Live Review from Wild Boar Music Festival 野豬音樂節:
1. I’ll tell me ma (Shamrock)
2. Streams of whiskey (The Pogues)
3. The Boxer (The O’Reillys and The Paddyhats)
4. Donald’s Where’s your Troosers? (Enter the Haggis)
5. Wagon Wheel (Darius Rucker)
6. Encore: Drunken Lullabies (Flogging Molly)
Trust a kilt-clad Irishman and his band of Celtic folk rockers to get the party started.
The minute that Naggin Eejits took the stage, everyone’s interest was piqued. I’d seen them earlier on my way in- pretty hard to miss them, cutting striking figures with their matching tartan kilts and the broadest grins in sight (and not only because it was a few days prior to St Patrick’s Day)- and my already high expectations were to be well exceeded.
Opening with The Sham Rock’s classic belter I’ll Tell Me Ma, already people were clambering to their feet and clapping along with enthusiasm. It’s a song which everyone knows somehow, even here in Hong Kong, and it set the tone for a set full to the brim with joy, festivity, and all out silliness. There’s something marvellous about people who don’t take themselves too seriously these days, and the Eejits made sure that no one could.
Playful, yes, but the Eejits are also damn good musicians. A banjo isn’t an instrument too often seen on HK’s stages, and these guys knew how to pull it off with ease. Their rendition of country tune The Boxer was a sweetly nostalgic leap across the pond, with beautiful acoustic guitars adding some smooth Southern warmth to the golden hours of the day. We were then warned that the next song would be Scottish in origin – the incredibly entertaining Donald, Where’s your Troosers?, recounting the journey of a Scotsman and his kilt on his journey down in England.
By the time their set was due to finish, the crowd was having absolutely none of it. For the first time that day, every single pod at The Grounds was chanting instantly for “ONE MORE SONG! ONE MORE SONG!”, and their wishes were granted. It was a never ending party right til the band waved goodbye, and even then the boundless, infectious energy which they brought was sure to stay with each audience member long after they’d set off for the Beer Bay.
Celtic bands were never my thing- until now. The Eejits have carved themselves a hefty slice of the Hong Kong music scene’s proverbial pie, and it’s safe to say that their music was a refreshing breath of air amidst all the oppressive madness around us today. I would say we need more bands like the Naggin Eejits, but honestly? I think they’re entirely enough on their own.
– Jasmine Gould-Wilson