Rockit, Hong Kong’s only large outdoor music festival touched down last weekend for its fourth straight year. This time it lasted two days, rather than three, but it still packed in several big name d.j.s including Goldie, Bryan G, Adam F, and the locally-grown Uptown Rockers. Top billing this year was Ian Brown formerly of the Stone Roses, in addition to last year’s favorite - Electric Eel Shock, the wild metal band from Tokyo. Several local bands were also featured including Hardpack, my favorite Punk band. (Click any of the photos to see a larger version!)

Almost as important as the music itself is just chilling on the grass in a large open space - something that we in Hong Kong nearly never experience. Although there are soccer fields scattered about, there is very little open space - especially with grass. Flat land in the city is just too valuable to set aside. The site of the festival, Victoria Park, located in Causeway Bay, is the only large swath of grass that I can think of.

The Rockit festival area is divided into two parts: a main stage and a tent. Music is not played on the two simultaneously. A single group or d.j. is playing at any given time and people walk back and forth between the two locations. D.J.s always play in the tent, whereas bands play both venues.

One of the drawbacks to an outdoor music fest… portable toilets!

Victoria Park, where the festival is held is a major recreation area, particularly on Sunday when maids (who work six days a week,) have their day off. In the photo below you can see Indonesian maids congregating on the grass just outside the entrance to the Rockit festival. Hong Kong employs a huge number of domestic helpers. There are nearly 150,000 Filipinos and 100,000 Indonesians working in Hong Kong as maids.

This year there was also an area set aside for street artists to showcase their work.

Last Thursday I attended the opening of Evisu’s second store in Hong Kong. This branch is in Ocean Terminal, a large shopping mall located directly on the harborfront in Tsim Sha Tsui.

I had received the invitation in the mail and planned on checking it out. The invite really caught my attention. Inside of a large red envelope was the back pocket from a pair of Evisu jeans. One side had the event information, the other carried their signature character.

Arriving at Ocean Terminal I found the shop which was located right around the corner from Ralph Lauren. It’s interesting that they opened the shop here, instead of in the more youth oriented area of the mall called LCX.

Entering the shop, which was already crowded with people, I heard an announcement that the show was about to begin. I moved towards the front to get a good position, just as my friend, model Carrie Chiu started to walk.

The show lasted around ten minutes and featured several models walking and a group sitting around in Evisu clothing. Several celebrities in attendance were also decked out in Evisu gear. This is a common practice to showcase a designer’s clothes - pay celebrities to attend your show wearing your new line. The media will photograph stylish, well-known people present at events and it helps to create a buzz.

After the show I hung around and chatted with some friends. The crowd consisted of fashion editors, street-wear designers, Nike people (who work upstairs,) the artist Simon Birch, D.J. Yeodie, D.J. Daryll, Cara Chan, Terence Yin, Carl Ng and Carrie Chiu among others.

On the way out I picked up the Evisu goodie bag which consisted of a limited edition T-shirt, a shot glass, and an Evisu tote with the words ‘Before Anyone Did Anything, EVISU Did Everything’ printed on it.

Last week was a major holiday, Mid-Autumn Festival. Apart from its origin as a harvest celebration when the moon is at its fullest, in contemporary times it’s best known for two things - lanterns and mooncakes. Click on the image below for a bigger view.

One of the more fun traditions associated with this holiday are the colorful lanterns. Crowds gather around Hong Kong’s parks and beaches at night and play with them, especially by the water at Repulse Bay. This being Hong Kong, the festival has been updated, with all sorts of electronic lanterns and glow-stick type bracelets and necklaces.

People congregate with family and friends to celebrate. I’ve been to barbecues and also to beach parties in the past. Both of these offer good opportunities to gaze at the full moon.

This year I went to a friend’s barbecue in Shatin, out in the New Territories part of Hong Kong. The moon was indeed full and red!

Mooncakes are consumed during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. They are small, dense cakes that can contain a wide range of fillings. In addition to traditional versions offered by famous bakeries such as the one at the Penninsula Hotel, more contemporary mooncakes are sold by everyone from Starbucks to Haagen Dazs.

D.J. John Acquaviva recently passed through town and played at Volar. His choice of songs were solid, but the beat was almost too constant during his set. There were no highs and no lows in the songs. It was almost the opposite of the recent set by Joachim Garraud, where each song had a discernible, party-rockin’ climax. Although the music was good, it didn’t work the crowd into much of a frenzy because there was little build up within the songs. His mixing however was impeccable.

Actually, it’s hard to compare Joachim Garraud with other d.j.s because, unlike most people, he is playing instruments on top of the music he is spinning. As far as entertainment value, it does add a tremendous amount to see the d.j. actually doing something physical, rather than just standing in back of a laptop or mixer. Another fact to consider though is that a d.j. like John Acquaviva is mixing completely live, whereas Joachim Garraud may be playing a pre-set routine.

When I saw the poster and got the invitation to check out singer Julie McKnight at Dragon-i last week, I made a mental note to reserve the date. What I didn’t realize is that I was already familiar with her biggest song - “Finally”. Dragon-i’s owner Gilbert always plays the song when he spins and it’s a true classic.

Saturday night I arrived just in time to catch Julie singing “Finally” live! Gilbert was spinning the instrumental and she was freestyle singing over the top. It was less formal than a concert, where everything is worked out in advance, and her performance had an air of unpredictability that made it more exciting. After singing her own songs, Julie began singing over records that Gilbert dug up - including a crowd pleasing rendition of Gloria Gaynor’s classic “I Will Survive”.

Performing from the d.j. booth, without a stage, Ms. McKnight still had a strong presence, and interacted well with the crowd. During her song she encouraged the audience to sing along, and taunted them when they weren’t loud enough. Those in attendance were treated to an excellent, intimate performance.

There have been two notable new arrivals from America in the last few months. Krispy Kreme, the infamously tempting doughnut shop, and Burger King have both opened new branches in the city.

Krispy Kreme has two locations - one in Causeway Bay, a high-traffic shopping mecca, and the other (pictured above) in Soho, the trendy neighborhood home to dozens of restaurants offering international cusine in a two-block area.

It’s interesting that Krispy Kreme is occupying the former site of Starbucks Coffee, which itself had an extremely successful launch in Hong Kong a few years ago. The Soho branch is directly next to the Mid-Levels escalator (search my archives for previous entry) which moves over 45,000 people per day! It’s a high-profile location and an excellent choice for making an introduction.

On the subject of American chains arriving in Hong Kong, it’s worth noting that before Starbucks opened people questioned their ability to do well since, the argument went, there was a cultural tie to drinking tea rather than coffee in H.K. The skeptics were proven wrong. Starbucks has been a runaway success, and has expanded greatly. The same naysayers have said that American-style doughnuts are too sweet for Hong Kong - let’s see what happens!

Burger King has adopted a different location strategy. Despite being located at the top of Victoria Peak in the newly renovated Peak Tower (a main tourist destination overlooking the city,) Burger King has attracted residents from all over the island. On a recent Sunday, the place was completely packed with more locals than tourists - with not a single seat available!

Fast food pioneer McDonald’s is extremely successful in Hong Kong and they are ubiquitous throughout the territory. Until recently however, Burger King had only a single branch open in Hong Kong - located inside the terminal of the airport, which limited its customers to only ticketed passengers who had proceeded through immigration. Opening a location on The Peak is perfect to build the brand with the massive number of tourists from China and other parts of Asia as well as to provide familiar, inexpensive food for Western foreigners.

Last Thursday night I received a text message from one of Hong Kong’s top clubs, Volar, informing me that Jaochim Garraud would be performing a special d.j. and v.j. set that night. Dragon-i and Volar both send out text messages to inform their regulars of upcoming events. It’s effective, and almost necessary, since there’s been such a flood of talented d.j.s passing through town recently.

When I arrived at Volar, most of my friends were already there, dancing at the front of the stage. Though it wasn’t packed, those in attendance were dancing like crazy! After thirty minutes in the club I could see why. Joachim Garraud was truely a performer. Rather than simply using records, or just a computer, and standing around in between songs, this guy was taking things to another level. Using a computer for visuals, an effects box to make sounds, a keyboard slung around his body like a guitar, in addition to standard d.j. equipment, Joachim Garraud was a blur of constant motion.

Not only was he a performer, but his choice of music was built around being interactive with the crowd. His technique for combining pre-recorded songs with live music raised the level of excitement in the club exponentially. When he wasn’t playing the keys he was tapping out some digital effects. His set was masterful at bringing the audience to a crescendo with each song that he played. It was an excellent performance.

I stumbled upon an excellent exhibition last week. I was walking around Sheung Wan, the sleepy neighborhood just bordering Central, when I saw what looked like a huge eye through the window of the Art Statements gallery. I was standing there looking at it, when my friend Min came over and mentioned that this was the artist that created G-Force - a Japanese Anime cartoon that was extremely popular when I was a kid.

I really loved his artwork back then. The animation style was very distinct, much different from the typical American Saturday morning cartoon style. Something about the eyes of the characters always appealed to me. It’s interesting that it’s still as powerful as ever in these works.

We went in and had a look at the exhibition that included several large multi-panel works in addition to smaller pieces done in ink on paper. Click on the image below to see a bigger version.

Last week I attended the launch of a new line by Deep Anger, a boutique jewellery and fashion brand in Central. The Deep Anger shop is tucked into On Lan Street, a slightly hidden locale in the heart of Central. On Lan Street is also home to D-Mop, a high-end fashion retailer, and the location of Martin Margiela’s first shop in Hong Kong.

The man behind Deep Anger is Ben Chan. He’s extremely creative and hands-on, designing everything in his shop from the clothing to the jewellery, to the interesting cases and fixtures throughout the space. If I had to describe the Deep Anger style I’d say it’s half attitude and half elegance - think Rock singers and film stars as the clientele.

Ben’s also a fixture on Hong Kong’s nightlife scene, and his party was a who’s who of sorts, featuring many local celebrities and a large number of friends he’s made over the years - including me! The vibe was warm with none of the hyperbole typical of mainstream brand events.

Before the Nike shop event, I headed out to the far east side of Hong Kong Island to a neighborhood called Chai Wan to attend the opening exhibition of a new gallery. The gallery is actually an extension of the Chancery Lane Gallery in Central’s Soho neighborhood. The new location is a massive warehouse / old factory building that has been subdivided.

When I got out of the elevator, I saw the familiar street art of Simon Birch, who was curating the opening show. Taking a right, I entered into a room with a mini half-pipe, with skaters in full session. On the side of the ramp were several hanging canvases. I had to warn a few of the gallery-goers to stay clear of the side of the ramp, just in case any runaway boards came shooting out - a lesson I learned the hard way about a decade ago! Ouch!

Next I walked over to the main gallery space which was packed with a diverse lot of art enthusiasts, enthusiastically consuming free drinks. The hallway leading into the main gallery featured stencils of superheroes flying through the air.

Although the gallery offered a larger space than most in Central, the big turnout made it seem small. Click the image below for a bigger version.

Along one wall were a bank of photos by Wing Shya.

Simon Birch also had two paintings on the same side.

Suspended from the ceiling were two large guns, each crafted using interesting materials.

The other featured artists included Cang Xin, Huang Rui, Anthony Lam, Li Wei, Tatsuyuki Tanaka (a famous anime artist,) and Stanley Wong.

Chancery Lane Gallery Annex address:

Chai Wan Industrial City, Phase 1, Unit 614
60 Wing Tai Road, Chai Wan
Hong Kong