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Glamour Boys
Suede comes home to Hong Kong
By GEOFF BURPEE
September 29, 1999
Web posted at 4 a.m. Hong Kong time, 4 p.m. EDT
As a rule, Hong Kong has a pretty anemic history when it comes to rock'n'roll--hey, even Singapore got a Nirvana show. But a welcome exception to that rule is Brit guitar-pop band Suede, whose fourth visit to the territory in five years veers dangerously within earshot of carving a legacy. No Western pop act has put in more face time or sustained a greater rapport with its Hong Kong fans--and when the band took the stage Tuesday at the Hong Kong Convention Centre, it showed.
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Packed tight around a moshing core at one end of the cavernous hall, the 6,000 in attendance were obviously well-versed. The anthemic hooks at the heart of the band's stronger material "Whatever Makes You Happy", "Trash", "Film Star" and the current "Everything Will Flow" were met with a collective yob's chorus, enthusiastically coached and cajoled by a soon shirtless, snaky-hipped frontman Brett Anderson.
Much of the band's musical muscle comes from the interplay of powerfully melodic guitar from Richard Oakes--who overcame what appeared to be early jetlag to deliver a brilliant set--and the keyboards and backing vocals of Mat Osman. For sheer rock'n'roll, however, there was much to appreciate in the efforts of Anderson, who seized control of the proceedings from the opening chords, whipping himself, his audience and an initially lethargic band into shape for the duration. Anderson's fey and feline stage persona--now unavoidably alloyed with Ewan McGregor as Kurt Wild in the glam rock tribute film Velvet Goldmine--recalls the manner of Iggy Pop and Brian Ferry, updated for the millennium. Anderson's voice is more than worthy of the association.
Hastily completed to house the Hong Kong handover ceremony in June '97--and a year later the scene of a sulky set by Oasis--the Exhibition Centre is not an ideal venue for a rock band. Organizers saw that at $50 a head concertgoers first endured a long march through the complex, corralled at a snail's pace for hundreds of meters before trickling into the standing-room venue through a single set of doors while three other entrances remained unopened. En route, the glass panel and handrail support of a packed escalator collapsed, injuring seven people, according to the South China Morning Post . Four fans were hurt seriously enough to be taken to hospital. The two-hour process--endured with a total lack of food, drink or smoking facilities--saw the band hit the stage 90 minutes later than the ticket time.
The venue's drawbacks didn't stop there, as the band fought early sound problems, pitting very raw and screaming guitars against a not-yet-warmed-up vocalist. However, these were acceptably remedied over the course of the evening, and by the encores--six songs in all across two breaks, including a molten version of "Starcrazy"--the room was alive with the excitement of a world class rock'n'roll band.
Suede's current Asian tour, which began Sept. 25 in Bangkok, takes them to Singapore Sept. 30, Ho Chi Minh City Oct. 11 and possibly an earthquake-delayed Taipei show TBA.
You can find information about the tour at www.suede.com
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