choir
The Welsh Male Voice choir will sing a selection of Valentine’s themed songs on Sunday the 15th of February at 6pm. The choir was started in 1978 by a small group of expatriates in Hong Kong and now includes some 70 members from a dozen different nations. Over the years they have performed on conventional and unconventional stages at home and overseas. An entirely amateur group, many of their performances are for charity.

The Welsh Male Voice Choir
When: 6pm, 15 February, 2015
Where: The Community Stage
How much: Free

The 1975 @ The Vine Centre – 7:30pm, 27 January, 2015

The 1975 @ The Vine - 8pm, 27 January, 2015

English indie rock band The 1975 return to Hong Kong for their second gig. Formed in Manchester in 2012 the group which consists of Matt Healy (vocals, guitar), Adam Hann (guitar), George Daniel (drums, backing vocals) and Ross MacDonald (bass) have been playing music together since 2004. As The 1975 they have released four Eps: Facedown (2012), Sex (2013), Music for Cars (2013) and IV (2013) ; a self-titled debut album which debuted at No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart on 8 September 2013 and a number of singles.

The 1975
Support: Chochukmo
When: 8pm, 27 January, 2015
Where: The Vine Centre
How much: $590