It’s been a nice stretch for music in Hongdae lately — or at least for my kind of music. So I thought I might mention a few groups I’ve seen and venues I’ve been to.
Back on Feb. 22, I caught Hwang Bo-ryung=Smacksoft and Vigulgi Ooyoo playing at Strange Fruit, accompanied by bellydancers Eshe and her troupe. While I find Smacksoft a bit uneven, when their songs are good, they are very, very good. And this particular show was a good one — capped off with a great performance of their song “Horizon.”
No pics of Vidulgi Ooyoo, sadly, but it is always good catching their post-rock music.
On Feb. 23, Mudaeruk had a really interesting show — classical music, featuring a string nonet and a few horns.
It was a pretty accessible show, featuring Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for String Orchestra, some Elgar, and Ennio Morricone. But it was well done, and the acoustics of Mudaeruk were surprisingly good for chamber music.
They also had Bach’s Unaccompanied Cello Concerto transcribed for viola, which has long been a favorite piece of mine, although something you don’t get to hear very often, so that made me quite happy.
That’s Kim Won-tae playing, by the way.
Mudaeruk says it plans on making classical Sunday showcases a regular thing beginning in March, so if that sort of music is your thing, I recommend checking it out. Personally, I’m really happy to have more variety in Hongdae, and classical is especially welcomed (as Korea’s major classical venues are just too inconvenient for where I live and my work schedule).
Then last night, I was back to Strange Fruit, this time for some soul and funk. The night started with Soul Train, a group that’s been around a few years, but I had never checked out before. Dumb me. They were quite good, doing a mix of American soul classics and their own compositions. Very groovy.
And after that, Gopchang Jeongol played, the ’70s-style band fronted by the crazy-cool Sato Yukie. I can’t believe I’ve been watching Sato Yukie play live for a decade now. But he’s still plenty of fun.
Sorry for the terrible photos. But I hope they give you a sense of what the shows were like.
More music tonight, as both Club Ta and Soundholic are hosting shows for bands heading to SXSW next week…
