Live review from Winter Festival (冬季音樂祭) Day 1:
1. 飛 / intro
2. Today Is Another Day
3. 动起来
4. Forever Guy
5. Starmeow Rock
6. Mona Lisa (unplugged version)
7. Make Love Song
8. Racing For Your Life
Five distinct members make up Qi, and they ease into their set with Titanic Jack’s vocals and Ant Man’s guitar on the intro “飛” before Mighty Maduro’s bass and Thanx Manx’s drums build the track, finally joined by Rob Glee on second guitar to create a big, well blended sound. The opening number sets out their stall: melodic rock with a touch of drama, built on a strong backbone from the rhythm section. As the set progresses into songs like “Today Is Another Day” and “动起来 (Dong Qi Lai)”, the band leans into punchy grooves and hooky guitar lines that give the material real lift.
On stage, Qi’s real strengths lie in their playing and arrangements. Thanx Manx does a particularly solid job of holding everything together so the guitars and bass can weave in and out, and there are plenty of moments where the twin guitar interplay between Ant Man and Rob Glee really shines. You can hear that the songs are well thought out, with dynamic shifts, stops and builds that show a lot of care has gone into the writing.
Occasionally it felt like the band were still settling into a shared stage presence, and at times the overall energy didn’t quite match the quality of the songs themselves. That said, the crowd stayed with them, and there were clear flashes where everything locked in and the room responded. It gives the impression of a group mid journey rather than the finished article – a band with good material and musicianship who are still discovering how best to present it live together. I’ll be interested to see Qi again in a few months; there’s plenty here to build on, and the potential for a really compelling live show is already visible.
-Shaun @BRG
