Live Review from Planetrox China Final 2018
1. Love Lies
2. Heartbeat
3. Hold You Tied
Scamper get tonight’s Planetrox China final underway. They’ve made the journey from Macau to stake their claim to represent China at the Envol et Macadam festival in Canada. Their first offering is Love Lies which showcases their really old school sound and incredibly well coordinated head banging. Bassist Edmond bossing it on the bass from the get go. The simple lead guitar gives the song a late 80s early 90s flavour. Perhaps a sprinkling of Bon Jovi about them.
They are without a doubt a well-rehearsed band, having been around a good few years. They played some of the Underground’s earliest shows as much as ten years ago. This must feel like some kind of homecoming for the Macau rockers.
Their second song, Heartbeat, doesn’t have the strongest of singalong intros for me. It’s always great to get the crowd involved, but it’s probably a bit too early to get them to join in, having only just had the caps popped off their beers. Drummer El is a total showman behind the skins and I’m willing lead singer Angus to engage more with crowd; show them stillness will not be tolerated!
The bands tonight have got to keep their sets as close to within 20 minutes as possible and that only leaves Scamper with one more song. So far they’ve been what I’d call ‘a safe pair of hands’. They’ve not set the place alight, but they’ve certainly got the crowd listening. Hold You Tied is a funk inspired tune with hints of noughties Maroon 5. The band seem just slightly tighter and enjoying themselves more. This is the kind of vibe I’d like to see more from these guys. A much more unique sound. Bass and drums in perfect partnership.
Scamper won’t be going to Canada, but they’ve built the mood for what’s going to be a great night of music.
– Simon Donald Jones
Live Review from Macau Underground 3:By far the most experienced band at the show and they lived up to their name. Scamper gave a the crowd a night to remember. In a set that could be defined in one simple word, “enthusiasm,” scamper started high and only kept going up from there. The crowd jumped and bumped to scampers up-beat rhythms which was the perfect way to close out the show.
Olinto Oliveira
Live Review from Underground 65:
Never underestimate. Somehow after talking to a few people, I notice it’s a general concensus that Macau probably doesn’t have very good bands.
By now, you would have guessed what I was going to say. There is a Chinese saying “only a tough dragon would cross the water”, meaning anyone from overseas must be great. That saying is definitely inaccurate. But not in Scamper’s case.
Yes, you guessed it right. On the bio, it was said the band was formed in 2006. They certainly looked that. Five guys that looked like they’re fresh out of high school, Scamper, with the right sounds, mix of songs and even the correct postures, were clearly ready for the big stage. With the good fortune of being the last band to sound check, their equipment were well-set for the show, and they got on, grabbed the equipment and gave us all a solid rocking set. Good energy did its job and quickly there was a crowd in front of the stage. Singer Angus demonstrated a good baritone on the first few songs and went on to travel to the high notes with ease. In their emo and punk spirit the songs were energetic jump-ready and served very well to get your attention to the young drummer El, who would win best drummer that night if there was a competition. Scamper wrote well-crafted emo songs that could give My Chemical Romance a run for the money, and I think I have to back that up by saying the guitar, bass, drums and vocals were working together very well. I felt energetic myself and had to ask … wait, only the second band? just to realize that the crowd slowly dissipated. Huh!? something wrong I didn’t notice?Bun Ng
Live Review from Macau Underground One:
A emo band played second last of that night, their heavy and catchy songs excited the audience to move, dance and scream, their energetic performance also made a break-out for that night.
Yan
Bringing a fresh, young fan base and some very styling haircuts to Macau Underground, local pop-punk upstarts Scamper excited their fans and infiltrated the crowd with their infectious enthusiasm. Their sound manages to take a living energy from today’s musical styles while avoiding the excesses deep Emo. These boys took to the stage like it was their second home and we may see big things from the black-clad crowd-pleasers in the future.
Jeremy Phillip
Live Review from Macau Underground Zero:
First band, Scamper, a band formed by 5 young teenages, presented a set of screamo and metal songs, their drummer Joel provided a very solid beat as to rock the crowd and get them well prepared for the rest of the show.
Yan
