When good intentions meet good bands, a couple things happen. First, some money and goodwill are raised. Second, more than a few people get together to enjoy the celebrations, possibly mingling with those trying to do some good. While the party went fine, there were a few areas that could be improved for next time.

10,000 won earned you a stamp on the hand and a bottle of Smirnoff Ice, while raffle tickets were available for a number of prizes. When asked, however, neither volunteer could say when the drawing would be...

Before long, Rubber Duckie came up to play as the first act:




This female Korean trio started with a soft cover of "Over the Rainbow" before kicking it into punk gear. Their selection of covers was interesting, but curious - Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" made the crowd cheer.

During the break, I went upstairs to check out the organizations that the funds are being raised for:



Some representatives from the organizations receiving the funds - 꿈을키우는집, an orphanage in Suwon, and 우리집, a North Korean refugee center in Ansan. That none of the representatives appeared downstairs was a little disappointing...

The next band up was Kachisan - a loud foreign trio:




Their style of rock got the crowd going - a loud show, but some of the better rock I've heard in awhile.

Since Korea made it to the round of 16 in the World Cup, the game had to be shown. It's like a Korean law or something:



Although Korea lost 2-1, the crowd stuck around to see the Rock Tigers - a Korean rockabilly band:





The Rock Tigers didn't disappoint, although I'm looking forward to hearing some new songs (or even some covers!) from them.

Next up was The Noise - a foreign trio:





Their original rock music kept the crowd jumping and energetic.

Last up was Easy Boy - a Korean quartet that played a few covers familiar to the crowd:



This guy was intense.

This guy didn't show quite as much emotion, but the music they played was one of the highlights. Between Michael Jackson's "Bad" and Jet's "Are you gonna be my girl" were a few Korean original songs.

By now it's 3am, and the time of the night (combined with a drink or four), the Lady in Red and I were getting tired. The raffle had yet to happen, and we were ready to go - sorry, but we're not incredibly interested in learning more about volunteering or picking up a brochure at that time. Even as we left - almost 4 hours after arriving - we had no idea when the raffle was going to be - I dare say few people even knew the names of the two organizations being supported. When you separate music and cause, the vast majority of people will only care about one or the other, not both. Still, a fun time and one worth attending.

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© Chris Backe - 2010

This post was originally published on my blog, Chris in South Korea. If you are reading this on another website and there is no linkback or credit given, you are reading an UNAUTHORIZED FEED.