I attended the official Hong Kong Sixes afterparty at Stormies in Lan Kwai Fong (LKF) a couple of weekends ago and was surprised at all the construction that’s going on in the city’s premier party district. Seems Mr Lan Kwai Fong himself (Allan Zeman) has bigger plans for the district.
While it was a Sunday evening, LKF was nevetheless quite busy. I even saw some folks in their pajamas (we don’t bat our eyelids upon seeing this here in Hong Kong). They obviously live in the area. Age is probably catching up with me but I could never understand why someone would want to live so close to Lan Kwai Fong, or SoHo for that matter.
James Durston obviously does and he recently went into quite a public (online) rant about it.
Here’s an extract:
Li Ka-shing recently asked the Hong Kong citizenry for some “good ideas” that could make Hong Kong a better place. Here’s one:
Sentence all drunken idiots stumbling around Soho/Central/LKF to 100 days chained to a bar in Soho/Central/LKF … with no booze. Let’s see how many a cappella renditions of Frankie Valli’s “I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” they can take, then throw in a few strangers draping their arms around them and breathing over and over into their face, “Yuh know, I dunno whoyooarr, buh I love you sho mush.”
An eye for an eye, and all that.
And if they happen to be English, castrate them too. That might sound a bit severe, but if someone insists on singing “Bohemian Rhapsody” at 4 a.m. outside my apartment, as many Brits do, the least they can do is make sure they hit those high notes.
Anecdotes about drunken British morons abroad are about as original as … the antics of those drunken British morons. But that’s exactly my point. How many times do we have to hear about some beered-up banker arrested for indecently assaulting a taxi exhaust before we make an example of him?
Just to give this some context, I’m English, and I’m no stranger to the odd beer or six on a Saturday night. But I’ve never felt the urge to take off my pants, wrap them around my head and sit in the middle of the street singing “We Wish You A Beery Christmas.”
Yes, I saw that, from my apartment window. In August.
One of my favourite artists, Canadian crooner Michael Buble will make his debut in Hong Kong with his “Crazy Love Tour.” While the concert only takes place next year, it is definately one to pencil in as a must-see.
(The Hong Kong Rugby Sevens takes place 2 weeks later, so best buy your ticket now!)
The consumate entertainer and Grammy Award winner, Buble not only wows his audiences with his vocal prowess, but also with his on-stage antics.
The concert takes place at the Hong Kong Conference & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in WanChai so thankfully we won’t have to make the long trek to the Airport (for AsiaWorld Expo).
Date & Time: (Friday) 11 Mar 2011 at 8pm
Tickets are: (A-D Reserve) $1588, $1188, $788 and $588
My family and I have been travelling to Hong Kong ever since our days as Taiwan residents. Yes, we used to do the 2hour- flight over for a weekend of Halloween and Christmas celebrations.
We usually alternate between Disney land and Ocean Park and as a result we spent last year’s Halloween Party at Disneyland on Lantau Island.
Having done the trips for the last couple of years, this year’s Halloween Party at Ocean Park just seemed to be the best ever.
This year around we spent Halloween at Hong Kong Island’s Ocean Park. We were there for the Halloween Party two years ago and in the meantime they have undergone a hellavu lot of extensions including the funicular (train) transporting visitors to the headland instead of the usual cable car. They have also added to the attractions in the park as we found when visiting the low-land on Friday.
Here are some pictures from our visit a couple of days ago:
Not too long ago we featured a Cape Town performing artist called Brigitte Mitchell as our artist Number 9.
Brigitte, a Cape Town lass plying her trade right here in Hong Kong, released her debut album today called “don’t explain.”
If you’re familiar with my rambling on Howzit-HongKong’s sister (Rugby Sevens) website BlitzBokke.com, you will know of my aversion to our young rugby players being managed by their fathers when they leave the schoolboy-rugby scene and enter the professional era.
Well, in the music industry, in particular the very emotive jazz genre, it is the complete opposite.
Brigitte Mitchell’s career is the the very able hands of her drummer, band-leader, manager and husband. Gary Da Silva is partly responsible for the release of “don’t explain” and as he says in the album insert:
“The first time I heard Brigitte sing on stage, I was immediately captivated by her voice and magnetic stage presence. It was like a bird in flight, dancing on the wind, free and unpredictable.”
I was fortunate to be at Brigitte’s gig at The Gecko Lounge in Central on Tuesday evening where the regular patrons were joined by the (all-South African) cast of Grease, The Musical… currently playing in the city.
Brigitte Mitchell has drawn all of us into her world and once you hear her on “don’t explain” we have no doubt that you too will be.
“don’t explain” is available at any HMV throughout the city in the Jazz section.
Mike Jansen
Spot the Saffa artist! (Pic: Mike Jansen)
Gary Da Silva on drums at The Gecko Lounge (Pic: Mike Jansen)
I visited the “hangar” at the West Kowloon Cultural District this afternoon, a day before the first-ever Red Bull Flugtag in Asia comes to the waters of Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong.
And into the waters they will go… all 41 teams and all their meticulously constructed craft.
Knowing full well what awaits, one thing you can be sure of though is that they know they’re going in the drink…
Some with style,
Some with class and
All of them with a hellavu lot of fun!
Walking around the hangar, I couldn’t believe the amount of work that was going on.
Some were cutting, others sawing, some more were glue-ing, tying and whatever else was needed to get their craft ready before 12noon tomorrow.
The ones standing around were there for moral support and to fetch some cold Red Bulls from the well-stocked fridge.
Snip-snip, paste-paste… getting the last-minute details right before the big day. (Pic: Mike Jansen)
Some just stood around looking absolutely beautiful in the sponsor’s attire! (Pic: Mike Jansen)
Tomorrow’s FlugTag will not be short of celebrities with (actor/pilot/all-round celebrity) Michael Wong and (lang mo/pseudo model) Chrissie Chau making an appearance on the judging panel. However, there will be at least one real celebrity (in my books) actually taking part. Look who I bumped into in the hangar:
Hong Kong’s own Mr Magician on the rugby pitch… Keith Robertson
The Red Bull Flugtag flies off:
Tomorrow: Sunday 10/10/10 (10 October 2010)
Time: 12 noon
Venue: Kowloon Heliport (West Kowloon Cultural District)
As a avid jazz fan, I am pleased to feature this year’s Hong Kong International Jazz Festival right here on Howzit-HongKong.com
Known as the most stunning jazz gathering in town, the Hong Kong International Jazz Festival will once again thrill jazz aficionados and young jazz enthusiasts with world class music this autumn. In its third edition, the Festival will run from 3 to 9 October, offering an exciting range of programme featuring concerts and workshops by some of the world’s most gifted performers and groups.
“The Old, the New and the Chosen Few” is the theme of this year and with a mix of high calibre Chinese and Asian young talents and internationally renowned musicians who will set the stage for a diverse and captivating jazz experience. More than 10 jazz groups performing in 6 concerts promise to bring a unique experience to jazz lovers.
As an aficionado of the so-called “old-school” jazz scene, I am particularly pleased that Stanley Jordan will feature on this year’s program.
Stanley Jordan is one of the most distinctive guitarists from USA. Born in Chicago and raised in California, Jordan started his classical piano lessons at age six and picked up the guitar when guitar heroes were becoming household names. Names like Jimi Hendrix. At the age of 15, he had the idea to bring the flexibility of piano to the guitar.
Stanley Jordan grabbed the music world by the ears when he arrived in New York in 1984. The release of his 1985 debut album “Magic Touch” placed him at the forefront of re-launching legendary Blue Note Records into a contemporary entity in jazz and beyond. The album went on the top of Billboard’s jazz chart for a stunning 51 weeks !
Key to Jordan’s fast-track acclaim was his mastery of a special “tapping” technique on the guitar’s fret board, using both hands to tap the fingerboard like a pianist. It allows him to play chords, melodies, and bass lines simultaneously. Musicians and critics alike were blown away. Never before had anyone been as innovative with the concept as Jordan. He was said to take tapping into another level. Up to now his technique has been widely adapted by guitarist all over the world.
Stanley Jordan is not all about jazz. Here he is playing that classic Led Zeppelin hit, Stairway to Heaven:
Catch all the news, schedule, booking information and highlights from the 2010 HK International Jazz Festival by clicking here
In August we told you about one of our favourite hangouts in Tsim Sha Tsui’s food district of Ashley Road.
Colin Aitchison from Ned Kelly’s Last Stand just sent us the Picasa links to 2 galleries of pictures that chronicles the fun, the visitors and the thousands of big band tunes that has been offered to guests from that precariously positioned bandstand over the last couple of decades.
As we mentioned before, Ned Kelly Last Stand is truly one of the pioneers of the genre in the Territory and their recipe for success has made them one of the oldest entertainment venue in Hong Kong.
Pop in next time you’re in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Happy Hour is until 9pm and live jazz starts at 9:30pm
Flashback from way back Ned Kelly’s 12 October 2008 (Pic: Colin Aitchison)
For more more images of Ned Kelly’s Last Stand click here or here. You can also join their FaceBook page
The Canny Man‘s posters all read “An oasis in WanChai” but I personally like the one I saw on a video today:
“A football-free zone.”
OK, so South Africa just recently hosted a very successful football World Cup but man… a month of football is probably as much football as I can take! Truth be told, I’ve probably seen enough round-ball “action” to last me till the next World Cup. Which is probably a good thing, what with the RUGBY WORLD CUP in Zealand looming in 2011.
I am currently teaching a bridging course for new Secondary 1 students in Lok Fu and one of my colleagues is none other than the former Hong Kong rugby captain Semi Iafeta. Apologies to Semi, but I didn’t recognise him until I did a bit of “research” online today. However, in my defense Semi, your hair used to be a lot longer! Like most international rugby boys here in Hong Kong, Semi Iafeta is a semi-professional who makes his living teaching in Hong Kong.
Semi Iafeta with ball in hand, playing for Hong Kong
It seems that the big Number 8 is also quite the video producer, having produced the video about The Canny Man I mentioned earlier:
