Club FF is billed as "The most authentic indie experience in Hongdae". I always know I can expect to see some great bands I HAVE heard of and some great bands I haven't heard of, and I do love that. Being that I love every sort of music, it's like a dream come true to constantly filter in new bands with new sounds. [The crowd on Fridays and Saturdays often turns me away, only because it is so packed it can be hard to get up close, although admittedly, Korean crowds are a bit more forgiving than American, and so while you wouldn't push your way to the front here, you could still get a pretty good vantage point if you are willing to suffer some ear damage from standing underneath a monitor, where the crowd is usually less dense.]
I hate being late. I really, really do. Being that I live at the far end of Incheon from Hongdae, and it takes at LEAST an hour and 15 minutes by bus or subway to get to Hongdae, I REALLY have to try hard to be on time. I leave my house 2 hours before I want to be somewhere, and yet magically I always seem to be late. Most especially this bothers me when I am on my way to a show and get there halfway through the set of a band I've never seen but end up really liking. This was the case on Sunday afternoon with Bad Romance. While I love all kinds of music, it's probably been noted that I lean more towards the heavier, alt-rock, with lots of bass and male vocals. Romantic-type music isn't usually my first choice and so when I find something I like, I figure there must be something there. Bad Romance has a soft, airy quality that lulls you into a perfectly content mood, with vocals that suit and bring you just to the edge of longing... Perfect for a calm Sunday afternoon after a long weekend.
Sometimes you are just drawn to something or someone and you don't know why. It's like you are walking down the street and suddenly you feel your feet moving in a direction you didn't plan and then there you are; walking into your favorite cafe, sitting down to a hot cup of coffee and just letting the good feelings roll over you. This is somewhat like Slow Baby's music. I can't say exactly what it was about them, but I really felt entranced. While I am a fan of their prominent bass lines, I am apt to say it is more likely the distinctive voice of San, the vocalist, that really drew me in. Something in his voice is so familiar, and yet so atypical to what we hear on the radio, that hearing it over Brit-pop-style music, laced with what I have now come to know as Korean musical influence, weaves a story that I really want to hear again and again.
In my playlists, female vocalists are a bit of an oddity. After spending a few of my early years listening obsessively to female vocalists, they dropped off my radar when I got into rock music. Occasionally I find a band that makes me sit up and take notice though. Case in point: Love or Not. Here is some musical math -- take the best of Switchblade Symphony or Collide, add the haunting vocals of early Goldfrapp, and then add some great grooves ala guitar and bass [I can't put my finger on it... seems simple, but fairly complex], and just for kicks, add in one of the greatest drummers you've seen and you might be approaching Love or Not. 초현's vocals radiate a primitive energy that draws your attention from anywhere in the room. You might as well stop and take notice now, I expect you'll be hearing much from this incredible band.
I only caught the first few songs by this four piece. Beautiful jazz sound that, like Bad Romance, is great for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Occasional dirty guitar riffs brighten and differentiate them from the typical jazz sound. Vocals of an angel... seriously...
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