I'm a musician and that is one of the reasons I end up in Wanchai. I often meet the other guys after gigs for a beer and hang out. I also pay attention to the music and bands. Although they are all pretty much the same and it can get pretty tiring hearing them all play the same tunes, every once in a while something fun pops up.

I don't think this is the best band in Wanchai but they win my  award this month. This time my favorite is the all girl band at HKC. When I first saw them they looked pretty bored and were play the same old selections as everywhere else but it was an off night and the place was slow. Every time I saw them I thought nothing special. Last night however the place was busy and I finally took the time to pay attention.
The the girls were killing it and they really seemed to be having fun. They are all surprisingly good musicians. Most notable are the drummer and guitar player. The drummer has a rather unusual style of play but she is rock solid and keeping steady time is often a band's weakest link. The guitar player is outstanding. She is as good as any of the old warriors at the other clubs and certainly looks a lot better.

Taken out of the context of a bar full of WGs, you can see how good this girl is in this youtube video.

Link: Rona Romales - plays Sweet Child of Mine

[ Last edited by  dooper at 25-1-2014 13:38 ]

Dooper, I took your professional guidence and could not take my eyes off the
drummer all class bro.
I recently saw an interview with my all time my favourite group "Rolling Stones" on
'60 Minutes' and the interviewer asked 'Keef R' about Charlie Watts and he replied
Charlie was the reason the Stones have had so much success for their 50years together
and the reason, 'He kept  the group precisely on beat and so important to any group'
I have bookmarked this clip for furether viewing, and  I nominate HKC for us to meet up
in May. How long have they got the gig at HKC?

Cheers Mate GP.

Are you telling me these girls are playing every night in WC?  I'm in lust with the guitar player.  Wonder what my chances are of picking her up?

I'll have to give it a shot next trip.

J

HKC = Hong Kong Cafe - formerly neptune II.

A long time back, N2 used to have a fantastic male Filipino singer.  He was 5 foot nothing but had the girls salivating due to his awesome vocals.

New link to video!

New Link: Rona Romales plays Sweet Child of Mine

[ Last edited by  dooper at 27-1-2014 01:16 ]

I couldnt view the YouTube vid for some reason, but I saw this one. Based on this vid alone, the vocalists look bored (little stage presence) and their vocals seem limited; however, as is usually the case, the audio is better live than heard through a phone. I was impressed with the guitarist though.

Amazonia band is good, but the same sets of music quite often. The chick is quite good, a lot of bros go crazy over her? In some ways a bit hot but very skinny.
The Wanch can be fun for variety and local bands.
MHO

Hehe.. I am a guitarist.  And ANYONE who loves this song LOVES the guitar solos in it.  Its G'N"R for Christ Sakes!! Guitar IS the song!!  You DONT break the guitar solo the way this singer did in that song.  Just shite!  She (the singer) clearly could care less about the song and fucked up her guitarist who was trying to play a rather challenging bit.  
Umm....  not imprsessed with the band.  But I would fuck that guitar player!!!!!!!!!  Hehe

I know that originally the all girl band at HK cafe were lip synching though it now appears they are REAL. Hk Cafe promotes them big time with their pics on a billboard which is often outside Delaneys. Billboard has 7 ladies, but the band is now 6.

The band at Amazonia is shit hot - Have been together for 17 years and played at Amazonia for 8 years. Versatile and can go from Frank sinatra to Metallica.

OP states he is a muso who enjoys after beers at Wanchai - Is he part of the seven eleven crew who have a few sherbets most nights.

I was talking to one of the guitarist thinking she was not playing for real. She got upset and told me she would make a mistake in next song. Bought her a drink after to apologize, really cool girl too!

The best singer in Wan Chai in my opinion is part of the karaoke band in Players. They have four singers and they vary quite a bit in talent (but they all blow away the singers in the HKC band). Of the three girls, one is so good that she has no business singing in a shit Wanchai bar. If you listen for more than a few songs you'll know who she is right away. She has excellent intonation, perfect harmonies and seems to know how it all works. Watch her hands, she moves her left hand up and down to help her nail the pitch. And she always does nail it. She can be a little unemotional but that's to be expected after 6 nights a week for months on end. She can burn the house down when she wants to and I've seen her do it when she has an appreciative audience.

She usually sits stage left (or house right - the right side when looking at the stage) and is a little heavier than the other two skinny birds. She's not as striking as the other two girls but I think she a hottie. I'd do her as soon as possible - but then I love the talent.


Remember this is a 6 night a week gig. I've done these kinds of gigs and I can tell you that after a 3-4 months of gigs everything on stage is almost automatic and the chatter is inconsequential.

I agree she did distract the guitarist and in fact I think the singers are the weakest musicians the band. I saw the band again last Sat and confirmed my opinion that the guitarist and drummer carry the show. The bass player is dependable and sings great harmonies, the keyboard player is stunningly beautiful but unremarkable and the singers are the weakest links. That said, I still think they do a good job and seem to have fun.

Thanks Dooper for the recommendation on the band at Players. I have looked online as to what times their band plays but their website is very short on details. Would you be kind enough to let me know what their timings are? Thanks in advance.

The band at Insiders is good and worth checking out. Normally go there on Wednesdays. They start at 2200 and go on for 45 minutes.

I think the start about 10:00 or so. The band at players is not a real band like HKC or Amazonia. They sing to tracks. There are no musicians.