South Korean boy band Riize visited Hong Kong for the first time for a “RIIZING DAY” at AsiaWorld-Expo on 1 June 2024.
As can be seen, the fans loved the show.
Breeze and Storm
Siren
One Thing
Happy! Happy! Happy!
White Christmas
Love119
Lost Tape
Honestly
Talk Saxy
Get A Guitar
Joy
9days
Impossible
—
Encore
—
One Kiss
—
Encore (Short)
—
Memories
Memories Inst
South Korean girl group ITZY played two sell-out concerts at Asia Expo on 11 and 12 March, as live music continued to return to Hong Kong.
Click on any image for the full concert image gallery.
S#1. INTRO + 마.피.아. In the morning
S#2. Sorry Not Sorry
S#3. SHOOT!
S#4. WHAT I WANT
S#5. 365
S#6. [留真] Boss B*tch
S#7. CHERRY
S#8. ICY
S#9. Free Fall
S#10. #Twenty
S#11. [有娜] Maniac
S#12. [LIA] Red
S#13. INTRO + WANNABE
S#14. DALLADALLA
S#15. SNEAKERS
S#16. [彩領] bloodline
S#17. [禮志] Hotter Than Hell
S#18. CHESHIRE
S#19. LOCO
S#20. Not Shy
S#21. DOMINO
S#22. 믿지 (MIDZY)
S#23. Boys like you
S#24. Nobody like you
ITZY – Checkmate – Live in Hong Kong
Date: 6pm, 11-12 March, 2023
Venue: AsiaWorld-Expo, Hall 5&7
Tickets: $1,799, $1,099, $699 from Cityline
The Wanch Reopens… Or rather a new incarnation of The Wanch, which sadly due to current covid restrictions is without live music – just food and drinks.
The new larger location is the old Uptown 90, on the corner opposite Joe Bananas and the entrance is next to Amazonia with their popular cover bands.
When live music eventually returns will the ‘new’ Wanch be able to step beyond the legacies and memories of the old location and boldly go where no large-sized original live music venue has gone before…
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2010/Bc-unpluggedthe-wanch-19/i-NWLRXSz
The Wanch
1/F, Henan Building, 90 Jaffe Road
Wanchai,
Hong Kong
image: The Wanch, bc magazine
The final concert of David Bowie‘s Serious Moonlight Tour was in Hong Kong at the HK Coliseum on 8 December 1983. It was also, sadly, the third anniversary of John Lennon’s murder and after performing Fame Bowie and spoke to the audience about Lennon.
“I co-wrote that song with John Lennon.And I asked him one day ‘How do you write your songs’, and he said ‘lt’s easy, you just say what you mean, and you put a back-beat to it’.
I said ‘What do you think of my kind of rock & roll’. He said ‘It’s great, but it’s just rock & roll with lipstick on’”.
Bowie pauses for a moment, as the audience cry out, “Last time I saw John Lennon was in Hong Kong, we went to a Hong Kong market and there was a stall that sold old clothes, and there was a Beatles jacket on the stall, and I did something that is not usually in my character – I asked him to put it on so that I could take a photograph, I took a photograph, and I’ve still got the photograph. The jacket doesn’t fit properly, it looks like John had outgrown it”.
Bowie then performs a beautiful version of Imagine in honour of his late friend. An upgraded 4K version of this iconic performance has been uploaded to Youtube – enjoy.
There’s also an audio bootleg of the whole concert.
image: screenshot
The Wanch team announced on their website and Facebook page today that the popular live music venue will reopen in early 2022. The new location will be just along the street from its previous incarnation at 90-92 Jaffe Road in what was previously Uptown 90. That’s opposite Joe Bananas.
Here is the post:
“Hi Everyone,
It has been challenging times since the pandemic hit worldwide in 2020. Times have been difficult for individuals, businesses, and the arts. It was a difficult decision to suspend operation of The Wanch back in August 2020, but a necessary one. At that time we made a promise to Hong Kong and the music community to reopen The Wanch when the time was right.
Well that time has come as on Dec. 1st we take possession of the venue that will become the new home of The Wanch at 90-92 Jaffe Rd, 1st Floor Henan Building (Formerly Uptown 90). Renovation starts the same day and we are targeting to open the doors with our first show sometime in Feb. 2022.
We will keep you all updated on the progress of the renovation with weekly pictures & videos on our website, Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter. We look forward to rocking Hong Kong once again and joining all the other music venues that have been keeping live music alive. We look forward to being part of Hong Kong’s music scene & community once again.
Take care & watch for our updates.”
Many of Hong Kong’s musical legends created marvellous memories in the old location. Let’s hope the new Wanch inspires a new generation to create and inspire the beauty and sensuous pleasure that is ‘live music’.
The Wanch
1/F Henan Building (Formerly Uptown 90)
90-92 Jaffe Road
Wanchai
There is still some live music taking place locally, Charmaine Fong sold out the HK Coliseum for three nights with her Lost & Found concerts.
Many celebrities and fellow musicians including Rubberband enjoyed what felt like a night from a different time.
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2021/20210827-Charmaine-Fong-Lost-Found-HK-Coliseum/i-hhbCkrg
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2021/20210828-Charmaine-Fong-Lost-Found-HK-Coliseum/i-R3B3bZH
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2021/20210827-Charmaine-Fong-Lost-Found-HK-Coliseum/i-sd9Gq5P
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2021/20210827-Charmaine-Fong-Lost-Found-HK-Coliseum/i-XrppSx4
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2021/20210827-Charmaine-Fong-Lost-Found-HK-Coliseum/i-Cwq3r9F
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2021/20210829-Charmaine-Fong-Lost-Found-HK-Coliseum/i-N7Xtf2P
New hardcore band Regret have released an eponymous 7-track debut EP on cassette and through bandcamp.
A veteran of the local music scene singer Riz also plays guitar in Dagger, fronted the massively popular King Ly Chee and runs the popular Unite Asia hardcore music website.
Commenting on his new band and their debut EP Riz said “We were just looking to play something that was more straight-ahead hardcore punk whose simplicity and directness is better suited to capture the intense emotions we all have as HongKongers living through the tumultuous past couple of years.”
Regret‘s seven tracks, including We Exist, the band’s debut single released in March, are about political turmoil, minority rights, police brutality and censorship.
“The past couple of years have been heavy on the people of Hong Kong, but then you’re seeing similar issues pop up in Myanmar, Thailand, Chile, USA, and everywhere else,” commented Riz in an interview.
“Though you may find your own situation so utterly hopeless, seeing others fighting the same causes brings a sense of camaraderie. So instead of letting all of these dark, chaotic, uncertain emotions eat us up inside, we’re getting it out through this music.”
Regret: Riz, Kuro, Egas
Originally know as Thud, the band have changed its name to Lucid Express and released a debut track Wellwave.
Lucid Express’s eponymous debut album will be out on 16 July. You can pre-order the 7 track release on vinyl, cassette and CD from http://smarturl.it/lucidexpress
