Peel Fresco

Tonight I went to the Peel Fresco's open mic night (which are held every Tuesday), so I´ll write this in English in order to make it more like a review instead of just another entry so other people who might Google it may find it useful. I wish I had found something like this before I went, although in the end things worked out pretty good for me. The Peel Fresco is a lounge bar in Peel Street (duh) near Lan Kuai Fong. It is a small bar which holds jazz gigs every now and then, pretty much a great place to chill if you're up for some good music and a nice glass of wine. The downside to this is the prices, but considering the zone it is in, well, it's pretty much what you get everywhere near there. Anywho, I knew about their open mic nights so I decided to give it a try this week. Here's the thing that I wished someone had told me earlier: what people play are their own version of different cover songs. That's it. Everything since Beyoncé, U2, Beatles, Santana, Chuck Berry, you name it. People just jump up and decide song what to play next. Having the great musicians the Peel Fresco has every weekend, I was expecting some of them to pop up and just improvise, y'know - someone coming up with a random groove or a riff and building it up from there. But no, instead it felt like someone hijacked the microphone (and the stage with it) and played whatever he felt like, although the choosing process was democratic. I was kinda bummed out, not really wanting to play anymore, but I still gave it a shot. When I stepped out of the drum set I got some compliments by the people there and even the staff. What I'm trying to get at is that the place itself give you this cozy feeling, but it's really the people who give it this friendly atmosphere. So yeah, got to meet some good old chaps and all in all had a good evening, even though I doubt I´ll come back on a Tuesday. Cover jamming is not for me.

I was told that it's on Sunday nights where all the best HK musicians gather there and jazz it up. I'll make sure to check it out before I leave... hopefully they'll let me play haha.

Also, if you're into improvised jams, I´d recommend 99 Sense, which is just a couple of streets below Peel Fresco. They may not have the best musicians in HK, but hey, they (sometimes) do a decent job.


aaaaaand I'm out like a trout.
peace, love and light.