I review Underground 84

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

This was my second attempt at reviewing an Underground show. There were six bands playing at the LKF Beer Bar this night: Logo, Pleasure Garden, Dear Jane, Tai Tai Alibi, Velvette Vendetta and Lazy Susans. Funnily enough there were two bands that I had written reviews for in my first attempt. They were Logo and Tai Tai Alibi. So, I felt more pressure to write something different then in my first attempt. I also had the pleasure of interviewing Dear Jane for Choochootv's HK Live channel and was really looking forward to seeing them live, as I missed the HK Live show as I was in Australia at the time.

I had a really good time at the show and instead of just sitting down and taking notes for the whole night, I decided to get into the action and join the people on the dancefloor. You can see me in some of the pictures jumping around crazily to Dear Jane and Velvette Vendetta.

I try to write as many notes about the band as I can while I watch their performance. Though I am just a singer and can't really comment well on how the musicians play their instruments, I still give it a try.

The difference between my review and other reviews on the website they you may see is that... no.1 My reviews tend to be alot longer and no.2 My reviews tend to be alot more personal as I express my deep thoughts and feelings. Going back to the length of the review, as the lead singer for a band, I also appreciate it when the reviewer writes a longer review about our band. When the review is too short I think to myself, what... is that it? My reviews are more personal because that is the way I like to express myself. I guess it is just my unique style of writing. Hopefully it draws people in and makes them want to read it.

So, I made my notes from the show, physically and mentally exhausting myself. I didn't get time to write the review until later on in the week as I was so busy. I was a little scared that I wouldn't be able to write a good review as the memories of the night were slowly fading away. Also, I thought that I would only be able to give a brief summary of each band, instead of going into so much detail. I didn't think I had enough notes to write an essay.

But that is what it ended up being, almost an essay. It took me four hours to write the reviews for six bands, and by the time I got to the last band I was really stuffed. So, I sent the reviews to Chris late Wednesday night so that she could put it on the website the next day. That was what she was going to do, but it turned out that she liked them so much she put them on the website that night, straight after reading them.

I have been aske d to review the next Underground and I am considering it as we speak. Though I am a little hesistant because September is going to be a busy month for me already. But, I enjoy being busy... keeps me sane.

Anyway, I would really like you to go to the underground website and check out the reviews. I will leave you now with a sample of my review for each band.

Logo: (not yet on alivenotdead)

"The great thing about this band is that their songs create a lot of imagery. For example, in their song called ‘Non-stop Paradise’ I could imagine being on a deserted island with the soundtrack in the background. The scene plays out with myself and my loved one having fun on the beach, surrounded by palm trees, white sand and clear blue water. The song ended with chimes, as if we were waking up from a dream and being brought back to reality. "

Pleasure Garden: http://www.alivenotdead.com/PleasureGarden

"They started off sounding very punky. Haley’s voice was not too strong, but maybe that is because the microphone wasn’t turned up loud enough. I could see her pointing her finger in the air to notify the sound guy to turn her up. But, he either didn’t see her or ignored her requests. Anyway, I thought that she had plenty of potential."

Dear Jane: http://www.alivenotdead.com/dearjane

"Their fifth song was supposed to be their last, it was yet again another quick paced catchy song. I couldn’t resist it any longer, I had to get up and dance along to it. So, I made my way to the middle of the crowd and within seconds of me bopping up and down, the people around me began to catch the fever too. All of a sudden there was pushing and shoving (the good type) and we had our own little moshpit in the centre of the dance floor. Dear Jane continued to work up the crowd and they responded by jumping around crazily. Check the photos for proof. The song ended and the crowd cheered for more, insisting that they play one more song."

Tai Tai Alibi: http://www.alivenotdead.com/taitaialibi

"Tai Tai Alibi is a band that never disappoints. I have seen them live more than a few times and what sticks into my head is that these guys never let down. They are always on top of their game and tonight wasn’t anything different. They started their set and showed us again why they are one of the best bands in Hong Kong. And as always, I was mesmerized by Tim’s voice."

Velvette Vendetta: http://www.alivenotdead.com/velvettevendett

"I was enjoying the music so much. These guys are really entertaining to watch an they always put on a great show. I was half waiting for them to start destroying the stage like I have seen them do in the past. I have seen Jacky jump atop the drums and start head banging until he tipped the drums over. What a sight. So, I was kind of hoping for a repeat. Wouldn’t that be cool to write about. But, I doubt these drums would be able to handle his weight, they would probably just crumble and Jacky would be in a lot of trouble. So the shenanigans never transpired, maybe they weren’t drunk enough. Get them some more pissI thought."

Lazy Susans: http://www.alivenotdead.com/LazySusans

"Their 3 rd song, ‘Steel Wall’, was off the Underground Compilation CD no. 1, which is quite funny. Not funny haha. But, it is also another weird coincidence that 3 bands this night had songs off the first compilation. I have listened to this song a lot at home and I still can’t get past the lyrics, “let me do what I long to do with you…” haha. It doesn’t leave much to the imagination. I really like the way the guitars sound in this song and I think the vocals are quite cute and sweet."

To see the whole review please go to the underground website: http://www.undergroundhk.com/v2/?p=577