Changing the record: Pham Anh Khoa, the leader of Pham Anh Khoa &PAK Band, hopes to set a precedent for the Vietnamese rock music scene. — VNS Photo

HCM CITY (VNS) — Four well-known rock bands hope to take HCM City by storm tomorrow.

Unlimited, Microwave, Pham Anh Khoa&PAK Band, and Bui Gio will be joined by Phuong Thanh, Minh Thu, Siu Black, Ngoc Tuyen, and Kim Loan sisters, who are among the city's few women rock singers.

In a city where people's taste usually runs to pop and dance music, they are expected to perform in front of at least 2,000 fans at the Lan Anh Club.

Their message will be: "Rock is freedom. Rock never dies".

Pham Anh Khoa, leader of Pham Anh Khoa and PAK Band, said: "Through our event, we hope to encourage rock musicians in a music market dominated by pop and dance."

A television celebrity, Khoa declined offers from leading music producers and entertainment companies who wanted to promote him as a pop idol.

"I like rock music. It is exciting and fierce like us, like young people," Khoa, who has been working with his band for five years, said.

In 2009 he met and signed a contract with Music Faces, a company run by another young musician, Duc Tri, who has since been a pillar of strength for Khoa.

Khoa and his producer do not buy into the conception that rock music is too intense for Vietnamese.

Unlike other rockers who compose and perform songs that blend eastern and western music and traditional and modern, Khoa's band "sing our own music".

The concert will feature soft rock, including some of their most popular works like Ra Khoi (Going To The Sea), Con Hac Giay (The Paper Crane), and Dung Nhin Lai (Don't Look Back), mostly created by young artists like Tuan Khanh and Vo Thien Thanh.

The highlight will be a performance by Unlimited and Microwave, who have worked hard to create a glamorous image for themselves.

"The members of Microwave are as wild as American rockers, but are warm and friendly, not weird," Tran Minh Phong, a fan of the band, said.

"I hope on Saturday they introduce a completely new style of Vietnamese rock music.

"They should be different from other bands and singers. That's how they can attract fans."

Microwave performs metal rock and promises to be spectacular tomorrow night.

"We have dreamed of Vietnamese rock music and have worked hard to fulfil our dream," Tran Ngoc Tung, guitarist and leader of Microwave, said.

The show will open at 8pm at the club at 291 Cach Mang Thang Tam Street, District 10. — VNS