(RockPassion.Vn) – Hanoi’s infamous C.A.M.A collective are set to head south this December bringing a weekend of international talent to rock audiences in HCMC. C.A.M.A. teams up with the malcontents behind Saigon’s favourite punk rock explosion to present the Hey Ho Let’s Go Punk Festival III this December 12.

Poster of Hey Ho Les't Go Punk III

In a pitched battle for stage supremacy, the third incarnation of the festival sets Saigon stalwarts Bad Neighbour against northern noise-mongers the Offensive, topped off by the first-ever Vietnam performance by the undisputed leaders of China’s rock revolution P.K.14.

P.K.14 band

Flagged by Time Magazine as one of the top 5 bands to watch in Asia, P.K.14 are the undisputed leaders of China’s new wave, the raw, beating heart of a new generation of rock revolutionaries. “Loud, raw and searching – theirs is the sound of modern China” (Time magazine). Since forming in Nanjing back in 1997, the band has recorded four albums, played innumerable live shows around China and the world, and influenced almost every act to emerge from Beijing’s grimy underbelly over the past five years. Drawing comparisons to everyone from Pixies to the Smiths to the Stooges, PK14 are at once thoughtful, wild and uncompromising – making for an unmissable introduction to the middle kingdom’s vibrant musical underground.

Bad Neighbour band

An audience favourite in HCMC for over four years, Bad Neighbour have morphed from Latin rock band to well-oiled punk machine for the two Hey Ho Let’s Go punk festivals held to date. Led by Argentinian singer and guitarist Claudio Duek (the man behind the original Hey Ho concept), with singers John Forster (UK), Dave (AU) and Chi (VN), guitarist Duy (VN), bass player Phuong (VN), and drummer Win (VN), the band delivers a high intensity set of punk rock favourites guaranteed to leave you begging for more.

The Offensive band

Rocking the north for almost 10 years, the Offensive were founded in 2001 as an answer to the polite acoustic groups that made up the then music scene in the capital. Featuring vocalist Paul Gilchrest (former lead singer of seminal Australian punk act Exploding White Mice), along with Dave Payne on guitar (AU), Ha Dinh Huy (VN) on drums and Steve Christensen (US) on bass, the band capture the spirit of the early punk rock days, making it impossible to escape an Offensive show without your ears ringing, covered in beer and soaked in sweat.

Hey Ho Let’s Go Punk Festival III, December 12th 2009 (21h), The Hi-Fi Saigon 2nd fl. 69 Dong Khoi St. Tickets 150.000 VND

Hey Ho Let’s Go III promises an all-stops-out aural assault not to be forgotten – Saigon, you have been warned!