It was a good weekend

C's visit has been so far so good.  We stayed up until 5am on Friday night gossiping about old friends and enemies.  I only returned to my former home a couple of times since graduating and moving away but he's been back once per year and has kept in touch with our classmates.  We laughed about how many of our classmates married each other or at least reproduced together.  I'm not sure if other schools had similar outcomes but we thought that it seemed unusual how incestuous our old classmates have been.  If I played the Kevin Bacon game (which by the way SB is 1 degree) then within six degrees C and I are connected to most of our school and definitely everyone in our social groups.  It reminded me of a demonstration in sex ed. class where the teacher showed us how a couple of students with an STI could infect half of the class within a few exchanges.

On Saturday night after my rugby match we made our way to the Fringe to catch some live music.  SB's friend and fellow hockey player is part of a band called League of Gentlemen, and they are probably my favorite band in Hong Kong.  The show had three bands playing: The Bollands, League of Gentlemen, and the Fat Jokers. It took me a while to finally hear League of Gentlemen because they didn't play very frequently and when I tried to see them at the Wanch, it was packed and a busted speaker made the music a bit excruciating.  When I finally made it into another show I was blown away.  Saturday's show was probably the best performance that I have seen from them.  They opened with some newer, more melodious music, which I won't bother trying to describe since I am a buffoon but it was exciting to hear a slight departure from their last album and I loved their previous sound. The album was ridiculously easy to buy from their website, which I appreciate.

We arrived in the middle of the first band's set and I wish that my rugby game had ended sooner because the Bollands were a revelation.  Have you had one of those nights where you go to catch some live music, expecting something decent because you have gotten to know who you like and know which groupings should produce a good vibe, and then you walk into the venue and the music is so much more?  We walked into the Fringe and I was immediately taken by the Bollands.  You can sample their music on their website.  We signed up to their mailing list first thing in the morning. Oh, they were fun to hear and watch.

I quite liked the Fat Jokers as well.  We weren't able to hear a lot of their set because we had to get C back to the ship so I hope to hear them again soon.  One of the musicians was extremely good with a harmonica.  The band had a small brass section as well as various other props that made for a really fun show.

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