4 overseas bands will tour Seoul this week
Qu, a Japanese rock band / Courtesy of Qu
By Jon Dunbar
Zandari Festa starts this Friday, but there are plenty of other opportunities in Seoul to see overseas bands from Japan, Hungary, Madagascar and the U.S. without paying for a Zandari armband.
Qu, an instrumental rock band from Kobe, Japan, comes here for two weekday shows. The group is fronted by a beatboxer and combines elements of hip-hop, electronica, ambient, hard rock and emo to create a truly unique sound, according to organizers.
Tonight they perform at Channel1969 in Yeonnam-dong, near Hongik University Station, with opening act Guten Birds. On Thursday they perform at Strange Fruit with Machines, Magna Fall and Tallulah Bankhead.
Also on Thursday, Hungarian “speed-folk freak-punk” band Bohemian Betyars has a show at Club SHARP in Mangwon-dong, west of the Hongdae area. The Betyars are in Korea for a Zandari appearance at Rolling Hall on Sunday, but first they’ll play with legendary Joseon punk band Crying Nut and 2tone ska band the Rulerz.
The Dizzy Brains, a garage rock band from Madagascar, are also in town for a Zandari appearance on Sunday, but they’ll have one side gig tonight at Thunderhorse Tavern in Gyeongnidan. They’re playing there with Galaxy Express, one of Korea’s most-talked-about bands.
On Sept. 29 and 30, U.S. hardcore punk band Obstruction has two shows in Seoul. The two shows come on the tail end of their 15-date Korea-Japan tour. For the band’s guitarist Kang Yong-jun the visit is a return to his home country. Kang previously fronted the influential hardcore punk bands Banran and Join the Circle and was the original guitarist of Things We Say. He also played in the less influential band Konorrhea. Banran last performed here in 2014 before Kang moved to Texas.
Obstruction plays at Club SHARP this Friday with local bands Seoul Dolmangchi, Fecundation, Tear Gas and Cerkkyu. Their second show the next day is at GBN Live House in Mullae-dong, southwestern Seoul, with Find the Spot, the Kitsches, Little Puppy Princess and No Shelter.
It is likely as Korea begins an unprecedented 10-day break that even more concerts will take place over the coming weekend.
For more information about all four visiting bands, go to facebook.com/ koreanpunkandhardcore and click the “Events” tab.