Underground show brings together 11 bands in Sinchon

Matthew Gamble is promoting an 11-band underground show at Baby Doll in western Seoul’s Sinchon area on Saturday. It is his debut as a promoter and features punk, hardcore and other mixed genres. He says the bill grew after more bands asked to join and that cheaper entry for minors is meant to make shows more accessible.

Tickets cost 20,000 won in advance, 25,000 won at the door, and 10,000 won for minors.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and the show starts at 5 p.m.

Each band is scheduled to play for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Gamble said he had filmed every band on the first show in some capacity before booking them.

Published Oct 5, 2026 5:30 am KST

Matthew Gamble records a show at Spin and Grind in western Seoul, Feb. 15. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

A show at western Seoul's top punk venue Baby Doll brings together 11 bands Saturday.

The expansive, diverse and yet reasonably affordable show is also Matthew Gamble's debut as a promoter.

"A lot of people in the underground punk and hardcore scene in Korea have also been asking me to put on shows for a while, so eventually everything just collided together," he said.

Gamble, the proprietor behind streetwear brand Diazable , has been working hard to promote Korea's underground scene for several years now. He can often be seen at shows filming the bands for his YouTube channel, Diazable Music Breakdown .

"I’ve filmed every band on this first show in some capacity," he said. "That made it a lot easier to approach them because I’d already had some kind of interaction with them before. I wasn’t just some random person suddenly asking them to play a show."

He spent a week teasing out the bands he booked, naming them one at a time twice per day. The bill includes goth doom band Lucy Valentine , metal band Varim and punk band Paper Cruise .

But still, why 11 of them?

"I didn’t really think about that until all the bands had confirmed and I started telling other people about the lineup," he said. "A lot of bands hit me up after I announced the show, and there were also some bands I already wanted to work with who reached out and were down to collaborate. So it really got out of hand before I knew it."

The bands represent a diverse range of sounds, which runs counter to the way shows often work, with the bands all playing the same genre and sharing influences, which can get a little monotonous.

"I think when I was younger, I didn’t really see the appeal of that. If I went to a show and the bands were all different, I probably would have thought, 'Why would I want to see all this other stuff?'” he said.

"But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve really started to appreciate mixed bills. You’re getting something different with every set, and that variation makes the whole experience more exciting. With art — and honestly, even with life — pulling inspiration from different places can make things more vibrant and enjoyable."

A poster for the show at Baby Doll on Saturday / Courtesy of Diazable Booking

Tickets cost 20,000 won in advance, or 25,000 won at the door. In order to encourage younger people to go, entry costs 10,000 won for minors.

"I’ve just seen other people doing it over the past few years, and I think it’s a great idea because everyone is in a different economic situation," Gamble said. "Not everyone can afford expensive concerts or other creative outlets, so making shows accessible gives them a chance to actually participate. I’m poor as fuck, so I understand that sometimes you just don’t have the extra money to spend on a show."

Recently, the underground scene has been increasingly catching on with younger people.

"I honestly thought I was going crazy at first. I’d go to shows and think, 'I don’t know anyone here.' Or I’d look around and think, 'Why do all these young kids look like scene kids from MySpace?'”

Gamble thinks the sudden generation change is a combination of factors.

"The younger people coming into the scene are reaching out to their friends and peers and starting bands, putting on things themselves and creating their own little communities," he said.

He also pointed to the retro Y2K interest that's been strong lately.

"A lot of the punk, hardcore and emo culture from 20 years ago incorporated things like CDs, handheld cameras, video cameras, DIY artwork and physical media in a way that feels nostalgic now," he said. "These kids didn’t necessarily get to experience that culture the first time around, so maybe there’s something exciting about discovering it now."

Gamble had one more hypothesis for why younger people are getting into underground genres like punk and hardcore again.

"Part of me hopes Korean culture has started letting go of some of the strings attached to mainstream music and that people are getting tired of everything being so polished and want something raw, sweaty and genuine," he said.

In order to fit all 11 bands into one night, Gamble will have to stick to a pretty strict schedule. Doors open at 4:30 p.m., and the show starts at 5 p.m. He added that each band will play for only about 15-20 minutes.

"Play the hits. Less talking, more music. Give the people what they want," he said. "Nonstop energy."

Visit linktr.ee/diazable or follow @diazablebooking on Instagram for more information.

马修·甘布尔（Matthew Gamble）将于周六在首尔西部新村的Baby Doll酒吧举办一场包含11支乐队的地下演出。这是他首次担任演出推广人，演出曲目涵盖朋克、硬核以及其他多种音乐风格。他表示，由于更多乐队主动要求加入，演出阵容有所增加，而未成年人票价的降低旨在让更多人有机会欣赏到精彩的演出。

门票预售价格为 20,000 韩元，现场购票价格为 25,000 韩元，未成年人票价为 10,000 韩元。

下午4:30开门，5点演出开始。

每个乐队预计演奏时间约为 15 至 20 分钟。

Gamble表示，在预定演出之前，他已经以某种方式拍摄了第一期节目中的每一支乐队。

发布于2026年10月5日 上午5:30（韩国标准时间）

2月15日，马修·甘布尔在首尔西部的Spin and Grind录制节目。（韩国时报，乔恩·邓巴摄）

周六，首尔西部顶级朋克音乐场地 Baby Doll 将举办一场汇聚 11 支乐队的演出。

这场规模宏大、内容丰富、价格又相对合理的展览，同时也是马修·甘布尔作为推广人的首次亮相。

“韩国地下朋克和硬核音乐圈的很多人也一直邀请我举办演出，所以最终一切都水到渠成了，”他说。

街头服饰品牌 Diazable 的创始人 Gamble 多年来一直致力于推广韩国地下音乐圈。他经常出现在演出现场，为他的 YouTube 频道 Diazable Music Breakdown 拍摄乐队表演。

“我以某种方式拍摄了首场演出中的每一支乐队，”他说。“这让我更容易与他们接触，因为我之前已经和他们有过一些互动。我不是突然冒出来邀请他们演出的陌生人。”

他花了一周时间仔细敲定预定的乐队名单，每天两次，每次公布一个。演出阵容包括哥特厄运金属乐队 Lucy Valentine、金属乐队 Varim 和朋克乐队 Paper Cruise。

但为什么是11个呢？

“直到所有乐队都确认参演，我开始向其他人介绍演出阵容时，我才真正意识到这一点，”他说。“演出公布后，很多乐队联系了我，还有一些我本来就想合作的乐队也主动联系我，表示愿意合作。所以，事情很快就失控了。”

这些乐队代表了各种各样的音乐风格，这与演出通常的运作方式截然相反，演出中所有乐队都演奏同一种音乐类型，并共享相同的音乐影响，这可能会变得有点单调。

“我觉得我年轻的时候，真的不觉得这有什么吸引人的地方。如果我去看一场演出，发现乐队风格各不相同，我可能会想，‘我为什么要去看这些其他的东西呢？’”他说。

“但随着年龄增长，我开始真正欣赏各种类型的演出。每场演出都不一样，这种变化让整个体验更加精彩。对于艺术——说实话，甚至对于生活——从不同的地方汲取灵感可以让事物更加生动有趣。”

周六在Baby Doll举办的演出海报 / 由Diazable Booking提供

门票预售价格为20,000韩元，现场购票价格为25,000韩元。为了鼓励年轻人参与，未成年人入场费为10,000韩元。

“过去几年我看到其他人都在这么做，我觉得这是个好主意，因为每个人的经济状况都不一样，”甘布尔说。“不是每个人都能负担得起昂贵的演唱会或其他娱乐活动，所以让演出变得更容易参与，就给了他们一个真正参与的机会。我穷得叮当响，所以我明白有时候你就是没钱去看演出。”

近年来，地下文化越来越受到年轻人的欢迎。

“说实话，我一开始都觉得自己快疯了。我去看演出，心想，‘这里我一个都不认识。’或者我环顾四周，心想，‘为什么这些年轻人看起来都像MySpace上的另类青年？’”

甘布尔认为，这种突然的代际更迭是多种因素共同作用的结果。

他说：“年轻一代正在接触他们的朋友和同龄人，组建乐队，自己组织活动，并创建自己的小社群。”

他还指出，最近人们对Y2K复古风的兴趣十分浓厚。

他说：“20年前的朋克、硬核和情绪摇滚文化融合了CD、手持相机、摄像机、DIY艺术和实体媒介等元素，现在看来颇具怀旧感。这些年轻人当年未必有机会体验到那种文化，所以现在重新发现它或许会让他们感到兴奋。”

Gamble 对年轻人再次迷上朋克和硬核等地下音乐类型的原因还有另一种假设。

他说：“我一方面希望韩国文化已经开始摆脱主流音乐的一些束缚，人们也开始厌倦一切过于精致的东西，想要一些原始、质朴、真诚的东西。”

为了让所有11支乐队都能在一晚内演出完毕，甘布尔必须严格遵守时间表。下午4:30开门，5点演出开始。他还补充说，每支乐队的演出时间只有15到20分钟左右。

“播放热门歌曲。少说话，多音乐。给人们他们想要的，”他说。“保持活力。”

访问 linktr.ee/diazable 或在 Instagram 上关注 @diazablebooking 获取更多信息。