Another memorable night at Orange Peel. Huge love to the audience who keeps coming back, and to Carr for mixing the sound so well. Thanks to Yan Yan for taking on MC duties whilst I was out of town. Big love to The Underground team on site that night (Angus, Sophie & Jenna). Thanks To Jack Daniels & Singha Beer for keeping the bands and the audience refreshed.
在Orange Peel 的另一個難忘的晚上！十分感謝經常來支持我們的觀眾，以及Carr 出色的混音。感謝Yan Yan 在我不在香港的時候擔任MC 的角色。當然還有The Underground團隊(Angus, Sophie, Jenna)! 最後也要感謝Jack Daniels 和 Singha Beer 提供飲品給樂隊和觀眾！
love Chris B xx
Feel of All
1. 爽棍星期幾
2. 只因有你
3. 沒有青春的日子
4. 逆時針
5. 玩到夠
The first act of a Heavy night has to set the right tone, and Fotan’s Feel of All did just that with a speedy string of emo pop-punk songs, which dipped a toe into heavier sounds. Drummer Fatlung Wong was the star of the show, his tub-thumping magnetism amplified by the perma-grin on his face. Singer and guitarist Skate On was a charismatic frontman, but spent a little too long talking in between songs.
逆時針 was the strongest song of the set, a pacy number drenched with “coming-home-after-a-long-trip” optimism. Channelling an upbeat pop-punk sound akin to Blink 182, New Found Glory, Taking Back Sunday and Wheatus, Feel of All gave a dose of early noughties nostalgia while lighting a promising signal fire for the Canto scene.
The sing-song delivery and accelerating guitar of 沒有青春的日子 was reminiscent of early Brand New, while the high-school confessional slant of Yellowcard could be heard in 逆時針’s pop stylings After a neat bassline, last song 玩到夠 roared to life with fuzzed-out guitars, galloping drumroll, and hollered lyrics. Overall, Feel of All dropkicked Heavy 16 into consciousness with a string of fairly generic but well-executed songs, carried by tight instrumentation and an infectious attitude.
– El Jay
「我的所有青春俾哂你，搞到冇friend冇女冇力氣，我只想講一句：屌你！」
如果本地殿堂級饒舌組合LMF要變成一隊龐克的樂隊的話，他們可能會選擇變成Feel of All。這隊來自火炭的四人組合風格和題材極為「貼地」，當晚表演的五首歌當中，沒有一首不是表達出香港人天天做奴隸式工作的無奈。Feel of All早於2007年已出道，玩音樂玩了差不多十年，但其實只不過是第一次到蘭桂坊這麼「離地」的地方表演。
表面上，他們的風格像似2000年代中葉的美國流行龐克：歌曲節奏快，結他手Wa Choi用盡調了drop-D的 power chords，實而不華，主音Skate On的聲線帶有些微中學生辛酸訴苦的味道，唱時也好像不太理會有沒有走音。實際上，他們的音樂也飽受hardcore的影響，例如結尾的一首「玩到夠」–––一首講述「打手槍」的歌–––就是低音結他Tat Ho和鼓手Fatlung Wong的表演時間，也是全場的精華。精簡地玩了五首短歌後，他們就迅速離場，令人聯想起四十年前龐克先驅Ramones的表演風格：二十分鐘內玩二十首歌，然後即「撇」。這是一場正宗的龐克表演。
– Elson Tong
The Priceless Boat無價寶
1. 白夜行
2. 皇后碼頭 Queen’s Pier
3. 透明的心
4. 立秋
5. Hope…future
6. 單手劍
It was clear from singer Enson’s guttural vocal warm-up that The Priceless Boat were about to go in heavy on Orange Peel. After the breathless scream and clunking rhythms of opener 白夜行, it didn’t take long for the frontman to incite a circle pit for 皇后碼頭 Queen’s Pier. Deep bass riffs and high-pitched guitar melded to give an exceptionally vicious take on this King Ly Chee song.
With his frantic and unhinged manner, Enson commanded respect among the crowd of metalheads. It took half the set for him to gain control over his breathing – just in time for the Mastodon-meets-Obey the Brave speedfest of 透明的心 and the Bring Me The Horizon-influenced 立秋.
Six melodic post-hardcore songs focused on Hong Kong themes and culminated in the thunderous 單手劍, a sombre blend of hornet-drone, crashing drums and confrontational lyrics. It was The Priceless Boat’s second Heavy show, and the set was rough and ready and in need of polish, but also very entertaining and involving.
– El Jay
「當起重機嘅聲音響起，我哋嘅尊嚴會隨住古蹟一起倒塌…… 只想。捍衛。屬於我哋嘅家。」
The Priceless Boat（無價寶）不單是一隊樂隊，在現場表演時，他們更像一隊軍隊。每當歌曲演到停頓的一點時，主音Enson就會站在Orange Peel的桌上指揮，猶如一名戴上太陽鏡的軍官，長髮令人抓不住他的眼神。在他的一聲吼叫下，Jim和Danny會把手中的結他如長矛搬搖晃，而台下的觀眾就會組成mosh pit，聚攏、衝撞。場地雖小，依然震撼無比。
這隊社運樂隊的風格，與2000年代在MySpace社交網站經常碰上的melodic hardcore龐克樂隊有些微不同。與Killing the Dream、Modern Life is War等典型美加樂隊相比，無價寶歌曲中節奏的變數較多，觀眾不能只管拚命搖頭。從「立秋」和「單手劍」兩首歌曲的中段可見，他們更加著重凝聚緊張氣氛，以緩慢和高音的結他旋律模仿教堂的鐘聲，彷彿自己爬上了中環某大樓的頂點，瞻仰著一去不再復返的香港，片刻停頓…… 然後一次過竭斯底里地爆發。這就是他們的賣點。
– Elson Tong
Oi Squad
1. 1969
2. Too Old to Die Young
3. Manny
4. PK (Bootboys)
5. Working Klasse
6. Yer Wrong
7. Saturday Boys
8. Trendy Cunts
9. Loud N Proud
10. Small Town
11. Free Beer
12. We’re Comin Back
13. Beat Out Your Heart
When Oi Squad took to the stage, it was like dynamite had gone off. The ragtag band of misfits lead by profane singer Moy, charged each song with a great mix of punk politicism and rock ‘n’ roll insouciance. However, that initial blast fizzled thin over an excessive 13-song set – even though most songs were only around the two-minute mark.
Guitarist Ray was gratingly out of tune throughout almost the entire show, and drummer Glen had difficulty reigning in the mayhem around him to consistent rhythms. Meanwhile, bassist Kuro kept it simple, with basic yet effective riffs – it wasn’t her fault she was turned up far too loud compared to the other players.
Three-quarters of the way through the set, the show halted due to feedback problems from the amp. “Can we get rid of this white noise? We sound shit already,” quipped Moy. A natural frontman wearing camo pants and Doc Martens, he leapt on and off the stage, barking out rapid-fire lyrics in his grizzled cadence and grinning wildly as the cacophony clattered around him.
“Manny Pacquiano, the warrior of Pinoy!” he bellowed during the early Green Day-inspired Manny, one of the more overtly political songs of the set. From the raucous, shouty pun of Boot Boys, to the jaunty Ramones bass jolts of Working Class, and the ska-by-numbers Trendy Cunts, the band revelled in the noisy and the sweary.
Though, by the sluggish ode to alcoholism Free Beer, many punters had already headed to the back of the room to get a drink. The high point of the set was penultimate song Beat Out Your Heart, with a catchy chorus sung sweetly by Kuro. With a little more direction and musical skill, the band could be a solid launchpad for Moy’s antics and radical lyrics. But at Heavy, there was too much roughness around the edges to get those good ideas across.
– El Jay
在碰上Oi Squad之前，筆者從沒有在香港遇見過標榜玩Oi! 龐克的樂隊，也許因為本地樂隊覺得這種風格太「英式」、太勉強，要模仿的話有點尷尬。但這隊四人組合的表演姿態卻很自然，給筆者的第一印象是龐克式派對音樂。光頭的菲律賓主音Moi是靈魂人物，不斷以強勁、沙啞、粗糙的聲線帶領著觀眾呼喊Oi! Oi! Oi!，熱血沸騰，充滿男兒氣。
Oi Squad當晚演出的歌曲結構上較為簡單，大部份只不過使用三、四個chords，題材主要涉及刻板的酒後事跡、無政府主義等等。然而，最突出的兩首歌曲–––「Trendy Cunts」和「Beat Out Your Heart」–––彷彿將筆者帶回到龐克先鋒樂隊The Clash的世界。「Trendy Cunts」受牙買加reggae風格影響，節奏怪異，徘徊在shuffle和straight之間的灰色地帶，而「Beat Out Your Heart」是encore的一首歌，由女結他手主唱，與Moi的吶喊形成對比，很有新鮮感。
– Elson Tong
Maniac
1. 故地重遊
2. 人間失格 Not Human at All
3. 意有所至而愛有所亡
4. 無形無相 Formless
5. Barely Hear an Answer
Looking back at the videos from Maniac’s headline Heavy set evokes a lot of glee. From the opening song to the finale, the band commanded a worshipping sea of full-body headbanging and a perpetually vicious moshpit (srsly: one meathead kept getting carried away and straight-up punching people).
Hong Kong’s answer to the modern US post-hardcore of Suicide Silence and Pierce the Veil, Maniac boasts a devoted local following that was not disappointed by this brisk yet brutal five-song set that blew the other Heavy 16 bands out of the water with well-rehearsed polish. Frontman Jason Ngan’s raw, raptor-roar delivery echoed his US contemporaries, as he sang in Cantonese to a roomful of pumping fists.
Opener 故地重遊 recalled Bring Me The Horizon – a band that Maniac once supported – in its synths, screams, and softer mid-section. An aggressive Atreyu-esque coiling bassline from KL Mo defined Not Human At All, as guitarist Randy Sze spun intricate melodies and the more rhythmic Jason Kit managed the down-tuned riffs during 意有所至而愛有所亡. The ferocious song combined elements of classical piano, pig squeal harmonics, a machine-gunned bass pedal and irate vocals contorted with venom.
For closer Barely Hear an Answer, Ngan became a deity thronged by worshippers as he entered the pit and was encircled by a thrashing sea of hair. It was unlikely any recent Heavy show, and will go down in history as one of the most exultant. Truly, a masterclass in how to get a crowd going, deliver a no-holds-barred rock show, and leave everyone wanting more.
– El Jay
「用我無盡足跡，徒步出昨日點滴，闖進故地重遊，追索著每點每滴……」
Heavy 16四隊樂隊中，最有號召力的無疑是出道逾十年的Maniac，他們出場時已經差不多接近凌晨，不知是台上或是台下更加擁擠。這隊組合的風格以hardcore為出發點，添上一部電子琴、三層結他（……當晚好像多了一名結他手？）、無數的踏板效果器，結果形成非常廣泛的音響。「意有所至而愛有所亡」一首歌，靜的時候是一片寂靜，爆發的時候是一棟音牆，可以聽得出不同的層次。
筆者特別欣賞Maniac成熟地使用效果器，光看排列在地上踏板，觀眾可能會誤以為這是一隊post-rock或shoegaze樂隊。最後一首歌曲「Barely Hear an Answer」可能是全場的精華，從溫柔的前奏到尾段一浪接一浪的聲波，殘響、迴音、玩弄頻率等效果通通被運用至極限。主音Jason似乎操控了時間這個概念，把聽眾帶回觀塘，在偉業街破舊工廈的band房之間穿梭，最後在一片feedback迴響中完結。
– Elson Tong
Photos by Angus Leung.
由Angus Leung攝影。
Poster by Heidi Lee.
海報由Heidi Lee.
