At the risk of stating the obvious, Hong Kong is a going out kind of place. Even in the chill of winter, many people willingly venture out to patronise the thousands of restaurants and plethora of bars, clubs and mega malls (quite a few equipped with movie multiplexes). And as those of us who share German author Berthold Auerbach's opinion that 'Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life' know, Hong Kong has its share of gig and concert-goers too.
American classical music composer Aaron Copland once said: 'To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself: incredible and inconceivable.' And a glance at the first month of 2011 confirms that there is no shortage of programmes and organisations working to ensure that the music continues to flow at various venues.
Traditionally, January is the month when the City Festival takes centre stage. And even though the urban cultural fest's organisers have decided to draw the 2011 event out for the whole year, the Fringe Club plays host this month to a number of music performances.
For example, the Fringe Theatre section of the Old Dairy Farm Depot tomorrow and Saturday night will be where pianist Jacqueline Leung and saxophonist Timothy Sun take audience members on an adventure through the world of tango, jazz and French chansons by way of their La Vie en Rose: The Allure of the Tango show. Also at the Fringe Club this weekend, Six Pack of Wolves, Luke Chow, the David Bowie Knives and the Sun Eskimos will perform at the first Listen Up! indie music showcase of the year while the world's youngest professional guitar player, 10-year-old Japanese rock-guitar prodigy Yuto Miyazawa, will be headlining another City Festival event. The following week's City Festival events include jazz evenings with Marsha N da Boyz (vocalist-dancer-actress Marsha Yuan, keyboardist Ted Lo, guitarist Eugene Pao, bassist Peter Scherr and drummer Jack Greminger) on January 27 and 28, and Once Upon a Time in Queens - a cabaret show with singer Heidi Mak in the role of a Chinese-American woman who dreams of musical stardom while working in her aunt's shop - from January 27 to 29.
And those who prefer their music to be more folk-oriented will welcome the City Festival's inclusion of a January 28 performance by David Rovics, a US singer with a reputation for sharing his views via song about topical and socially significant matters.
Away from the Fringe Club, Inner Mongolian singer-songwriter Tenggeer and his Blue Wolf band will serve up a rare mix of rock 'n' roll and Mongolian folk songs at City Hall on January 26 and Kwai Tsing Theatre on January 27. At Kitec, indie folktronic duo CocoRosie will be performing tomorrow supported by Noughts and Exes and TEZ.
