What a great gig to welcome 2009.Blasted into the New Year by the post punk indie of The Lovesong and 22 Cats was like a sonic version of Chinese fireworks to illuminate the coming year in this Whence He Came Reunion show.This gig was a chance for those of us new to the band to check out their sound and to find out what all this nostalgia for a local band was all about. Excitement levels were already rising outside the venue as we waited in line for what was a sell out show with lots more people clamouring for tickets. The Lovesong (risen like a phoenix from the embers of Whence He Came) are now one of the best live bands in Hong Kong but with a distinctly punkier sound than in their earlier incarnation and they blasted their way through an opening set with only one song from their debut 'Deux Mille Sept' and lots of newer material.The set opened with a storming version of 'Morning Redemption' and 'Celebrate' an excellent version of 'Starlight Shine Us So Bright' and 'Here's To Hope' before wrapping up their set with '1978'.
22 Cats play in a modern retro style difficult to categorize and reminiscent of bands like Pavement and Deerhunter.Songs usually open gently with Por's laconic vocals before building to a crescendo with Kit's falsetto vocals and clashing guitar,the band kept on course all the while by the amazing bass riffs of Yin and the heavy drum beats of For.The songs are all heavily ironic and almost impenetrable but this band can really rock out and have a unique (but completely uncategorizable)sound. 22 Cats @ Whence He Came Reunion
Whence He Came are a band who have cult status in Hong Kong and this set showed some of the reasons why.They have a bunch of great songs with lots of images that linger in your mind,charismatic vocals from Joshua Wong and jagged, lyrical guitar riffs from Ephraim Bano backed up by heavy bass riffs and ferocious percussion.The band opened to rapturous acclaim from the packed hall with 'Finer Lights and Fairy Tales' and 'The Curtain Call' playing most of the songs from the album 'The Shorter Story' along with 'Glisten' and 'This is Nothing' in what was more or less a love fest between an outstanding local band with subtly dazzling songs and the fans who supported them with great mixing and balancing to complement the set from Stephane Wong.
WhenceHe Came Encore 'Breaking Ranks'
I guess everything in this city is speeded up. According to the liner notes on their album 'The Shorter Story' the release date was 2004.Wow,four years is almost instant nostalgia but after seeing the band and listening to the album a few times,I feel nostalgic as hell about this band and lucky to have been there.
