Live review from 21st Anniversary Festival Day 2:
1.叢林法則-Jungle
2.落葉-Falling leaves
3. 城內入夜-Night
4.藤掕瓜 – Vines
5.Flower-Flower
6.圍住我-Break the wall
“They’re all so young!” a friend proclaimed loudly, crammed in the front of the stage, as Qiu Hong 秋紅 readied themselves for showtime. That much is true – drummer Alvin is only 19, he proudly told me afterwards – and also more remarkable than it seems. Because one of the five men on stage must be twice as old as his bandmates. The story goes, after eight-odd years of inactivity, Jan, the founder/leader of this quasi-legendary metal act parted ways with his old bandmates, and has revived the project with an entirely new line up. And because he apparently owns the rights to the songs, he’s allowed. Uh-oh, is this another review where I’m forced to invoke Axl Rose?
And this was the new line-up’s big debut.
A few disclaimers. I am not the right person to write this review: I missed the band’s first time around. I don’t speak Cantonese. And I don’t even like metal.
So let’s stick to the business.
If Jan is pondering his prospects, feeling the market, or simply needs a low-pressure first outing to road test his new recruits … well then hell, The Underground was an ideal platform. You’re guaranteed a crowd, payment, and props for doing the scene a favour.
So assuming this was market research, the focus group verdict was a resounding success. Take this baby to market, at once.
A few hours before the show, Qiu Hong 秋紅 were shunted from the smaller Underground stage as it became clear why the festival’s second day was a sell out. Inside the larger, 240-ish-capacity Dairy room there was barely space to move – until 90 seconds into opener “叢林法則-Jungle”, the whole room took a deep breath in to accommodate the circle pit that would be the defining feature of the next 30 minutes.
It’s easy to hear the influence of nu-metal stalwarts Korn and Limp Bizkit in the new single’s tightly wound teenage rage (the first with the new line-up – more are on the way, Jan promises.) A metal-fluent friend compared it to Scar The Martyr (noting “you get bonus points because the drummer was Joey Jordison, ex-Slipknot”), with a touch of Heretic Anthem in the heavier outro.
By the second track “落葉 (Falling Leaves)” Jan had dramatically leapt into the pit himself. Of course it was impossible to take anything in, to scribble a coherent note, amid the chaos – as it should be. Cutely, the couple next to me managed to pass out mints like pills to passersby (we’re all so close together, let’s at least smell good? #sohongkong).
Overall the young guns proved their worth, despite a few nervy rhythmic fluff-ups. Second vocalist Chu handled the doom vox and harmonic heavy lifting alike, freeing Jan to pounce, prowl and film on his phone – getting sentimental already, or taking notes for a post-set debrief? He shouldn’t be too harsh: bassist Nick and drummer Alvin pounded with passion, and Felix filled a hell of a lot of space as the only guitarist on stage.
The show ended with the piledriver assault of “Flower”, before Jan brought a child with a painted beard on stage to wave devil horns for closer “圍住我 (Break the Wall)”. Cute, but give him ear plugs next time, please.
-Rob Garratt
UDG21｜秋紅｜狂、暴、野、怒與希望
文字音符：宰制級別的中佬嘶吼、基因叛逆、地道粗口、舞台新血、嘶吼背後不只純粹的惡怒，還有美好的東西在裡頭
擠得入場內時，瞥見主音Jan企上了疑似是座地喇叭的東西，站姿似皇者登基，傲視眼前一切，那不是「自信、信心」就足以描述的氣場，mix了少少殺心，準備陣間開聲就將腳下舞台變叢林，以嘶吼勾起觀眾野性共嗚。作為02年成立嘅地下搖滾樂隊，秋紅近幾年消聲匿跡，至25年重生，今次UDG 21舞台見秋紅核心Jan組了新人腳，有佬有嫩。嗯，想必他們都知道這場號召是hardcore的。
Jan開口，全場爆炸，直接成為UDG 21最high的一場表演——他開場前那股傲氣不是沒來由。地道粗口、嘶吼快嘴與強勁節拍三者fulfil了起哄條件，場地大細亦框限不住被辣㷫的觀眾，隨Jan從台上跳入人群，所有人獲得了「解放許可證」，人浪、Mosh Pit自然又合理不過地發生，Jan跳落台的一刻還有好心觀眾將Mic線拉開，好讓主音不被勒死，哈哈！（這mic線當時已在Jan頸上纏了一圈，Real亡命之徒）
至於新人腳，另一主唱Chu渲染力同樣夠強，壓到場，夠狠夠專注，但可以有更多牽引觀眾情緒的互動；結他佬Felix手結他有料，喺新歌兼顧咗一小段rap；鼓佬Alvin打鼓時嘅表情狀態幾好，表演入面都有幾句吼叫位留咗比佢，兩個年青boy都無怯場，不過感覺顧埋「唱」部份係有少少吃力。Bass佬Nick低調有力，起到定心作用。串連Bandmate的還有Jan，唱到咁上下會同隊友碰一碰拳，中佬毋須多言：「I got you and we make it.」
歌詞下下媽叉確實舒暢，畢竟社會建制x us everyday，然而「暴怒與狂野」若沒有一種內容或理念support，只是純粹發洩的話，雖是人類天性所在，但作為Band的核心未必能走遠，嬲完發洩完之後仍要生活嘛。秋紅呢班band佬band仔無一味得個嬲、得個X，喺佢地身上仲見到愛同希望嘅特質——除了在唱《Flower》前讓全場高舉經典的花pose 作為peace remind；見到小朋友喺台下，Jan會主動邀請佢上台由小朋友lead觀眾大合唱，將future嘅信念散發開去；唱完最後一首歌，更會叫觀眾留步為鼓手Alvin老竇合唱生日歌——呢啲畫面、舉動，令秋紅係新人腳磨合階段中，個性也漸漸鮮明起來。當然，隊內加入年輕人，本身已經有一種訊息。
*秋紅UDG 21演出曲目： 《叢林法則-Jungle》、《落葉-Falling leaves》、《城內入夜-Night》、《藤掕瓜– Vines》、《Flower》、《圍住我-Break the wall》
* 秋紅UDG 21演出樂手：
Drum: Alvin
Bass: Nick
Guitar: Felix
Vocal: Chu
Vocal: Jan
-劉海亮
Live review from Underground 100:
1. Let’s Go 出發
2. Look For Treasures 尋寶
3. 7.1
4. Get Back 尋找回來
5. Boom Theory 爆炸論
6. We’re 我們
7. Night 城內入夜
8. Can’t Leave 離不開
It’s quite late in the night when Qiu Hong take to the stage, but there are still a very good number of people in the room. That’s Qiu Hong for you though, a band that has continued to deliver great sets and write great songs over the years that their fans will stick with them anywhere they go.
There’s this air of excitement that has given everyone in the room that second wind when Qiu Hong step up on stage. I for one haven’t seen them in a while and judging by just how good all the bands had been so far, surely Qiu Hong were to be the cherry on what has been a FANTASTIC cake. Yum cake. ANYWAY. Qiu Hong explodes into the start of the set and there are instantly devil horns, rock fists and much cheering going up into the air.
Qiu Hong take great care with their sound, and this was evident as they sounded incredibly powerful. Their balance was just right. My favourite thing about QH, is how charismatic Jan is as a front man. He’s this tiny dude who is very well mannered and quiet when you chat with him, but when he performs, he owns that stage, and you are privileged to be their watching him lead the beast that is Qiu Hong.
I’m not sure if Qiu Hong is a professional band, but they certainly seem like it. They look at the set in terms of the bigger picture, it is paced very well, slowing down at the right moment and transitioning in and out of their heavier songs with great ease. They are another band on the bill that has shown brilliant song writing. Their melodies all work together at the right times. Every note sounds like it has been deliberated over carefully before making it into the song.
Then of course, there is the megaphone. Screaming into a megaphone is badass. The End.
— Timmy Gunn (Shotgun Politics)
Live review from Underground Heavy #2:
Setlist:
1. Xiong Nu
2. 7.1
3. Falling Leaves
4. Treasure Hunt
5. Get Back
6. Break the Wall
7. Serving People
In many ways, Qiu Hong was the perfect band to follow StW; the variety of their influences and diversity of their songs was comparable with the latter, along with an equal following in the crowd. So many of the lyrics were known by the crowd, that it was almost staggering to watch, as people added singing along to their various body-movements (whatever they were). Singer Jan had possibly the most unconventional voice of the night, significantly more melodic than the vocalists so far, which he used to good effect in the sizeable sung portions of their songs. There was further crowd-surfing, along with further damage to the equipment on the ceiling, along with the tired-but-exhilarated crowd’s headbanging. Xiong Nu was a complete novelty in terms of style – I can’t remember ever hearing jungle-beats and a megaphone in one song (especially not a hardcore song). The set got more metal-core (read: deeper and heavier) as it progressed, but that was nicely balanced with the variations on the alternative and classic-rock genres that were made. This was especially effective in conveying some genuine musical rage, giving the songs a range in terms of feel, too. The night was ended in a vortex of activity and anthemic shouts of “We want to rock and roll!” ; a fitting conclusion to a, awesome, lead-weight night.
Shashwati
Live Review from Underground 34:
This is intensely dramatic ambient ethnic headbanging mosh metal, if such a thing is even possible. The atmosphere is so electric you can’t help but feel that you’re a part of something big that’s going on. Everything is incredibly alive and energetic. Qiu Hong fill the air with a magic you can almost taste. After experiencing their performance, i think i understand the attitudes and feelings behind passive resistance and civil disobedience a bit better. If they make a music video, my bet is that it will contain plenty of scenes of Gandhi and the Article 23 protests on July 1st. The deep resentment, anger, and power of the people. By the end of their set, I was simply stunned and in awe of the magnitude of their energy and sincerity.
Wally Amos
