What a fun night indeed!! Thank you so much to the five great bands who rocked, sang, shouted and entertained the audience! Thanks to Calvin for MC duties because I was late! Thanks to ROCKSCHOOL for a cool venue that is getting better and better. Thanks to Asahi for the great beers! And of course thanks to The Underground team who do an amazing job of keeping the shows running 🙂
love Chris B xx

Perfect Mind

Perfect Mind, apart from being made up of such a nice bunch of guys, were a great choice to open this eclectic Underground. It is obvious that they are open to experimentation with their style, and the electronic undertones of their songs made it an interesting experience. As a newly formed band there are obvious things they need to work on, one being the consistency of their songs. The last two songs of the set sounded like they were written by a different band. However this is clearly a result of their willingness to try new things, and I’m sure with more gigs they will be able to find a clearer sound. In all in all as a newly formed band I really feel that with more chances to play in a live venue, they will become even more open to exploiting the electronic side of their music which gives them a unique and interesting edge.
Heather Lowe

Poubelle International

This was Poubelle International’s fourth Underground and they didn’t disappoint. It is great to watch a band who ooze such infectious enthusiasm on stage and throughout there whole set. There songs capture there on stage energy being both upbeat as well as entertaining. I for one thoroughly enjoyed the set, it is very refreshing to watch a band that don’t take themselves too seriously. Having said that they clearly thrive off performing, with a successful measure of thought and playfulness put into each track. Bens interaction with the audience created a great atmosphere amongst the crowd and the chanting for an encore at the end perfectly captured the bands contagious appeal. As a side note, they also gave the money they made from playing to charity…isn’t that nice!
Heather Lowe

Brothers of Roadkill

After watching Brothers of Roadkill at Underground 85 I was looking forward to hearing them again. The set was pretty similar to there last underground, but that’s understandable considering the short space between there two gigs. Personally I feel that this band is one of the few in Hong Kong whose songs I can imagine being played successfully on the radio, with little alteration. The jazzy feel of their songs make them immediately catchy and Adrian’s strong vocals give an endearing and personal quality to the set as a whole. I am only left to wonder whether Brothers of Roadkill find themselves in a difficult position in considering whether to move towards a louder, denser sound which the drums suggest, or tone down the sound so Adrian doesn’t have to enforce his voice to such an extent. It remains to be seen which way they will go.
Heather Lowe

Peri M

I think it’s important for me to admit at the beginning of this review that I’m not exactly an avid fan of heavy music. I appreciate that it takes skill to bring together all the elements necessary to create such a dense and musically rich sound but it’s just not my style. Having said that I completely understand why a lot of people DO like a heavier sound, and the skills of Peri M are a clear reflection of how good it can be. It has to be said that they have one massive advantage over any similar bands and that’s its lead singer. Her range and tone was faultless, in short she has a beautiful voice. While I can see the evanescence like quality of this set up works well, it also made me wish she didn’t have to fight over the noise of the rest of the band. But that’s not important. Her voice made the songs mesmorising and more approachable, and the moments in which they pulled back all the different elements were truly captivating. All in all I feel Peri M is possibly one of the few heavy bands that could tempt me over the darker side in the future.
Heather Lowe

Memoimoil

The first sentence of Peri M’s review also applies here. Memoimoil’s heavy sound and screaming vocals weren’t exactly my cup of tea, and apparently the neighbors of Rock School felt the same as we were visited by the police for sound complaints half way through the set. However I would like to think that Memoimoil would see that as a compliment. The quiet offstage nature of the band was clearly not a reflection of their on stage nature, capturing the audiences attention with driving guitar rifts and pumping bass and drums. For there underground debut they had a strong stage presence, and considering they were last to play they dealt well with a smaller audience size. There efforts were clearly enjoyed and appreciated, it’s just a shame they didn’t have more people willing volunteers to start a mosh pit.
Heather Lowe

photos © Copyright 2009 by ANGUS LEUNG
Poster by ANGUS LEUNG