THEY wanted to call the event Superjam. In the end, the organisers opted for the more down-to-earth Wan Chai Live. The 40 bands playing in the two-day charity event, however, aren't complaining: they've been promised a jamming good time and plenty of free beer.
For the driving force behind the performances, to run from noon to midnight on Saturday and Sunday, are two local bars, Carnegies and the Wanch.
Karl Bullers, general manager of the bars, said Wan Chai Live was conceived when he met owners John Hastings and Howard Mckay one night, and the fiasco of the Wan Chai Music Festival in 1993 and the Wan Chai Carnival the following year came up in the conversation.
'I wasn't in Hong Kong back then but they told me what a sad loss it was that no one wanted to do similar things again. Then it occurred to me there's no reason we can't do it again; only this time we will be more careful about the noise.' Complaints about noise strangled the two fun events organised by the Wan Chai Tenants Association when police brought the open-air shows to an early end.
The evening concerts were meant to bring together music lovers, fun-seekers and performers in an attempt to pep up the entertainment scene in the district.
But not everyone in Wan Chai appreciated the effort.