Hong Kong Music

For the past few wednesdays, some friends and I have been checking out Hong Kong’s poetry nights. It’s not directly musical, but to myself and many, lyrics are poetry. So for you songwriters out there, here’s a post for you!

Every first wednesday of the month, the poetry nights are held at the Fringe Club in a more formal setting. Every other wednesday, poets and poetry lovers get together at Joyce is Not Here for a more intimate evening of poetry reading. As with music, the poetry brings a whole range of people from different walks of life together. Students, young teachers, professors, writers, musicians and city hoppers.

The fringe club is a great setting to experience some great poetry. On the first wednesday of February, a tribute was held for the late Hong Kong poet and professor P.K. Leung. Some of his close friends and students read out poems he had made in his lifetime, evoking captivating visuals and sensations about past Hong Kong. His powerful use of words was really amazing to hear.

Later on in the evening several poets of the city, got up to share parts of themselves through  their writing. In a city of millions where we literally brush past one another with zero acknowledgement of anyone’s presence, I loved the idea of strangers opening themselves up to strangers, and being able to connect with experiences so similar to my own. I was especially blown away by a sixteen-year-old friend of a friend, who recited a Spoken Word poem she had written about a girl’s ‘first time’. The atmosphere was truly amazing.

The other wednesdays at Joyce, we had a couple of beers and read out our personal poems and the works of poets that inspired us.

Isn’t this what music, writing, and sharing work is about? connecting to strangers who we all share at least one thing in common with? Whether it be the city we live in, the experiences we’ve had, or this simple fact that we’re all human. It’s great to have this communication of artists and their personal work, who will tell legitimate stories about our human experience in our very own city!

Joyce is Not Here is a great little venue on Peel Street, with and incredibly inviting and laid back vibe. As a bar for artists, it hosts themed regular events from photography nights to poetry nights and open jam nights. On the weekends they have intimate shows from local performers. Unlike  the venues in nearby Lan Kwai Fong, this is can be a very relaxed way to spend your evenings, enjoying the sounds of HK talent.

Last thursday I stumbled upon a Jazz night at Joyce is Not Here. I didn’t catch the singers name, but her voice was phenomenal, and she carried out some strong notes through the performance. The atmosphere was one to experience.

Personally, I haven’t really gone in search of Jazz music in the city but this was an awesome discovery.

As a bonus, while there we saw Joyce’s neighbor, Peel Fresco (apparently run by the same people)..it’s under renovation for now but they should be open in a week! It looks like it’s a great place to come for live music so I’ll definitely be back soon. Keep an eye out for a Peel Fresco post coming soon!