Live review from Underground 101:
Setlist
1. I Love Hong Kong
2. Promise Me a Shiny Day in Kenting
3. Don’t Eat Shark-Fin Soup
4. Entertainment of Death
5. 669 + Killing in the Name [RATM] + Computer Explosion
6. Ice-Cream Muffin (Tonick cover) [Encore]
Tremendous fun, is how I’d describe this band in short.
Theirs is a powerful mix of grungy low-end, the speed of hardcore and the combination of strong opinions and messages delivered in a playful voice much like early punk bands had. On a personal note, I have to state how much I like the idea of knowingly having a female singer with a voice that many people might find annoying, but who sings so tunefully that you can’t help but listen – something that male singers tend to get away with more easily. It was the approach taken by greats like Poly Styrene did with X-Ray Spex (I can hear her singing all of Germfree Adolescents in my head right now) and LFP’s (admittedly adorable-looking) singer carries it off effortlessly. The contrast of substantial content and a jokey delivery is one they use to their advantage, especially in songs about not eating Shark-Fin soup and their awesome [partial] cover of Killing in the Name. They’re the kind of band that make you (read: me) just smile, because they’re good without being calculating. Awesome and hilarious is not a combination you often get. Plus, they started off by briefly doing The Runaways’ Cherry Bomb, which instantly scores you points with me.
The sound was, overall, like the kind of punk that bred hardcore – lots of Ramones-ey buzzsaw sound with the guitar, and the drummer sounding like the frenzied Jerry Nolan of The Heartbreakers. They almost sound like the Ramones on Too Tough To Die, when they’d just gotten Richie Ramone and realised just how much faster they could play their already fast songs. But, that’s not all. Entertainment… there was a bit of early Blondie with their lighter punky sound, and some NOFX in the sardonic tone of the riffs. They manage to even get that Reel Big Fish feel of farcical enjoyment without having a horn section – something I should’ve though impossible.They ended their set, and were soon called back on, and did a romping Tonick cover, just to snag those last few who were holding out and make the whole room jump. Quite simple, a bloody good job.
— Shashwati Kala
Live Review from Punk Nite 1:
holy crap! i wasn’t planning to write a review for this band tonight but their closing song left me speechless so i have to write. The song was a punk-ska rendition of pachelbel’s canon, spectacularly done, that evolved into a bit of mosh metal almost. Purely instrumental and monumentally beautiful, it turned me into an ecstatic tail-wagging dog. Earlier, Melon (lead singer girl) gave us quite an energetic and springy show, sprinkling us with her goodness. The musical styles varied a little, but were always loud and fast. A smaller crowd, as they were the first band to play, probably contributed to the personable and energetically relaxed atmosphere that was the icing on top of their cupcake. A tad unpolished, but real cupcakes are.
Amos
Live Review from Underground 33:
I have to admit to being biased about LITTLE FAT PIG. They won me over at last year’s Rockit, where they were the unsung heroes of the show, so I was looking forward to seeing them again. The guitarist had obviously spent waaay too much time on YouTube, as he launched into a bastardised version of Pacabel for a lightning soundcheck. A quick double Hong Kong V sign from the lead singer and we were off. They’ve pretty much invented their own sugarpunk genre here. The lead singer, Melon, is too cute for words, and the songs are bouncy and fun. Life, it appears, is not to be taken too seriously. At times the sound veered towards Belle & Sebastian or Aztec Camera, but all with a light feelgood vibe. As musicians they still have room for improvement and if there is one complaint its that the rest of the band tends to stand there and let Melon do all the work. However I was more than happy to watch and listen and smile.
Zoot
Quote from Little Fat Pig: We always love Chris B and the Underground! Thanks for being so supportive since day one (WBOB, 2005). It’s people like you that keep us going. Thank you very much to what you’ve done for the hk music scene. rock on!!!”
