Underground 34

10-11-06

Hey! What a crowd this night brought!!
Thanks to Cliff, Manek, Yan & Willem for doing a great job and thanks SO MUCH to all five bands who performed, Hong Kong needs you and of course thanks to the audience who came and came and came, “The Underground” is just for you.
love Chris B xx

u34-1.jpg u34-2.jpg u34-3.jpg u34-4.jpg u34-5.jpg u34-6.jpg u34-7.jpg u34-8.jpg u34-9.jpg u34-10.jpg u34-11.jpg u34-13.jpg u34-14.jpg u34-15.jpg u34-16.jpg u34-17.jpg u34-18.jpg u34-19.jpg u34-20.jpg u34-21.jpg u34-22.jpg u34-23.jpg u34-24.jpg u34-25.jpg u34-26.jpg u34-27.jpg u34-28.jpg u34-29.jpg u34-30.jpg

Kissing on the Dance Floor
With an element of video game music, but also rather fantasy-inspired. Vocals quite amateur and all over the place, timing of guitars/drums not always spot on, but interesting for its eclectic variety of tunes and styles. You have to listen with a strange sense of Willy Wonka-like wonder. Not bad for their first live performance – lots of potential! Great name for a band too…
Wally Amos

u34-31.jpg u34-33.jpg u34-34.jpg u34-35.jpg u34-36.jpg u34-37.jpg u34-38.jpg u34-39.jpg u34-40.jpg u34-42.jpg u34-43.jpg u34-44.jpg u34-45.jpg u34-46.jpg u34-47.jpg u34-48.jpg u34-49.jpg u34-50.jpg u34-51.jpg u34-52.jpg u34-53.jpg u34-54.jpg u34-55.jpg u34-56.jpg u34-57.jpg u34-58.jpg

Bereavement
Imagine a creepy old haunted house at midnight not haunted by ghosts, but by slow-moving undead zombie rats wearing tuxedos, mindlessly wandering around forever in gloom. Bereavement is what the rats are feeling. Gothic but not scary, their music imparts a deep feeling of sorrow and loss of something beautiful. As the set progressed, the rats started getting angry and exhibiting their warning threats if you dare to get too close. As deep and dark as the music is, it’s strangely relaxing and liberating if you just go with it. I could spend a very long time in that place.
Wally Amos

u34-59.jpg u34-60.jpg u34-61.jpg u34-62.jpg u34-64.jpg u34-65.jpg u34-66.jpg u34-67.jpg u34-68.jpg u34-69.jpg u34-71.jpg u34-72.jpg u34-73.jpg u34-74.jpg u34-75.jpg u34-76.jpg u34-77.jpg u34-78.jpg u34-79.jpgu34-80.jpg u34-81.jpg u34-82.jpg u34-83.jpg u34-84.jpg u34-85.jpg

Snoblind
If you have the fortune of seeing them live, you will be treated to a weird yet fascinating video set to a very funky composition ranging from hardcore industrial to psychedelic trance, all of it extremely funky, pointing out the absurdity of normal things and situations presented in an absurd way. Very trippy and enveloping. The music gets heavier and heavier as the imagery gets more explosive and destructive. It gets harsh and demanding yet surprisingly compelling, then starts to malfunction and fall apart, only to come back together again even more fucked up and entrancing, while the images and video are flow insanely by. It really picks you up and throws you around. Must see them live.
Wally Amos

u34-86.jpg u34-87.jpg u34-88.jpg u34-89.jpg u34-90.jpg u34-91.jpg u34-92.jpg u34-93.jpg u34-94.jpg u34-95.jpg u34-96.jpg u34-97.jpg u34-98.jpg u34-99.jpg u34-100.jpg u34-101.jpg u34-102.jpg u34-103.jpg u34-104.jpg u34-105.jpg u34-106.jpgu34-107.jpg u34-109.jpg u34-110.jpg u34-111.jpg u34-112.jpg u34-113.jpg u34-114.jpg u34-115.jpg u34-116.jpg u34-117.jpg u34-118.jpg u34-119.jpg u34-120.jpg u34-121.jpg u34-122.jpg u34-123.jpg u34-124.jpg u34-126.jpg u34-127.jpg u34-128.jpg u34-129.jpg u34-131.jpg u34-132.jpg u34-133.jpg u34-134.jpg u34-135.jpg u34-136.jpg u34-137.jpg u34-138.jpg u34-139.jpg u34-140.jpg u34-141.jpg u34-142.jpg u34-143.jpg

Qiu Hong
This is intensely dramatic ambient ethnic headbanging mosh metal, if such a thing is even possible. The atmosphere is so electric you can’t help but feel that you’re a part of something big that’s going on. Everything is incredibly alive and energetic. Qiu Hong fill the air with a magic you can almost taste. After experiencing their performance, i think i understand the attitudes and feelings behind passive resistance and civil disobedience a bit better. If they make a music video, my bet is that it will contain plenty of scenes of Gandhi and the Article 23 protests on July 1st. The deep resentment, anger, and power of the people. By the end of their set, I was simply stunned and in awe of the magnitude of their energy and sincerity.
Wally Amos

u34-144.jpg u34-145.jpg u34-146.jpg u34-147.jpg u34-148.jpg u34-149.jpg u34-150.jpg u34-151.jpg u34-152.jpg u34-153.jpg u34-154.jpg u34-155.jpg u34-156.jpg u34-157.jpg u34-158.jpg u34-159.jpg u34-160.jpg u34-161.jpg u34-162.jpg u34-163.jpg u34-164.jpg u34-165.jpg u34-166.jpg u34-167.jpg u34-168.jpg u34-169.jpg u34-170.jpg u34-171.jpg u34-172.jpg u34-173.jpg

Elf Fatima
I don’t know what their music is. It’s fairly ambient, simple but lush, dark but comforting. Something like a Japanese garden overrun by dark elves, covering it with their rich musky musical odor. They then slowly fade away one by one, leaving you where you began. This is what all the fairly lands sound like at night, with just a hint of mischief and magic left over from their daytime antics. The landscape is darkly beautiful – mountains jagged, lakes serene, ogres sleeping (but with one eye open). Their final song, peacefully paying respect to this beautiful place, was a wonderful close to this delightful venture. Overall tight musicianship and worthy of making the effort to go and watch. Great Underground night for me.
Wally Amos

Above photos © Copyright 2006 by Willem Van Der Merwe

Poster by Sheli

Be Sociable, Share!