Live Review from 21st Anniversary Festival Day 1:
1. 密友
2. 惡果
3. 信箱
4. 羊咩
5. 派對
Gimag welcomed us with a warm intro—and from what I could understand with my very limited Cantonese, they mentioned that much of their music comes from just jamming together. That explained a lot. The band had that kind of raw chemistry on stage that felt honest and unfiltered. Leading the charge was 蔡紫晴（小菌）, whose voice carried both power and intimacy. On bass, Joel laid down thick, groove-heavy lines. Kim and 平 kept the twin guitars crunchy and melodic, while Vincent Po held everything together behind the kit with tight, controlled beats.
The first song started softly with vocals and gentle accompaniment. The volume didn’t jump—it just slowly filled the room. A trill from the drums between verses. A little crescendo into the chorus. Her voice was soft and delicate, and then she hit us with these full, long notes that gave me flashbacks to Cantopop ballads with serious spark. I didn’t expect that from her, but there it was.
Second song kicked off with an RHCP-style intro that showed off the whole band. It softened again to let the vocals take centre stage, but the energy returned quickly. The chorus crept in, and it reminded me of an anime theme—yep, that kind of soaring, emotional feel. There was this chunky rhythm from the guitarist that came in just before the final chorus. Then the vocals dropped out. For a moment, we just got the band, and it worked. She came back in and finished strong. That chunky rhythm returned—double time—and the song snapped shut.
The third track started simple. Chill beat, catchy melody. I wasn’t expecting it to suddenly speed up—but it did—and the vocals kept up perfectly. The energy shifted immediately. People couldn’t stop dancing. “Jump! Jump! Jump!” she shouted, and no one needed asking twice. The drums drove the whole thing forward. Even people at the back were bouncing in time.
Fourth song began with guitar that sounded like Oasis, but then her vocals came in and completely changed the feel. Clear, emotional, and unfiltered. I didn’t know what the lyrics meant, but the emotion hit anyway. It got me. Not gonna lie—a tear of happiness actually rolled down my cheek. Then the solo—short and clean—followed by a return to those emotional lyrics. It felt like she was calling out for help. No over-singing. Just honest.
Then came the last one: 派對. She said her thanks, then asked the crowd to join in. Whatever she said, we all repeated it. No hesitation. The music slowed, tension built, then the chorus exploded. Big release. It wasn’t just loud—it had that lift. The song kept shifting through stages, picking up speed and intensity. The vocalist had everyone waving side to side by the end. Total connection.
Right at the end, someone near me shouted:
“This is by far the best band I’ve seen tonight!”
Hard to argue with that.
– Cain McInerney
UDG21｜極美樂團｜Switch！知性靈魂切換Hyper mode！
文字音符：微醺Jamming感、鼓惑的鼓、慵懶而穿透的女聲，她的髮髻隨曲風轉換而散落、蓄力至最後大合唱的Bass手、浪漫酒吧裡頭的驚喜樂隊
先入場的是鼓手阿布，少少靦腆，穿西裝外套的他有著當晚其他樂手少見的成熟沉穩，但內裡也是跳脫的Boy，只是演出時才顯露出來。然後長髮Bass手Joel 、剛參與完Andyistyping演出的結他手阿平相繼上台，雖然都是西裝外套或恤衫，但同台的他們卻給人一種風格迂迴的感覺，還有另一位T-shirt短褲，明顯飲醉的可愛結他哥哥Kim，四位男士台風各異——直至女Vocal小菌進場將大家串聯起來。
小菌有種親和力，令人感覺她對舞台上下的事都遊刃有餘。配上黑西裝褸，散發自信知性美，以及些許慵懶感；表演前她與bandmate在台上chitchat了幾句，內容是關於jet lag和今日瞓到幾點之類，這麼幾句閒聊竟就展現到極美樂團的Vocal對她的bandmate和接下來的演出有著充份信心，甚至令台下的我都漸漸期待起來，這是表演者的魅力。第一首歌《密友》，抒情慢歌，Jamming感重，小菌初時在某些高音位置有點偏差，但無阻她在歌曲中傾注厚厚情感，隨後也逐漸找回狀態。這首慢歌確立了極美樂隊的優雅情調，就似漫漫長夜隨意走入一間酒吧，遇上了一隊撫慰心靈的live band（誰不知愁思盡處他們又可以轉換Hyper mode帶動你的情緒高漲起來）。
中間有幾件得意事：阿平的結他斷了弦，即場換了第二隊band樂手的結他上陣、阿布在演出時玩嘢，在慢歌中突然打了段風格不一的快鼓，令小菌Switch了去Rock mode，鼓惑得很、Kim人愈來愈醉，臉愈來愈紅⋯⋯這些都是隨興Jamming、Underground舞台可以見到的lovely little things！
所以，如他們編排的，極美樂團漸進地以慢歌Connect觀眾，然後曲調一轉，Switch到Hyper模式，最好的證明就是小菌頭上的髮髻隨演唱到後段而散落、觀眾從慢慢搖晃，到行近台前用力跟節奏擺動；而最有力的，是整場演出一直低調的Bass佬Joel在最後大合唱時共同吶喊，呢種反差，就好似書面語突然轉咗口語一樣舒暢爽快！極美樂團優雅地駕馭了舞台，也懂得以不同的音樂風格Connect觀眾，演出特色是Jamming感重，看台上樂手在演奏和吹水都令人更易投入。事後聽到Vocal小菌在演出前一日先從外地回港，隨即就搵咗bandmate夾band練習，呢把穿透而帶點慵懶感嘅女聲、以致知性自信背後，都是苦功。
*極美樂團UDG 21演出曲目： 《密友》、《惡果》、《信箱》、《羊咩》、《派對》
*極美樂團UDG 21演出樂手：
Vocal ：蔡紫晴（ 小菌）
Bass ：Joel
Guitar ：平
Guitar ：Kim
Drum ：Vincent Po
-劉海亮
Live review from 20th Anniversary Festival Day 2 星期六
密友
兇手
惡果
框
羊咩
風
派對
內傷
Penultimate headliner (is that a thing?) GIMAG stood out for several reasons: one, they themselves described themselves as a ‘more of a jam band’ than an actual performance band; two, they’re an all-star band, band leader Choi Ching is an established singer-songwriter and actress, and was part of Carrier帶菌者 along with drummer Vincent ‘Ah Po’, who has himself been part of many different groups; bassist Joel was part of 草魚禾 (Weed – yes, that’s their actual English name), established in 2006; and guitarist Manping is of Andy is Typing… fame; thirdly, by the time they started playing at around 11pm, they were all pretty drunk. (And Manping kept asking everyone to get drunk as well – drink responsibly kids).
While their English name seems like an acronym, it’s actually not. It’s a stylised transliteration of their Chinese name 極美樂團 – the very beautiful orchestra. And true to that name, their music was indeed very beautiful. With influence from dreampop, psychedelia, punk and even a tiny bit of ska, their songs are wild and peaceful escapades into another universe. In just one 30 minute set, they had Beatle-esque waltzes, Cigarettes After Sex dreampop, theatrical punk and so much more.
Their performance was just as amazing. Without any fuss, they smoothly transitioned between audience interaction, banter, jamming and playing. Most pieces felt slightly improvised – as expected from the ‘jam band’ but it was still obviously rehearsed. Practised but authentic, and never taking themselves too seriously (when they screwed up on their third number 惡果, they just laughed and asked the audience “can we start again? We’re going to start again”). If there were any musical errors, their lively and relaxed demeanours more than made up for it; it did just feel like four incredibly talented friends playing together.
Shout out has to be given in particular to two performers: Choi Ching’s vocals were astounding – strong but sultry, stuttering and shaking yet controlled throughout. And Dale, the 16 year old session guitarist who played along on the corner of the stage. Ah Po would tell us later that she had not practised at all with the band and just decided to join in on a whim. No one could tell.
Ultimately though, the performance was great not necessarily because of their musical skill but because it was fun and real. Choi Ching joked continuously about her bad English, forcing Manping to translate tipsy. They spoke with the audience; they connected with us without putting on an awkward performative facade. And, in respect for the event, gave the Underground one of the best thank yous of the night – bestowing on Chris B the title of “Mother of Hong Kong Rock”.
– Cyril Ma
