Articles - Event Reviews

Don’t Call Mama: Rap battles have been getting popular in this city, as more and more hip-hopper are starting to stand out and create their own sound in their own language. If you have never heard Canto-rap before, you should, just to catch up with the trend. Unlike American rap, Canto-rap doesn’t just have to be about cursing each other, it can be about respect, it can be about what MC really is. Though some of the contestants were not creative enough to say anything other than swear words, and someone’s mom, but that has made the other ones stand out even more.

Through ‘Don’t Call Mama’, we can see that Canto-rap may not rhyme like American rap, which every single line is melodic, of course, that seems to be ideal and catchy, while in Canto-rap, staying with the beat and getting the crowd into what you do seems to be the most important. Even though, honestly, I cannot say that I will pay a hundred bucks to buy their stuff… yet (if the contestants releases a CD), but I can see a pretty impressive future if more people in Hong Kong can get involved and get into it, it’s still taking baby steps, but it’s growing, and it’s all good while we’re getting there.

Rating : 7/10

Review by: Alyson Hau

Articles - Event Reviews

Maksim In Hong Kong: Fans in Hong Kong would definitely be familiar with the name of Maksim, even just by saying ‘the Piano Player’. This is already his third stay in Hong Kong, but it’s just his first “in concert” performance. The main difference when comparing the other performances to this concert, is that he has a 6 piece orchestra, with a guitarist, an additional pianist, and a percussionist. So what you hear from those speakers in the Academy of Performing Arts, are what’s been played live.

Starting the set off with his ever-so-famous ‘Flight of the Bumble Bee’, showing off how fast his fingers can go on the keyboard, with the usual all black outfit and THE smile, Maksim has brought the cell-phone ringing crowd to silence, at least for the first few minutes. Capturing the audience with a string of collection from his debut album, he also threw in a surprise, a song that he has never played live before, ‘Ocean Dream’, the theme for this coming Olympic Games.

The whole performance was captivating, but maybe because that was the first show in Hong Kong, or maybe it’s because of my brain is still addicted to the songs with the dance beats instead of a snare drum, didn’t really feel right when the drums were covering the sound of everything else… Apart from this, it was quite a night.

Rating : 8/10

Review By: Alyson Hau

Articles - Event Reviews

Sinosphere: It was the first techno event in a long time in Hong Kong. April 30th, 2004 was going to be a night to remember as it marked the beginning of potentially future Sinosphere events to grace the streets of Hong Kong. Sinosphere was to be held at the prestigious Viceroy venue located in the Sun Hung Kai Centre in Wanchai district. Upon entry, it was clear many people had anticipated this event by sporting Technasia T-shirt's and warming up to the tech-house and electro sounds of Teng Boon. It was 12AM and the crowd was getting a bit more eager to hear the harder and pumping sounds of Amil Khan. 12AM came and went still without any signs of the anticipated DJ. Then 1AM came and a silhouette figure of a familiar face graced the DJ booth. It was Amil of Technasia preparing himself for a soon to be hard and thundering set of techno in its purest form. By this time, the venue was clearly getting packed as hot and sweaty dancers were put into a hypnotic state with Technasia's track selection.

House and Tech-House was on rotation for the first half hour before Amil began to bring in more of a funky sound to the decks. Soon tracks like Rino Cerrone's "Rilis 7", The Advent/Subjective's "Tremmer", and Technasia's own "Acid Storm" and "Undisputed Life" could be heard ravaging the speaker walls sending dancers into a state of frenzy. Being the first techno event i have attended in Hong Kong, i must say that overall it was a very good night.

The venue was spacious and had a balcony with a harbour view, the sound system was crisp and clear, the lighting was dark, and the crowd was intimate and having a great time. Sounds of Detroit, hard techno, and electro could be heard screaming the whole night. At 4AM, i was getting a bit fatigue from all the dancing and decided to call it a night, thinking to myself as i left that i sincerely hoped that this would mark the beginning of future Sinosphere events to come.

Review by: philip leung

Articles - Event Reviews

Mamma Mia: One daughter, one wedding, three possible dads. A simple but interesting story, filled with a string of ABBA hits, and performed by a group of fully-energized cast, no wonder they say Mamma Mia is the World’s #1 Show. Read more...Musicals have always been exciting and enjoyable, especially with songs that people are familiar with. This clever selection of ABBA songs just fit perfectly with every scene, making the story stand out even more, and getting the crowd to do a bit of song-and-dance too. Before actually seeing the show, worries did come through my mind: Would non-ABBA fans actually like this? Or even worse, would die-hearted ABBA fans be disappointed? Clearly, little kids at the age of 6 would love the story, just because it’s fun, and captivating, the chemistry between the young casts like Kellie Rode (Sophie Sheridan) and Sky (Christopher Parker) can surely make them believe in this romantic dream. On the other hand, the flow of music and the brilliant performance by the rest of the actors/actresses like the three divas, Silvie Paladino (Donna Sheridan), Jennifer Vuletic (Tanya) and the crowd’s favorite Emma Powell (Rosie), did not turn the fans off, but brought them in this hilarious arrangement, that everyone can just free themselves in the music.

Just because it’s all songs that we know, lyrics that we remembered, once the intro is there, a smile on our face will just automatically be put on, we knew what’s it gonna be, we know what they’re trying to say, and we can say it WITH them! That’s the most intelligent trick of Mamma Mia, you knew what’s next, and you still want to see what happens. No “toilet-moments”, no snoring, just plain laughter and applause.

It’s been an entertaining, joyful, feel-good night, and for those who came and witnessed the show should feel the magic this world-wide phenomenon.

Review by Alyson Hau