The Whitest Boy Alive electrojams on the 17th of March, 2011 at HITEC and MGMT rockjam on the 30th of March at HITEC Star Hall.

If you want to go then be sure to hit up www.untitled.asia and www.hkticketing.com for tickets.

The gig takes place on Tuesday the 23^rd at Hangout in Sai Wan Ho, Hong Kong Island, and New York-dwelling, Japanese-fronted Asobi Seksu are the bee’s knees. Here are five audio-visual reasons why. (If you’d like to skip the music and just find out where to get tickets then head to the bottom of the page.)

My first…

Latecomers occasionally have the best deal; when they hear a band there is sometimes already an exciting body of work to delve into and explore. This is how I was with Asobi Seksu. A good friend of mine sent me a link to this video just this summer and I was instantly hooked.

‘Transparence’ is almost archetypal Asobi Seksu – blissful dreampop, shoegaze undertones and a pretty girl up front. All winning elements. This track appears re-recorded on the album Hush and renamed ‘Sunshower’.

The deal sealer

‘Transparence’ hooked me in and ‘Me & Mary’ sealed the deal. This track shows the band have a bite, with the layers of distortion and urgent drumming in the chorus underpinning the sweet vocals.

The pure pop moment

Every band has their roots and gladly Asobi Seksu visited theirs for a b-side. This charged take on The Crystals’ Phil Spector-produced classic ‘Then He Kissed Me’ is bliss.

The hit

‘Thursday’ is the song they seem to be most well known for so remember to memorise the intro to look ‘with it’ at the gig.

The Japanese!

Opening their excellent self-titled album is “I’m Happy But You Don’t Like Me” – a beautiful, twee Japanese language pop song with some explosive guitars that pop up every so often. It’s just so right.

So it’s settled, we’ll see you there.

If you want to get tickets in advance you can do just that and in doing so you boast a saving of $40 ($40 better spent at the bar). Tickets are $280 (advance) and $320 on the door, if you must.

Advance tickets are available from White Noise Records, Zoo Records and Dama Boutique (Staunton Street).

You can also get them online here.

Support comes from Milkteeth and A Roller Control’s Alok.

Date: 23/11, 7.30pm
Location: Hangout 蒲吧 (3/F, 2 Holy Cross Path, Sai Wan Ho// 香港西灣河聖十字徑二號) – Sai Wan Ho MTR Exit B

Check in at the Facebook site.

Wayne, what are you expecting from Hong Kong?

Once we’re there we can live in the moment and will be sure to enjoy the sights, food, meeting new friends and all the experiences.  It’s one of the benefits of being able to travel around the world and experience these things.

For those who’ve not experienced a Lips show, how would you describe it?

What we do is overwhelm you with stuff.  Whether we use balloons, volume, our emotion or whatever – we get your full attention.  When everyone is engaged like that then we can all create something special together.

You want any group to command people’s attention.  The worst thing I’ve seen happen to a lot of bands I love is that the audience gets distracted.  That energy and power of the crowd is part of the experience and when a band loses the attention then the whole show suffers.

You’ve embraced Twitter (@waynecoyne) – what got you into that and kept you doing it?

What I like about it for myself is that it forces me to, five or six times a day, pause and question what am I doing? What’s interesting right now.  It gives me a good reason to do something. Even if it’s a waste of time or the greatest thing ever, I can tell people about it and am no longer compelled by just my own interest.

We need a flourishing music and art scene – what is the first step to take?

I think you already have made the first step through the frustration and felt the need to take that step.  People are often so complacent that they don’t feel the need to participate in their own culture.  I live in a place here in Oklahoma that is often so empty of culture.  But you have to remember – art isn’t made in a place and not made by collaborations or encouragement.  It’s made by weirdos who just have to make it.  You do what you must do.  And if you don’t feel like you must create art/music/film/skyscrapers or whatever, then you probably shouldn’t.  I don’t wait for permission. I’m so stupid and insane that I wake up every day and just do it, whether people care or not.

What makes you really, really, really bored?

I try to remember that boredom is really nothing.  It’s a state of mind, and if I’m bored that’s my own fault.  There’s always something to explore – to read, to draw, to listen to.  When people say they’re bored, I think there’s so much you can do.  I can always do yoga and get my mind thinking.

What’s a surefire way to combat it?

A good way is to not be around boring people, and preferably ones with money to spend.

What’s next for the Lips?

We’re playing around with the idea of releasing a track a month – record something, mix it and get it out and have that schedule for a year.  We’re thinking about that.  I like the panic and the immediacy of having to put something out. It would be absurd but could be great fun and fantastic.

After Asia we have our annual Halloween and NYE shows in Oklahoma to look forward to. This is when we can get our most freaky with 10,000 people all sharing an evening together.

Flaming Lips tickets cost $620 and are an ESSENTIAL PURCHASE from www.hkticketing.com or HMV, with two fantastic support acts thrown in, in the form of The Raveonettes and local heroes The Merriweather Deer.

Take yourself, your friends, your family and anyone else you’ve ever met to have your minds blown and lives affirmed by the spectacle that is The Flaming Lips live.

Stay tuned for the Brouhaha guide to The Flaming Lips – coming soon.

In the meantime…

On Sunday the 31st of October the race starts at 10am (you could maybe even go without going to bed) and the route sees the sedan chair runners and sitters make their way around The Peak, all in the good name of charity.
It starts at the Matilda International Hospital and once it’s over the midday bazarre begins.
Expect costumes and toppling aplenty. Any more questions? Go here – www.sedanchairace.org

Look at them go!

and our favourites…

The five-day exhibition is at the Fringe Club between the 12^th and 19^th of October, with the party being held on the roof on Thursday the 18^th. Those who went to the opening party know it’s the place to be with lots of arty types and Australian-style (beery) fun to be had.

This year’s theme was ‘glass half full’ and you can view all the finalists here, including Hong Kong’s very own tuan tuan and China Stylus.

It starts at 6 so head down and see all the tip top contributions. The Facebook event page is here – tell your friends!

The part indoor, part outdoor party starts at 7, finishes at 2 and has JayJay, Wendy Wenn and 2Gweilos playing their favourite bleeps and bloops for your dancing feet.

Prices and offers can be found on the Facebook page. Here it is!

You would be forgiven for thinking that there are just two camps of British filmmaking: the Guy Ritchie ‘fack-em-up’ gangster flicks and the lovey-dovey oh so genteel and charming Richard Curtis / Hugh Grant efforts. Others do exist (everyone go and watch Shane Meadows’ films now or Chris Morris’ Four Lions) but Wild Target falls somewhere between the two staples.

Lead Emily Blunt plays the conning art thief Rose, whose charm melts the heart of the near-autistic hitman Victor Maynard (played by an austere Bill Nighy). This melting leads to Maynard having a price on his head and so the caper begins, but not before young Rupert Grint, aka Ron from Harry Potter, gets involved after sparking up a joint a car park at the wrong place and the wrong time.

The casting crew hit the nail on the head with Blunt. She is hot Hollywood property and has an on-screen charisma that makes girls want to be her and men want to take her out (not in a hitman way).

Rose is a slinky, stylish and headstrong character with a graceful comedic confidence that harks back to the likes of Katherine Hepburn or the stars of Ealing comedies, especially when we’re introduced to her ways on a stroll through a market where she takes everything she wants without missing a step. This lead is refreshing enough alone and makes for a far more interesting character to spend 90 minutes than the currently in-vogue female main characters which are either sex-obsessed morons or po-faced brooding killers. Grint too flexes his comedy muscles to good effect, providing the comic relief when things get heavy.

There are some clunky moments in the second, including a baffling encounter between Maynard and Weasley (sic) in the bath, but these moments are short and easy to overlook.

Essentially a knock-about romp, this remake of French film Cible émouvante is bolstered by some solid performances and well executed sequences that add a nice flair to the proceedings. Surrounded by the summer’s boundary-pushing films Toy Story 3 and Inception, Wild Target isn’t a cinematic masterpiece but it is a lot of fun and a nice escape in the company of compelling characters set against an attractive London and home counties backdrop.

Directed by Jonathan Lynn

Where’s Philia? That’s STILL an oft-too-heard question. You got up the escalators past Dragon-i, where you’ll see some of the world’s worst people beginning their evening of pre-booked tables and showy liquor purchases in lieu of a personality. Once you’ve had your fill of staring into a void of nothingness you carry on up to Cafe O, turn left and there it is! The EXACT OPPOSITE of everything you’ve just seen down at D-i.
By this point you should hear perfect indie music cued by the fair hands of DJs Mike Mystery, Jane Blondell and Yuen Chi Chung and The Dark Spark, who will be playing her final HK set before tootling off to Australia.

So go go go. Drinking, dancing and smiling are order of the day.
It starts at 10pm.

Here’s the Facebook event page!