Saigon Punk Chronicles : Enter the Year of the Dragon

Another year end party and this one was a banger. I didn’t catch all the bands, school night ya know, but it was one of the funnest shows I’ve been to in ages. By the time Desolated went on, kids were hanging from the rafters and the stage was invisible under the sing along pile ons. Fucking amazing. When I first moved to Saigon, shows felt very different than they do now in the best possible way. It feels like a proper hardcore scene, though with some marked differences from the scene I grew up in. First, none of that stupid scene elitism. Everyone here, at least in my experience, is so down to earth, approachable, and welcoming. Secondly, the representation of women is far more than when I grew up. It’s so good to see.

The line up consisted of Desolated from the UK, Moneybag 1327 out of Kuala Lumpur, District 105, Diarsia, Elbow Drop, and Pizza Dua. I caught Diarsia, District 105, Moneybag 1327 and Desolated, so my apologies to the other bands!

Desolated

Moneybag 1327

District 105

Diarsia

Stage Dives and High Fives!

Live Music Recap: The Black Lips and Skeleton Goode

Last week, Atlanta hometown heroes, The Black Lips played a small one off show here in Saigon after their gig at Coracle Music Fest up in Mui Ne. It was all a bit surreal as I’ve seen The Black Lips more times than I can probably count and it brought back memories of beer-soaked ridiculous shenanigans years ago when I lived in the A. It was so good being able to indulge in some nostalgia while partying with the Saigon homies. Skeleton Goode opened up with their take on Psych rock and absolutely killed it. Super solid opening set. The Black Lips followed and played to an increasingly rowdy crowd as the night went on. Booties shook, rugs were cut, good times all around.

I only took my Fuji x100s anticipating maybe a few beers flying and wanted to avoid cleaning the Sony kit after night of rocking out, but it turns out Saigon has a bit more manners than Atlanta so everything stayed dry. Shooting with the Fuji was ….. not ideal. While this little camera is completely capable in travel and most other situations, it is not exactly fluent in autofocusing in low light situations. That being said, I loved the rawness of these frames and they definitely matched the vibe of the show. It felt like the DIY punk shows I grew up going to nearly every week. I wish more of these type shows happened in Saigon , but based on some info I heard recently, this may be changing in the near future. Fingers crossed! Now onto the images!

Skeleton Goode

The Black Lips

Saigon Punk Chronicles : Year End Party

With such a bizarro year wrapping and the quickly upcoming lunar new year, this year’s End of the Year Party was bound to be a banger. I caught all but the first band who started early (this may be a punk rock first) so apologies for not having images for them. The bill consisted of Diarsia, Jaigon Orchestra, Đá Số Tới, District 105, Taiyoken, Do it Dad, and Kaali. Musically it ranged from pop punk to metal to hardcore, so a great mix of styles and people showing up at the show.

I’d be completely daft if I didn’t mention how wild it is that we are in a country where we can actually have shows safely while most every where else on the planet is going into lockdown. Granted things may not be this way for long, but the Vietnamese authorities have done a damn fine job containing the ‘Rona up until now, so fingers crossed that this latest flare up dies down in a hurry. But enough of my rambling, on to the images.

Diarsia

District 105

Đá Số Tới

Kaali

Taiyoken

Jaigon Orchestra

Moshin’, Stage Dives, and other Shenanigans

Moving forward I’ll try to include the flyer for posterity, so we’ll start here. Check out the cool work by Vui Qá

Saigon Punk Chronicles: Year End Party with Slaughter to Prevail.

This year’s pre-Tet show lined up Russian heavy hitters Slaughter to Prevail and a whole host of regional support with Saigon’s Knife Sticking Head, Pick Supplier, District 105, and Infecated and Cambodia’s Doch Chkae all bringing the lunar year to a close with a bang.

As I got there, I caught the last couple of songs from Infecated, so I missed Knife Sticking Head and Pick Supplier, unfortunately. I’m sure they crushed it as they always get the kids moving. I’d never seen Infecated, and their blend of death metal brought the ruckus. Heads banged, horns were thrown up, breakdowns were moshed to…

Phnom Penh’s Doch Chkae took the stage following Infecated and straight up destroyed. I hope they play in Saigon sooner than later. I have a feeling there are much bigger things in store for these kids.

Next up, the homies, District 105 did their thing with their beat down hardcore moshy goodness. Circle pits, finger pointing, and a stage dive or 6.

Slaughter to Prevail rounded the show out. I don’t quite understand how their singer Alex gets his voice to do what it does, but it’s ridiculous. Couple that with super heavy breakdowns, crazy blast beats and a damn good stage presence and you always have a recipe for good times. That said, interestingly, their guitarist was absent and the guitar was a recording. Hopefully that’s not an indicator of any permanent changes and just a matter of temporary “shit happening.” Either way, still a great set and I can imagine it would be that much better once the guitar issue is sorted.

Can’t wait for what the new year brings. Let’s get it.

Infecated

Doch Chkae

District 105

Slaughter to Prevail

Saigon Punk Chronicles : We’re Loud Fest: Vietnam

Last weekend Slovenly Records’ We’re Loud Fest descended into Saigon featuring acts from all over the globe. From local hardcore heroes, District 105, to Switzerland’s The Monsters, We’re Loud Fest spanned 4 days and multiple venues in Saigon. Unfortunately, I only got to attend the Saturday matinee, but having an international punk fest come to Saigon is super rad to say the least.

That said, curiously absent from the crowd was the local Vietnamese scene I’ve seen grow over the past couple of years. Yes, a few local bands played, but the faces dominating the crowd weren’t Vietnamese. Saigon definitely has the scene to support this type of event and it would be stellar to see more of the local scene show up and represent. Moreso, a local promoter organizing something like this in the future in addition to supporting touring festivals would be incredible. And before anyone mentions the “fest” few years ago, a Jagermeister sponsored event with PR girls selling energy drinks doesn’t quite cut it. The DIY scene here is more than capable of putting on these types of events without big corporate sponsors.

Anyway, enough of my soapbox and back to regularly scheduled programming. On Saturday afternoon, I showed up around 3pm as Saigon’s District 105 was doing their sound check. Having seen these guys on multiple occasions, it’s always fun times with moshy breakdowns and finger-pointing singalongs. D105’s crowd seemed to be just waking up, and it took a few songs to get people nodding their heads and getting involved. Then again, it was 3pm on a Saturday. The boys still played a solid set and showed everyone what Saigon has to offer in the form of home-grown talent.

Up next was the Saigon-based American/South African duo of Timekiller. Their blend of power-violence and doom was enough to peel the paint off the walls. Sadly, this was their last show in Saigon as their singer, Garrett, is moving back to the States. Boo! They do have a new record coming the early part of next year, so silver linings, right?

Gutara Kyo out of Japan took over after Timekiller and from the very first note, jaws dropped and a chorus of “holy shit” rumbled through the crowd. These guys absolutely destroyed and laid waste to everything in their path. With the urgency of a meth’d up troupe of rodeo clowns, Gutara Kyo’s garage punk on steroids came to get the party started. Overheard was quite possibly the quote of the year - “I heard their singer say if their show is good, he shits his pants.” Thankfully the ghost of GG Allin’s past didn’t make an appearance and the venue remained turd free. If we’re going to talk about ghosts, It felt more like the ghost of Los Crudos in the form of Gutara Kyo's epic set.

Switzerland’s The Monsters took the stage following Gutara Kyo. I’d never listened to The Monsters before Saturday, so as these middle aged red suit-clad gentlemen set up their gear while easy-listening tunes played in the background, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Yeah, the first chords threw any notions of yacht rock out the window. Thrashy garage punk rock ‘n roll blasted through the sound system and everyone finally found their dancing shoes. Such a fun show.

I had to leave right after The Monsters, so I missed Hanoi’s Cut Lon, but I’m sure the Pokemon dressed outfit did justice to rounding out the matinee. If you’re not familiar, go check this post from the last time they played Saigon. All in all, definitely a good time and I can’t wait to see more shows like this. Saigon, stand up!

District 105

Timekiller

Gutara Kyo

The Monsters

Since you made it this far, feel free to share this to social, comment, send good vibes or gifts and I’ll see you at the next show.

Saigon Punk Chronicles : Year End Fest - The E Killer, District 105, 7Uppercuts, Razor Leaf, Stupiz Kiz, Tariot

With the lunar new year approaching, First and Last Records held their year-end fest showcasing nearly their entire roster as well as the Singaporean melodic hardcore outfit, Tariot. To begin, DIY shows starting more or less on time here in Saigon blows my mind. With everything else here being 'time-flexible', and the habitual lateness of punk shows in general, this punctuality is noteworthy to say the least. High fives for that. That said, maybe I’ve become accustomed to things starting more. whimsically. So, unfortunately, I missed The E-killer. Next time, fellas.

The rest of the line up was a mix of pop punk, moshy breakdowns, melodic hardcore and a rather hilarious pop punk cover of 'I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.' The place was packed with over 200 people. Hats off to Soma Art Cafe for cranking the AC to keep it from turning into the usual sweatbox we’ve all experienced at shows in the past. Stage dives, high fives, and ridiculous sing alongs made for one of the most fun shows I’ve been to in a long time.

If this is your first time visiting the site, documenting the punk scene in Saigon is a part of a long-term project of mine and some of my favorite shots can be seen here. Make sure to keep frequenting the page for updates in the future. You could even subscribe to the RSS feed if you’re feeling fancy. Now on to the images.

District 105

7Uppercuts

Razor Leaf

Stupiz Kiz

Tariot

Since you made it this far, feel free to share this to social, comment, send good vibes or gifts and I’ll see you at the next show.