|
Dickstock 28/1/2012 - by Nick the Bookman
Apologies everyone. There seems to have been a superabundant excess of gigs in Hong Kong over the past few weeks, firing up our music scene in the early days of The Year Of The Dragon. I'm getting to some of them, but am falling behind in the actual reviewing. And chronologically writing, I'm all over the shop. And there's this cocking cold/chills, frigging flu-fever and sodding sneezes and sniffles that just will not go away. Grumble and moan!
I'm reminded of the wonderful anecdote I read somewhere detailing the first meeting between Peter Gant and Bob Dylan. Peter says (more or less) "Hi, I'm Peter Grant, the manager of Led Zeppelin". Dylan looks him up and down, smiles a sneaky smile and replies "Don't tell me your fucking problems". So, no more whinging. On with the show. It's Dickstock nth on 28/1/2012. The Damned are to make their HK debut at Grappas three days later, so this will be a nice musical smorgasbord.
OK, one last grumble. I've arrived at Dickstock about 1800 to learn that a local neighbouring family is not up for The Dickstock Experience. In fact, they've unleashed their inner John Terry all over Dick and the crew. (For myself, I think Terry is guilty of racial abuse, although he prefers to think of it as banter. He's got previous form and if it's brought up in court, he may end up committing perjury). The police are also present although Dick tells me later that they were perfectly cool with the whole gig idea. They're just setting out the ground rules and hope everyone has fun and doesn't drink and drive home.
Marcus and his family are the opening act. Sorry I missed them. Dickstock starts for me with a splendid acoustic set by Dan and Dave Bastard. A fine throaty performance by Dan of Neil Young's "Keep On Rocking In The Free World" and a jolly saunter through The Bastard's own "Soul Saver" are the highlights. The crowd is increasing from 50 to 150 to about 200 or so by the time I leave. Meet Michel and Sara, who are new arrivals on Lamma. We've seen each other around the village, but this is the first time we've chatted. A quick quote from Michel - the only one I get all night in fact because the arselick ailments I mentioned earlier haven't completely gone away. So, here's Michel. "New to Lamma, but already feeling at home. Lovely place. Nice music. Good people. Hope to see many more Dickstocks!!". I'm fairly sure that will serve as a composite quote for everyone else tonight...
It's later. The Curs are on stage. Magnus on drums (for the third time tonight). Gareth on bass and vocals. Harry on guitar and vocals. Davey on fiddle. Sam on extra acoustic guitar. It's the usual bonkers, religious Country N' Western stuff they do so well. There's the "Calling You" song with some fiery fiddle-meets-preacher-revivalist licks and some fluid back up bass from Gareth. And there's a great version of "Gin and Juice" which I haven't heard them play before. Good stuff. Always some unknown pleasures to be taken from your gigs.
I'm jumping around a bit in this story. I don't have a lot of notes and apologies to the acts I missed out. My attention span is jerky tonight. Not totally in the zone. There are lacunae - gaps in the memory continuum. Anyway, it's about time for the major headliners. Making their Lamma debut after a decade of so in the musical trenches of Wanchai and other parts urban. Ladies and gentlemen I give you The David Bowie Knives.
This power trio is Sean on guitar and vocals. He's just moved to Lamma, hence the Dickstock appearance. Ali on bass. Gabe on drums. I've seen Gabe play twice with 9 Maps (his evening day time job). He's also jammed with The Sleeves who wanted to make the gig permanent. He seemed to be a bit of a soft brushes on the cymbals and light drum beats while playing the haunting and laid back indie folk repertoire of 9 Maps. Tonight, he's unleashed his inner Keith Moon. Flurries of rolls and beats and para-diddles et al, but played with a jazzer's smoothness and precision. DBK unleash a hard driving bunch of raunchy rockers and cocky swaggering blasts of indie punk meets big chords and power pop. They go down a treat. The songs have titles like "Thighs" and "Gastropod". Sorry I don't have much in the way of notes, but I'm glad I heard you and plan to do so again.
Next up is The 88's. Don from Pak Kok is joined by Gareth on bass and Adam on drums. Adam just happened to be in HK and Lamma and got roped in to bash the four skins. According to Don, they've been messing around for a few months and this is what came out. They might even have been a quartet with ? on the vocals. This is not one of my more thorough attempts at writing down notes. They have a nice Cockney punk vibe. Andrew tells me that they remind him of The Buzzcocks. Possibly, because they may have played some Buzzcocks songs. A point P.K. confirms for me towards the end of their set when he says "I can't believe they played The Buzzcocks". There also seems to be some Joe Jackson in da mix as well. Oops forgot to mention Gareth who's been doing some sterling work at the mixing console. Jacob takes over from him when Gareth is on stage. The crowd is enjoying the event. Reviews from anonymous crowd members range from "Best Dickstock ever" to "Best ever Dickstock"
I feel like I'm having a relapse. Coughs, sneezes and an aching knee. Time to call it a night. It's about 2200. I leave as Transnoodle are setting up. I figure it will be the usual greatest hits set which I've herd and enjoyed before. So I leave with a clearish conscience. Johnny tells me later they actually played new material. Bastards!. But, now they're back in the groove-y, I'm sure I'll get chances to hear the new material. Sorry to have missed The Black Marias, but that's the downside of being the headlining - or at least the last band standing. OK, there's a hot lemon/ginger tea waiting for my sore throat. 'Til the next review I'm afraid tha-tha-that's all-ll folks.
_________________ Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
