Live performance review from Black Flag live in Hong Kong:
Culture Shock
Lanlan
Round Eye
Commie Blues
Billy
Sifter
Troma
Nest
Catatonic
Foreigner
Suntan
Freedom
Punk scenes abound at The Wanch on 24 May 2026; we walk in to the sound of buzzing tattoo guns. Turns out Shanghai noise-punks Round Eye had such a huge one the night before that they missed a tattoo appointment at Sai Kung’s legendary Shoot the Moon tattoo studio. No mind: the parlour comes to them. Owner Julia Seizure inks a “Ni Hao” Butthead onto frontman Craig “Chachy” Englund, with just nine minutes to spare before showtime. It’s not the band’s first time in Hong Kong, but it’s likely their best to date. They race through a frantic quartet of songs to start, locking the packed room into their frequency. Erhu and sax – less likely punk instruments but the kind of unconventional, left-field elements that have come to define Round Eye’s genre-hopping sound – thread through the din, the latter cutting sharpest on “Billy”, where its solo and wiry embellishments lift the track. The mix skews drum-heavy and vocals low, yet the band remain super tight, frontman Craig “Chachy” Englund commanding the room between quick-fire intros. “Troma” rumbles with shotgun percussion, while “Nest” channel pent-up anger. “Commie Blues” and “Foreigner” lean into abrasion; “The Gun Club”-tinged moments edge faintly psychedelic. By “Freedom”, the line “freedom of choice is what you’ve got” land as both sneer and rallying cry – this is Round Eye at their most daring and dangerous. Off to the side, hidden in the crowd, Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn slowly nods in approval towards this sweaty, uncompromising set.
-El Jay
