Underground 9
(Innisfallen, Turbine, Audiotraffic, Fruitpunch, Very Ape)
26 May 2005
VENUE

This was the best attended Underground yet at The Venue and a big huge thank you to those who turned up to support their favourite bands and stayed on to watch the rest. We apologise for the constant exhortations to buy drinks, but the success of the U depends unfortunately upon the Venue making at least a little money! They are pouring their heart and soul into the venture and deserve the financial support. The atmosphere was electric throughout and we at the U would again like to thank you all! See you next month!
Love
Chris and Mike

INNISFALLEN. First time I had seen this four-piece band and I was blown away. Opening the Underground is never an easy task but the boys did wonderfully well. With I believe a guest guitarist, their songs were melodic, a bit brit-pop but very driven and jangly, just what I like. Eric the guitarist (also bassist in the fab Hard Candy -see Underground 5) took the vocals, and although undoubtedly a bit nervous, his vocals went well with the clever chord progressions. Watch out for Innisfallen.I can't wait to see them again. Those bands in Hong Kong who think they can write good pop songs should listen to these guys. Brilliant.
Innisfallen is on the web here.
William Sickey 		TURBINE. Despite Mikey MC describing them as the pride of Cathay Pacific, three of the band are in fact Dragonair pilots. But they can rock! I have seen their long-haired guitarist in other bands and boy can he play. Their music was a bit too heavy and rocky for my personal tastes, but they received a wild round of applause at the end from the by-now capacity crowd, and deservedly so. They also brought a lot of fans down with them which was well appreciated by the organizers! They asked to play early as they were flying later on that night! Enjoyed the manic dancing by the lead singer too.
Tom Brown
AUDIOTRAFFIC. The band's third appearance at the Underground, and this time a semi-acoustic set, as they were missing their bass player. Adrian sat on a chair with his acoustic and still managed to exude sexiness (said my girlfriend. I couldn't see it myself). Having seen the lads six times last year, it was refreshing to see this different kind of set, and they went down a storm with the sell-out audience. Clearly lots of Audiotraffic fans had turned up! Are they the best band in Hong Kong? No arguments from me. It was great to see some of the audience singing along with the original songs, they knew the words. The Underground is changing HK culture and Audiotraffic are leading from the front.
Visit http://www.audiotraffic.net/
Max Wong 		FRUITPUNCH had the misfortune of following Audiotraffic, a difficult task. They did well, though, their eclectic music winning over the audience. The duo's songs are very up-beat, the first one even disco-orientated to my ears. I saw traces of their Joy Division/Soft Cell/eighties influences which had some dancing around the tables. Their debut album comes out in July and I for one will buy it.
Fruitpunch's website is here.
Alice Mak
To be headliners on such a good bill fell the way of VERY APE, and they did not disappoint. I was frankly staggered by their wall of sound. I would not like to meet their bass player in a dark alley but his aggressive playing is a key part to Very Ape's stage show. The lead singer took his cap off after a while and contributed hugely to the overall sound. The guitarist was genuinely brilliantly mad, and the drummer a lunatic. Somebody said to me they were very Japanese. Probably because all four band members were Japanese. You could not get a more direct opposite to Fruitpunch and I guess that was the idea. Very Ape have appeared all over Asia and you could see why. Not really my cup of tea, but they were as tight as my chest after 40 cigarettes. They amazed.
More about them can be found here.
William Sickey

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