Hidden Agenda was a live house located in the industrial area of Kwun Tong, Hong Kong. It opened in January 2009 and has since then relocated twice due to rising rents and the violation of permitted land uses (that excludes the operation of cultural venues in industrial buildings). The live house staged its final show in July 2017 and was officially closed in October 2017.
Recorded Here
Recorded or filmed here, from this catalogue:
- Galneryus - THE SENSE OF OUR LIVES - Galneryus, released September 9, 2016 (
VPXQ-79008), from the "JUST PRAY TO THE SKY" TOUR 2016. Filmed At.
History
From the en.wikipedia article Hidden Agenda (live house) (CC BY-SA 4.0), revision 1372186611.
Background
The current venue is about 4,000 sqf (approximately 370 sqm) and can hold up to 300 people. It is often referred to as the Hong Kong version of the legendary CBGB in New York. Hidden Agenda stages around 60 shows every year across genres such as rock, heavy metal, jazz, folk, punk, post-rock, reggae, visual rock, hip-hop, experimental noise, techno etc.
Licensing Difficulties
Having originally been a rehearsal space for a local band, the original Hidden Agenda quickly developed into a place for local and touring indie bands to perform. Kwun Tong was a popular space for this as many large spaces were available in the industrial suburb, with landlords willing to accept musicians as tenants after the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong made finding tenants for such spaces difficult. In 2011, Hidden Agenda was involved in a dispute with the Hong Kong Lands Department. The department had received a complaint that the venue was operating outside of the terms of its lease, and the department was forced to investigate.
Services and Facilities
In addition to offering a venue for performances, promotion, and other related services, Hidden Agenda also contains a small shop on the premises which sells CDs and other merchandise from local Hong Kong bands.
Notable Performances
Bands that performed in Hidden Agenda include: Anti-Flag, Gallows, Drowning Pool, HammerFall, Kalmah, Sick of It All, Caspian, Fucked Up, Queen Sea Big Shark, FM3, Jan Linton, Hedgehog, Carsick Cars, Nova Heart, My Little Airport, King Ly Chee, 22 Cats, The Bollands, This Will Destroy You, No One Remains Virgin, 意色樓 (An Id Signal), Tux, Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O., King Khan & the BBQ Show and Residence A (A公馆). A number of heavy metal bands of varying genres had performed, including Vader, Warbringer, Suicide Silence, Kalmah, HammerFall, Evocation (aka 招魂), Fleshgod Apocalypse, Charmcharmchu, Synergy, Arkona (Russian: Аркона) and Tainted Dickman.
Sources
- Wikidata entity Q10850919.
- en.wikipedia, Hidden Agenda (live house) (revision 1372186611), CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photograph: Hidden Agenda Dreamscape live concert 2015.jpg on Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, by Azchael from Maichingen, Germany.
