Clockenflap Was AMAZEBALLS

I’m not saying this just because giant mastermind and organizer Jay Forster picked me up and turned me upside down (with me screaming and holding onto the arm of an alarmed security woman in her 40s for balance), then squeezing my nose for eight seconds and asking me to “write good things about Clockenflap” before letting me into the VIP tent.

No, Clockenflap was victoriously amazeballs because it was a two-day outdoor festival at the sprawling seaside promenade of the West Kowloon Cultural District, with its stunning waterfront vista of Hong Kong Island, offering FREE FREAKIN’ MUSIC all day to our musically starved “World City.” Hel~lo? Jakarta consistently gets better acts all year round than we usually do. I hope the Hong Kong government sent people to Clockenflap on both days to take notes on how to actually organize a successful music festival.

Super duper kudos to Mr. Forster, festival director Mike Hill, Andy Stokes, Justin Sweeting and everyone involved for pulling it all off! This year’s Clockenflap clearly matured and was well managed, and practically a charity cultural donation to Hong Kong. FREE access to over bands from all over the world and DJs performing live? A film tent? Bouncy castle and face-painting for kids? All you had to do was register online and you had tickets to 60 bands over the weekend at this gorgeous outdoor venue (and more than 40 local bands and artists! Yay HK!) Sorry lazy mofos who were too slothful to register online and got nothing.

I simply cannot fathom how much time/money/disciplined effort and dedicated passion it must have taken to put out and pull off something on this massive scale. Well Hong Kong, someone worked hard and paid for the music—I hope y’all paid for the hot dogs, fishballs, siumai, cocktails, wine and beer.

Saturday was extra magical with a full moon lunar eclipse, the moon turning bright red right above the main Harbour Flap Stage and next to the towering ICC building.

At the afterparty on the first night at XXX, the sweet Mr. Sweeting told me and Evil Lynn that they had received ZERO complaints, which is quite a feat for a festival. As the West Kowloon promenade was far removed from residential areas, the usual complaint about noise pollution from stroppy Hongkongers was clearly out of the equation.