“Big thanks to everyone that came out and supported our first Underground Shenzhen show. You have proven that Shenzhen will support live, original music. Every performer that took the stage enjoyed performing for such a great crowd and exciting atmosphere. We look forward to future events. It has been a long time coming, the next won’t be as far off.”
Leon
0755 (Shenzhen 深圳)
What a great way to start Underground’s 1st show in Mainland China! 0755 kicked off the event with a great reggae set in Mandarin to warm up the audience… and it certainly went down well. The band was tight and was quite successful in capturing the pop reggae ‘feel’, vocalist inclusive, even though the last song was more in the style of beat (Merseybeat) than reggae (and no less pleasing – the guitar hooks were spot on). If I have any complaint about this band it was the fact that it only did 3 songs. In their defence, they were called in at the last minute. All in all, a band worth keeping an eye on and I look forward to seeing them play a longer set.
Thlayli
Tank Warehouse (Shenzhen 深圳)
The band described themselves as a rap metal band and their attitude certainly lived up to that description. The band started its set with a Limp Bizkit cover, followed by another, then another. In fact in its 4 song set 3 were covers and only the last song was original – someone must have omitted to tell them that Underground is about original music. That aside, the sound from the band was not entirely unpleasant considering both the guitarist & drummer were introduced as jazz/fusion musicians. The lead vocalist had a good stage presence and the band played together well. For the style of music it plays it could probably use more aggression – fatter guitar, bigger drums.
Thlayli
Tai Tai Alibi
A well known and much liked band from Hong Kong, Tai Tai Alibi was an excellent representative from the SAR and certainly raised the bar for the rest of the evening. Opening with Lost In You, the band definitely captured the audience’s attention through the ensuing 20 minutes with its set of melodic guitar rock. As expected from a band which, among its credits, opened for Manic Street Preachers, the band was tight and at ease, and delivered their music well. The music was well crafted and captivating and had the audience swaying and foot-tapping away, and excellent response from the crowd for the band’s Shenzhen debut, which, up to that point, was quite subdued.
Thlayli
Prizm (Shenzhen 深圳)
This Shenzhen based Filipino band received a warm welcome from the audience which suggested that it was well known in this neck of the wood. Despite its hard rock appearance, the band did mainly a set of soft rock ballads which went down really well with crowd. As expected of from any Filipino band, Prizm were made up of sound musicians who know how to make music… well. The highlight of the set for me, ironically, was a cover song, Bohemian Rhapsody, a song which should not be attempted without due care and consideration as well as lots of practice – all of which the band obviously did and the result totally mesmerised the audience.
Thlayli
Bolt Action (Shenzhen 深圳)
Judging from the audience response when the band started playing, the Shenzhen based expat band and China finalist of Global Battle of the Band 2008 was well known among the regulars at Jin Bar and proceeded to bowl over the audience with its brand of funk rock complete with shredding guitar and funky bass somewhat reminiscent of a combination of Billy Idol and Nirvana. The band delivered a big sound with a good stage presence which, combined with it’s uptempo music provided a great finale to a great debut Shenzhen Underground show.
Thlayli
Above photos © Copyright 2009 by Angus Leung
Poster by Wain
