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PostPosted: Wed May 06, 2015 11:30 am 
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Location: Pak Kok Village
Nepal Benefit at the Island Bar: 2/5/2015

By Nick the Bookman


LOVE. That's a much nicer way to get your attention. Compared to my previous story when I used the antonym for life to shock-start you all into reading it. Actually, life would have been just as effective, but I chose love for reasons I'll get to shortly. Since my last story (Grilled Dark Sleeves on the menu) death has been intrusive. Firstly my eldest dog Fang embarked on The Big Sleep (26/4/2015). He had an undescended testicle that morphed into a hypercel which grew inside him to the point where it was starting to compress his other organs. I took him down to Hans about a year ago who said any operation to remove it would probably have killed him. He was closing in on 19 human years old. The hypercel wasn't malignant and Hans thought he'd be all right for about a year or so. Check back later.
That Sunday, he was snoozing quite peacefully. Mari had gone to Church and when she got back, he was in pain. She told me. Unfortunately, Hans had finished his morning shift and was in Causeway Bay for his afternoon shift at his other clinic. So, pack up the books and bookshelf. Put Fang into a bag for his only (and final) trip to HK. A sad trip in a taxi. Made slightly worse when the driver managed to run over a pigeon in the road. Which was unsettling as I believe they are like wolves and mate for life.
Later in the week/month, a Filipina maid called Tess passed away on Lamma. Possibly a heart attack. She joins Dick, Sue, and Linda on The Grim Reaper's Memorial Scroll. And of course, there was the earthquake in Nepal on 25/4/2015 which has killed over 7,000 people and counting. Plus uncounted fatalities and tragedies on a global scale since I wrote that story. Well, excretae eventuates as they say...

So, let's talk about love. The three states according to the ancient Greeks. In alphabetical order they are Agape (Ah-Gar-Pay), Eros and Philia. Agape is the theological essence. Summed up simply as Charity, Goodness, Beneficence to Mankind etc. Could be summed up in the song "Give Peace A Chance". Eros is sex in all its variforms - hetero, homo, poly etc. Basically, the song "Frigging In The Rigging". Philia is the love and appreciation of learning and lore. Let's say it's "I Love Rock And Roll". That's the nutshell gist.
All three were displayed during the Fundraiser For Nepal at The Island Bar, Well, maybe not Eros. That was more likely to happen after the event was over. People have gone home for Eros (with) Rose (until) Sore. Three anagrams from four letters. Rose is the generic name I'm using for one's partner. Or indeed one's self if one is partial to a handshandy. Anyway, that's a bedroom matter and what happens there stays there...
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The other two were demonstrated during the Benefit. Especially by Mark from ShelterBox who erected a tent outside the Bar and laid out the essentials within. Cooking facilities, water purifiers, tools for reconstruction, clothes etc. Vital equipment for those in Nepal who have lost everything and need temporary housing and shelter while coping with the disaster. Also giving the message loud and clear that You Are Not Alone. We Know. We Care. Other people on the Roll Call of Honour are Sharon and Dan, our Genial Hosts for the night. Jane and Mike, aka Songs For Children, who got the gig up and running in only four days. Incidentally, it was their long awaited and anticipated Lamma debut. Mark was very insistent with me in singling Jane especially out for praise for pulling the bands together. She worked very hard to do this and her efforts are not un-noticed and not un-appreciated. Plus SFC also donated some Happy Monday's gig tickets to the auction. A wonderful oil painting was donated by Steve for charity. And of course, there was Harry who donated two of his drawings. He's one of our resident superstars. A bloody good political cartoonist. And a fine musician to boot. It's a privilege to know him and that he chooses to live here. With his lovely family. Let's not forget Jim (and Sharon) who hosted the auction in his own inimitable style. Mark told me that the night raised just shy of $HK50,000 [Editor: $44,000!]. Probably more than that when other donations are tallied up. The paella was a steal at $HK20 a platter. And of course, there were the bands...

First was Ailee Slater (my next door neighbour. As is Mark.) She poured her guts into a short set. Playing ukulele and singing tunes which were rambley and amusing. I forget to get the titles. My sloppiness. Stuck in a corner by the door watching the night unfold and jotting down random notes and observations. Which bubble and brew away in my forebrain until some sort of story emerges. I'm a logophiliac. I love writing these reviews. Seeing what comes out after a couple of days. I generally have no idea what I'm going to say until I start writing. But this story is basically Accentuating The Positive. I always enjoy these gigs and have no inclination or desire to do anyone down. No HST rantathons today.

Next up was Arthur Urquiola who turned in a tasty little set of Casio electronics with Echo the drum machine keeping a twisted beat. Sort of tech-orch in a way. Great fun. Arthur does the same job I used to do with RTV (now ATV) between 1974-1980. On-screen reporter and sometime subeditor. I had some fun times there. Hung out with Mohammad Ali for most of a day when he was in HK to look at the Vietnamese refugee camps. Got a nice interview with Pele once. Managed to interview Jimmy Stewart (promoting "Airport: Concorde"), Charlton Heston ("Midway"), Vincent Price (doing a one man show on the life of Oscar Wilde). Had lunch once with Roman Polanski who was here to promote "Chinatown". And Yvette Mimieux who was on PR duties for "The Black Hole". Richard Johnson (just before he starred in Lucio Fulci's "Zombie Flesh Eaters"). Covered the first five years of the HK Rugby Sevens. Used to do Man-In-The-Street voxpops and get my friends on TV. And covered way too much LegCo business. Got away with longish hair and an earring. Didn't have to wear a suit. And got paid on time. Unlike Arthur...

While listening to Defiant Scum set up and tune up. I'm struck by the synergistic music mashup coming from them and SFC. Jane is playing what sounds like The late and lamented Ramones. It's a lysergic swirly-whirl or whirly-swirl of beats and melodies, fracturing above my head in the front left corner of the bar. This is a remembrance recall of Golden Oldie times. And not an admission that I dined on a magic mushroom omelet and Nepalese brownie, washed down with a bhang lassi before arriving at the Island Bar. As if I would. Or could these days.
Found sounds are everywhere. Walk through Central and groove to the metallic click chatter of the changing traffic lights. Sometimes enhanced by the swish-swoosh of car tyres on wet roads. Atonal honks and screeches from passing traffic making a weird percussive melody. The soundscape of our city is strangely, eerily beautiful at times.

Defiant Scum turned in the most raucous set. Serious punk shit. Saw them about a year ago. Opening for Canadian thrashpunk maestros D.O.A. Brought to HK by SFC. Muzz said the band hasn't played much in the past few months. Didn't matter and didn't really show. The roll call of honour is Muzz - vocals. Pierre - guitar. New bassist, Kuro. And Julian on drums. The floor was a sweaty, seething moshpit for the hardy few. Most people were across the road in the park. Especially loved their song "Pirates of Cheung Chau" with its insistently enjoyable chorus of "Yo, ho, ho. We are the pirates of Cheung Chau". If it was a little bit more reggae-based. it would have been a splendid counterpoint for Transnoodle's "Port Royal". Johnny the guitar/vox of Transnoodle didn't seem upset by this comparison, He was having too much fun on the dancefloor.

Arthur was kind enough to bring along a protege band of his. A young Chinese trio, dressed in basic black. Called Onedaymore. Not quite as punkrockoutthtere as Defiant Scum. But there were some abrasive licks and some death-grunt vocals now and then. They are Marcus on guitar/vox. Rock on drums. And Sing on bass. Sing told me he remembered me from Clockenflap 2012 when his previous band Ketchup and Mustard played. I enjoyed that set by them and they're in the Clockenflap 2012 review. I look forward to hearing their further sonic adventures. If you're interested in learning/hearing more you can get information about Onedaymore on http://artifrature.landscape.com. Arthur and the band thank you in advance.

There was a lengthy hiatus after Onedaymore when Jim conducted the auction. He wheedled and coaxed the punters into giving increasingly large dollops of dough over for some fine art and Happy Mondays tickets. He's a natural master at this. Great gift of the gab and doesn't lose sight of the end game which is to get as much as possible in the nicest possible way. A big hello and tip of the hat to William and Danielle who popped over for the night to see friends and enjoy the show. William is a surveyor who works with the Gurkhas. He and Danielle bought Harry's second cartoon for a good price. He plans to take it back to the UK and re-sell it there for a lot more money hopefully. All for Nepal. Maybe he can get Joanna Lumley to guest help out. Joanna, if you're reading this... Anyway, it was pleasure to meet you both.

Finally, David Bowie Knives get on about 22:40ish. Just time for an abbreviated set as the show is supposed to be over by 2300. I was talking with Sean (guitar and vox) before he started and I said how much his performance at the Dickstock Memorial Gig resonated with me. Especially the way he sang the line "...I believe in Rock and roll and rock and roll believes in me". Absolutely horripilating (gooseflesh/bump raising). Sean says the song is called "You Want Me, Don't You". To me, it's the equivalent of hearing The Sleeves "Sex Museum". Always, a pleasure to listen to. The band are Sean on above mentioned guitar and vox. Ollie on rampant, throbbing bass. Gabe, another of Hong Kong's greatest drummers, on slightly tipsy drums. Adding another swirlywhirl to the general cacophonous chaos. And that is meant as high praise. The gestalt meld of everything overall transcends the individual performances. And I guess this is a good enough note to end on.

Well done, Lamma!

ntb

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PostPosted: Wed May 06, 2015 12:02 pm 
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Joined: Fri Aug 02, 2002 1:22 pm
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Location: Pak Kok Village
Thank you note from Mark Lowiss, plus his pictures:

We are very proud to announce that we raised a massive $44,000 on Saturday!!!!!

Thank you so much to everyone who came along, donated and made it such a wonderful evening.

Special thanks go to all the people who made the evening possible:

Dan, Sharon and all the team at the Island Bar.

• Jane and Mike from Songs for Children.
• All the bands and artists that gave their time to play for free.
• Carlos for all the amazing food.
• Fraser, Dan and Magnus, Casper and Jim Brockham for the loan of equipment (especially Fraser for his last minute help getting it all to work!).
• Jim for his amazing MC skills and driving the bids up!
• Simon Kay for the great posters
• Jen and Oisin, whom without their help none of it would have been possible.
• All the great team who helped on the night (you know who you are!!).
• Finally Cath Hoe, who’s inspiration to get behind ShelterBox and the Nepal disaster started the ball rolling and drive for us to make Saturday come together.

Also thank you to all the individuals and organisations who donated items for the Raffle and Auctions.

• Harry Harrison – Cartoons
• Songs for Children – 2x Happy Mondays concert Tickets and T-shirts
• Midas Productions – 2x David Guetta tickets
• Jing Jings – voucher
• Debra Morris – painting
• Lamma Grill – voucher
• Steve Megson – Painting
• Waterfront - Voucher
• Prime – voucher
• Jim Orr – 12 bottles of wine
• Tim Chantler/ British Council – Refugees of the sceptic heart tickets x 2
• Kinny & Dan Barlow/ Your mother/ Clockenflap – 2x Mika ticket, 2 x Justice tickets
• Banyan Bay Café – 1 case of prosecco
• Jason & Clare – 2 x comedy club tickets, bottle of wine
• Deli – voucher
• Charlotte Douglas – Yoga lesson
• Marianne Phillips – Bottle of Gin
• Annette Aylmer - 3 x necklaces

Finally a huge thank you again for everyone in this amazing community who came together, gave what they could, helped us achieve such a great amount and made the whole evening a great experience!!

There are still collection boxes in The Banyan Bay Cafe and the Island Bar, so please let everyone know.
Thank you.


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PostPosted: Wed May 06, 2015 5:58 pm 
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Great Night, Enjoyed by Many, Well Done All!


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