Primal Scream bring the house down at Clockenflap

Primal Scream brought the first day of Hong Kong’s Clockenflap festival to a close last week, with a greatest hits set at the Kowloon Waterfront Park.

The show marked the band’s first appearance in Asia with new permanent bassist Simone Butler, who was officially anounced as Mani’s replacement in October.

After Bobby Gillespie greeted the 10,000 strong crowd at the beautifully located festival in the heart of Hong Kong’s iconic Victoria harbour, the band opened with their new ten-minute song ‘2012,’ before running through a tight, hour-long greatest hit set including ‘Swastika Eyes,’ ‘Movin’ On Up’ and a riotously received ‘Loaded’.

Prior to their appearance, Azealia Banks gave the Chinese crowd a taste of New York hip-hop. Her hour long performance, with DJ Cosmo and two backing dancers dressed head to toe in black, included new single ‘Jumanji,’ ‘1991’ and ‘Liquorish,’ which the rapper described as “the Azealia anthem”, before rounding things off with YouTube smash ‘212’.

Other international artists who appeared on the first day of the event included Lucy Rose, and Brooklyn funk troupe !!!, whose singer Nic Offer told the crowd, “People ask us what we think of this festival… duh.. just look at it. We usually play shitty fucking warehouses, this is beautiful!”

Now in its fourth year, Clockenflap was the first music festival to take place in Hong Kong and is credited for the pioneering role it has played in nurturing the Chinese indie and alternative music scenes. As well as bringing international artists to Chinese audiences, it featured top billing sets from native indie rockers Chochukmo, the eccentric, Flaming Lips-esque G La G La Di Guo, and Philippine punks Sandwich.

Primal Scream played:

‘2012’
‘Swastika Eyes’
‘Movin’ On Up’
‘Slip Inside This House’
‘Accelerator’
‘Damaged’
‘Relativity’
‘Shoot Speed/Kill Light’
‘Loaded’
‘Come Together’
‘Country Girl’
‘Jailbird’
‘Rocks’

by Wallace McTavish

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