Third Underground Review!!!

Underground Review 85

It wasn't so long ago I was writing a blog about doing a review for Underground 84... so I didn't expect to be writing another review for the Underground so soon. But, I got such a good response from Chris that she wanted me back straight away...

Just one thing I would like to clarify before I go any further... Chris reminded me that The Underground does give free beer to the band members who play that night (and the reviewer!), so I shouldn't whinge just because I don't drink beer. It's just not unlimited amount of beer and doesn't cater for me, a non beer drinker. So I wasn't trying to diss The Underground in any way in my previous blog. It's hard for me as I have loyalties to both of these great band events.

The stage is set

You know I have always had good things to say about the Underground as they have given myself and F.B.I. many opportunities. So sorry Chris, I am not trying to say that HK Live! is better. It's important that you have some competition, right? It keeps the Hong Kong music scene healthy. I think the Underground is a great platform for new and existing bands to show off their stuff to the Hong Kong audience.

Calvin and Heather take up Chris' duties

Back to U85... it was on the 19 th of September at the Melting Pot and included 5 great bands: Kris & Ben Said, Supper Moment, Brothers of Roadkill, One Last Fall, and In Love & Pain.

I was not feeling the best that night as I was suffering from bronchitis and really shouldn't have been drinking or even out that night. But, what can I do? Chris was out of town supervising the Global Battle of the Bands in Shanghai and was relying on me, plus I was at a bar and couldn't help but indulge myself with a few sneaky drinks.

I can't help indulge myself with a few drinks with my new buddy Andy (Sweeney Todd!!!)

It turned out to be an awesome night. I got to see my co-star from Sweeney Todd strut her stuff on-stage for the first time with 'Kris and Ben' said. And I was totally blown away by her performance. She has an awesome voice and is really talented, not to mention beautiful. Another highlight of the night for me was watching 'Brothers of Roadkill' who are very exciting blues trio. I loved their performance so much and looking forward to seeing them again. The other bands were great too and did a really good job of keeping me entertained for the whole night.

So, I am going to give you a little taster of what I wrote for their reviews... but if you want to read the whole thing you will need to click this link to go to the Underground website here:http://www.undergroundhk.com/v2/?p=585

Kris & Ben said: http://www.alivenotdead.com/kristinalao

"I had already listened to their last song of the night, ‘Machine Gun’, via Kristina’s alivenotdead website. The chorus and song lyrics are quite simple, but very effective. In my mind I got images much alike to the music video of ‘Zombie’ by ‘The Cranberries’. I could just imagine a war going on, dirty faces of kids and people running around in despair. All of this was going on while the story of two lovers was being told; amidst the confusion and chaos of the war. In this song I found myself drawn to the front of the crowd to support her and to enjoy the music."

Supper Moment: http://www.alivenotdead.com/suppermoment

"After the short and quick opener the band played their song, ‘Last Supper’, which sounds like it has religious connotations to it. I wouldn’t know as I couldn’t understand what he was saying, but the tone of his voice made me feel quite content and relaxed. I felt like the music video would be something like two people who really liked each other, constantly looking each other’s way and smiling shyly. I felt like the guy wants the girl but doesn’t know how to express his feelings to her. I really liked this song because of the imagery it gave me, even though it might not be the intended message."

Brothers of Roadkill: (get on alivenotdead guys!!!)

"With a name like ‘Brothers of Roadkill’ I expected to be blown away by some kind of heavy metal type of music. But was I so wrong! In their bio they claim to be the most exciting band to come out of Hong Kong of late, so I was a little put off before I even started writing my notes for the review. It annoys me when bands talk themselves up so much, especially before I ever heard of them. This was their debut at The Underground and I found out they have had only had a few shows prior to that. But the trio lived up to their bio in the fact that their first song kicked ass. It was so funky! I loved it immediately. All of the guys are Chinese but their style was so Motown."

One Last Fall: http://www.alivenotdead.com/onelastfall

"By the third song I started to think that I have heard these guys before. Not realising at that stage that I have had the pleasure of sharing the stage with them. No wonder I thought I had heard it before… dur. They had definitely improved as musicians since the last time I had saw them. Their next song, ‘Pointless’, wasn’t so pointless after all. It was a slower song than the rest and relied heavily on Sheila’s melodic vocals. I liked how the guitar sounded when the song picked up the pace."

In Love & Pain: http://www.alivenotdead.com/inloveandpain

"I can’t give you a play by play account of their set because it kind of just flew by without me realizing it. I should have gone back so much earlier to write some more notes about them, but before I knew it they were announcing that it was their last song. I didn’t even notice that they had put in a cover of Michael Jackson’s ‘Give it to Me’. Their set was intense and they never let down until the end of the show. This was really a great way to finish the night off."

If you want to read the whole review go here:http://www.undergroundhk.com/v2/?p=585