Wow, what a night! Thanks so much for everyone who came out to watch great bands, drink Asahi and eat cake! Thanks to Duster for travelling all the way from Manila to play at one of our events and thank you to Dark Himaya for opening the show. Big thanks to my band “Thinking Out Loud” despite being 4 guys and me, still allowing us to play events called “Girls with Guitars” 🙂 Lastly a big thank you to Backstage & its wonderful staff & management.
love Chris B xx
Dark Himaya
1. Subtle Knife
2. Cursed Muse
3. Bia
4. Silent Protest
5. Personal Demon
6. Papercut in Your Eye
Dark Himaya’s self-declared ‘jazz-grunge’ really kicked off the night with the perfect brooding atmosphere that showcased the silvery vocals of the two lead singers. The awesome range and impressive vocals of the singers really resonated, especially when Ivy and Aileen combine on some fantastic sounding harmonies, such as on ‘Papercut in Your Eye’. However, I felt the songs of Dark Himaya seemed to almost work in a reverse way, with the voice accompanying the silvery music as opposed to the usual way round. In a way, it wasn’t the lyrics that mattered as much as the overall melodic fusion of the silvery sound of the keyboard and velvety vocal chords, unobtrusively accompanied by the drums and bass. The distinct sound really made it a fantastic set to kick off the Girls with Guitars 5 gig.
– Sophia Chan
The Underground的 “Girls with Guitars 5”於8月12日於Backstage舉行，承接以往的 “Girls with Guitars”系列，音樂會的焦點放在各女樂手身上(雖然男樂手都很有吸引力)，再次為觀眾帶來精彩的演出。
第一隊演出的樂隊是演奏Jazz Grunge的Dark Himaya，樂隊成員包括主音兼結他手Ivy Fernie、和唱兼鍵盤的Aileen Alonzo 、低音結他手Alejandro Dini 及鼓手 Keith Woodfin。當晚他們的演出很流暢，開始時以較為輕快而富節奏感的歌曲為觀眾熱身，包括“Subtle Knife”及“Cursed Muse”，主音Ivy的歌聲雄厚而具磁性，演奏第三首歌曲“BIA”時，更與鍵盤的Aileen演唱二部合唱，兩位均唱功了得。一隊樂隊通常有一位歌聲了得的主音已經很出色，但Dark Himaya的Ivy及Aileen都有唱得之人，加倍出色。 “Personal Demon”一曲有Aileen如清泉般的琴音，爽快利落。最後一曲 “Papercut in Your Eye”的曲風一轉，是一首比較柔和的作品，更能發揮Ivy的唱功，而她那帶點神秘感的歌聲，彷彿要舒解生活於煩囂都市中人的心靈。Dark Himaya成立於2009年4月，短短兩年多便已經有多首出色的作品，並活躍於多個演出場地，十分難得。
– 依花
Thinking out Loud
Setlist:
1. People
2. Gonna Be Famous
3. Radio Aiplay
4. Little Fishes
5. Rock ‘n’ Roll Machine
6. Two Lips
7. Sex Junkie
8. Moving On
Thinking Out Loud totally rocked the stage with their infectious beat and dirty rock stage presence, highlighted by their charismatic front woman, Chris B ( I especially enjoyed her fish dance moves for ‘Little Fishes’). ‘Gonna be famous’ also ignited the girl-power feel within me, something one always hopes to get at a Girls with Guitars event. The sax also lent an interesting and unique element to the band’s sound, with Mr B’s rapping certainly mixing things up in ‘Radio Airplay’. Special mention has to go to ‘Two lips’ with its overtly sensual sound, which was a surprise for me, having never heard TOL play, but Chris’ stage presence definitely stole the scene! Thinking Out Loud’s catchy beat and powerful vocals proved a very popular set, packing out the venue and igniting the crowd.
– Sophia Chan
第二隊演出的樂隊是Thinking Out Loud，成員包括The Underground的創辦人Chris B，為樂隊的主音兼結他手，還有結他手 Sean、低音結他手Will、鼓手Jon及薩克司風手Mysterious Mr B。他們的演出無論是歌詞及音樂的演繹都是意想不到的鬼馬生動，Chris B的演出尤其突出，她的歌聲帶有一點點的沙啞，很有個性，時而帶點嬌俏地唱 “Gonna Be Famous”，時而有爆炸性的演出，如唱 “Star”一曲時那一聲的狂野大笑，或放下結他時，帶點神秘色彩地演唱 “Two Lips”，演出收放自如。而演奏“Radio Airplay”一曲更有Mysterious Mr B的聲音演出，他以讀歌/說話聲錯落有致地配合於歌聲及音樂中，難度高但他們配合得相當出色，可見樂隊成員很有默契。最後一曲 “Moving On”中更有兩句中文歌詞(是當晚唯一一首有中文歌詞的作品)，其實Chris B的中文很好，但還是帶點尷尬的表情演唱，十分有趣，且令人驚喜。Thinking Out Loud是一隊很有幽默感的樂隊，從觀賞上會被Chris B的台型吸引，而細聽之下又會會心微笑。
– 依花
Duster (Philippines 菲律賓)
Setlist:
1. Billions
2. Houseborken
3. QC Girls
4. Boys Who Like Boys
5. Natives to Noise
6. Gucci Gang
7. Dek-a-doodle Dandy
8. Balls [Encore]
Wow. Just, wow.
I knew that these girls were good coming into the show, but I had no idea that I should’ve expected them to be as hard-rockin’, in-your-face punky and fun as they were. They’ve got the speed and hard-hitting quality of 1st wave British punk (which retained its rock ‘n’ roll roots) and tunes composed like a mix of the B-52’s and Devo. In short, they’re just the kind of band that’s super fun to listen to live. They sound very different from the way they did on their album – they’re much harder and more “rock” – and that’s terrific. The tones they used on the night were much fatter, along with a proper bass guitar which combined to make the sound much thicker, and its impact more immediate. That, and their KICK-ASS drummer Ristalle – my favourite kind of punk dummer – who plays surf-rock beats with love (much like a certain Bill Stevenson). Singer Katwo has an immense stage presence (helped miles along by her empirically awesome moves) and a playful, youthful voice to complement that. And guitarist Kris has a style that’s a cool composite of punk, rock ‘n’ roll and light metal, reminiscent of Steve Turner of Mudhoney. But, she also has a Freddie Stone-like ability to introduce nimble fills and teasing riffs that round out the songs well.
They began with Billions, which was almost like a slower, lighter version of a Plasmatics song. Houseborken was a perfect example of Kris’ riffing ability that I’d mentioned, and made the song almost like a duet between lead guitars and vocals. Boys Who… was about being a beard (look it up) expressed in a gambolling, NOFX-like sarcastic style (except sexier). Gucci Gang was much more in the Sex Pistols’ vein – poppy and innocent on the surface, but with an undertow of sarcasm. Dek-a-doodle Dandy has a chorus that’s addictive despite any language barrier. They were called back for an encore by the crowd even before they really started moving off, and thank God – Balls was a wonderful chaser for the set past. With its hints at funk and 70s pop, it filled out their repertoire well, while still being something you can move to. They’re uber-confident and their execution of songs that were “ready to wear” (their words) is panache-ful – I can’t wait to see which direction they’ll move in with their next album!
– Shashwati
壓軸出場的是專程從菲律賓來港演出的全女子樂隊Duster，是一隊Punk的樂隊，成員有主音Katwo Librando、和音及結他手Kris Dancel、低音結他手Myrene Academia及鼓手Ristalle Bautista。她們當晚除了為觀眾帶來多首英文作品如 “Housebroken”、 “QC Girls” 及“Boys Who Like Boys”等外，更有以她們母語創作的作品“Gucci Gang”及 “Dek-a-doodle Dandy”。雖然聽不懂歌詞，但仍然令觀眾聽得相當投入，全無語言的障礙，真的是音樂無彊界。其中一首歌“Gucci Gang”很有趣，當中含有不雅用語，但主音Katwo及和唱的Kris以帶點歡樂的聲音叫喊，有點戲謔的成份。主音Katwo的歌聲很有力量，Punk的那種狂野及豪邁完全表露無遺。
當晚在Backstage的小小空間裡，站滿了眾多觀眾，雖然可能有點擠擁，而且兩個多小時的音樂會可能會使人站得有點累，但當晚音樂會的熱烈氣氛及音樂所牽引觀眾的高漲情緒，卻是怎樣再擠擁再累都是值得的，這就是Live演出的感染力，也就是欣賞好音樂的意義所在。
– 依花
photos © Copyright 2011 by ANGUS LEUNG
poster by ANGUS LEUNG
