Sound Day

Sound Day ended up being pretty awesome. Cecilia, Hanna Lee, Patrick and me were the group for the music extravaganza last Friday. Every third Friday of each month, about 10 different live venues for music in Hongdae open up and charge one flat entrance price. So we each paid 15,000 won or 15 bucks and got to go into each club and a free drink voucher. We decided to start at a jazz club first. There were two on the list, but for some reason "Watercock" seemed to be more interesting of a club than "Evans" so we checked it out. It was pretty awesome music but the loungy sit down place was too packed, and standing in the back was only fun for about 3 songs.
We decided to leave and headed to a punk club next. It was Club Spot and the band playing was called "Suck Stuff". It was really awesome. There were a good amount of punks dancing around and pushing each other in the "mosh pit" although it hardly compared to some I've seen in the states. One of the craziest guys rocked a mohawk and a kilt! I think he's the first true Korean punk I've seen since I've been here. The band only played for a few songs before they got off stage, so we enjoyed a beer and headed onto the next place.

Drug was the next spot on our agenda. (Notice the very interesting choice of names for places and bands) As we entered the place, that went underground, there was a balcony where you could look down at the band. There was a band finishing up that drew a huge crowd. I only got to hear one song, oh but it was worth it. The lead singer had this crazy high voice. I don't even know what it reminded me of. But it was just great to see a Korean rock out like that.

Here's a short video I was able to catch of them:



We waited around for the next band. They ended up being really cool. They were this rock/rap group. Two guys were rapping... It kind of reminded us of Linkin Park or Limp Bizkit. It's also interesting to look at the crowd at a time like this. Some were just the average Korean, some were foreign, some rockers, etc. But, the sparking standout fan of this club was the girl rocking the face mask. Sidenote: Koreans like to wear face masks outside to avoid cold air / pollution / just to look hilarious. I'm guessing this girl was sick, but I couldn't pass up attempting to take a picture of her.

Next stop, Freebird to catch a wannabe 80's hairband and be singled out as the only foreigners in the club. Kind of embarrassing but check out the lead singer's hair:

After that, Club Funky Funky for some funky music and lots of dancing. This was probably the highlight club of the night. I don't know if it's because of the music or because of all the alcohol I consumed. You be the judge.



One stop later was Club Unit... This was a major letdown. No one was there and the so-called live music DJ simply played all of the regular hit music any DJ at a club would play. But, we got to dance in front of the club's pretty lights.

That was about the end of Sound Day for us. There were some post- Sound Day festivities, but I cannot remember all of what had happened. All in all, it was a great outing and I will for sure partake in a few more in the upcoming months.