The Wandering Rock Band
Like many people in Hong Kong, I first heard about Red Noon through a YouTube video that showed them rocking out on their iPhones in the MTR. At first I thought it was a gimmick, something like the iPhone orchestras that have become popular lately, but later, after I met the band, they explained that it was actually part of their overall schtick. While they spend as much time in the studio and on stage as any other band, Red Noon also like to go in public and play for strangers — not as buskers who stand on a streetcorner waiting for an audience, but as travelling musicians who actively seek listeners.
Last November, I followed Red Noon as they wandered around the pedestrian shopping district of Tsuen Wan, not far from their band room. They approached people with a rather ambiguous greeting — “Would you like us to play you a song?” — and their audience was usually sceptical, if not downright apprehensive, as they started playing. But Red Noon’s songs are catchy and accessible; after 30 seconds of listening the audience would usually give in and start dancing to the beat.
Street performers are becoming increasingly common in Hong Kong, especially on shopping streets that have been pedestrianized over the past decade. In a typical fashion, the government sees a problem where there is none, and it is planning to create designated street performance zones, with the implication that street performance outside of these zones would be restricted. (Even worse, the performances inside the zones would have to be vetted by the government.) Hopefully, even if that becomes the case, bands like Red Noon will keep wandering.
Tags: Hong Kong, Street Performance, Streetlife
