These artistes had come by to Chiangmai for a Singha Corporation organised concert. A friend managed to get some free tickets to the concert and was kind enough take me and the missus along. Beer and a rock concert, I'm in!
The long queue in to the concert grounds
Snaking in....
Cars are starting to pack the grounds...
Motorcycles too...
The entrance
Medical staff was nearby in case anyone needed help
Photo taking area - popular with social media enthusiasts
Here is a video of the concert grounds.
Food and drinks were available. Singha beer was the beer of choice for the night.
Food stalls selling finger food and light snacks.
Another photo taking opportunity - with the Singha beer lion.
A small sample of the food that was available. Not very appetising...
3 litres of Singha beer for 400 baht (SGD 16). A really good deal!
Opening band for the night: Blackstone. They played a series of covers and favourite hits from various artistes.
After the crowd had warmed up, it was time to move to the main concert ground behind.
The main stage.
Giant TV screens on each side of the stage made sure no one missed any of the action.
Carabao was the first to take to the stage for the night. Being veteran musicians, their performance was tight and polished.
Asanee Wasan came on next. They rocked the place and had fun while doing so.
Pu Pongsit was the last to come on.
Unfortunately, i did not manage to get any videos of Pu Pongsit as my back and feet were killing me from standing throughout the concert for more than two hours. But in all, it was a great evening out.
This is a rant post and has nothing to do with Thailand. I remember that when I was a teenager, listening to new albums by my favourite bands was always exciting and an event, even more so when I get to do so with like-minded friends. So it happened that I had some new albums that I wanted to listen to for quite a while but never had the time to do so. These include: Repentless – Slayer The Book of Souls – Iron Maiden Sounds of a Playground Fading – In Flames Siren Charms – In Flames Rock or Bust – AC/DC Super Collider - Megadeth Sure, I could have listened to them in the car but I prefer to do so when I can drink all night while giving the music my undivided attention. So as you can imagine, I was really excited when I finally found time to listen to them. How did it go? Well, in a word, it was disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, these are great albums on their own but I had expected more. For example, Repentless was full of fast riffs and solos and Tom Araya was screaming his lungs out all over the place but, unlike the early albums, it seemed as if I was listening to a blur of sound; there were no memorable riffs. Also, it seemed that I had heard all of these before, since the album Divine Intervention. The Book of Souls was undeniably Iron Maiden but gone were the galloping rhythms, melodies, harmonies, and inventive solos. Even though I had a taste of things to come in the later albums after Fear of the Dark, I had expected more especially since they have three guitarists on board now. Sounds of a Playground sounded like Linkin Park. Even AC/DC, the only one among them whose sound stayed the same, sounded like as it they were just going through the motions. I fully understand if artistes want to explore new sounds, try different things, or go in a new direction. But when the change is too drastic, it alienates the fans who like them because of their original sound. So I cannot understand why so many bands are making such big musical changes. And you can often pinpoint which album marked a turning point in a band’s sound. These include: Metallica – Black Album Megadeth – Youthanasia Slayer – Divine Intervention (though there were some great tracks in the later albums) In Flames – Colony (or some might even say the Jester Race) Iron Maiden –Fear of the Dark I do not know if the sound of these bands changed because they had sold out, run out of ideas, or that they have simply gotten too comfortable (it seems that success is a creativity killer). But it seems to me that the music of today is a poor copy of the past; it is sometimes hard to believe that the same bands wrote the music that they got famous or are remembered for. Like what someone said of Megadeth, “I cannot believe that these are the same guys that brought us Rust in Peace”. I will prefer it that a band sticks to its original sound; that is the sound I expect and want to hear when I play their tracks. If I want to listen to Bon Jovi, I will play a Bon Jovi song and not play a track from someone else that sounds like a copy of them.
Just got to know a bit of shocking news: Nick Menza,
former drummer of Megadeth, has died of heart failure while performing with his
band in Los Angeles. Apparently, this happened about a week ago. Megadeth is one of my favourite bands and among
all the lineup changes in the band over the years, I have always liked the Dave
Mustaine, Dave Ellefson, Marty Friedman, and Nick Menza lineup the most.
Being able to play for one of the most well-known
and influential metal bands of the world is no mean feat and the fact that he had
played on three Megadeth albums that were well regarded (Rust in Peace,
Countdown to Extinction, and Youthanasia), with one of them being one of the
greatest thrash/speed metal albums ever released (Rust in Peace), is a
testament to his skill.
The world has lost yet another musical talent. RIP, Mr Nick Menza. Thank you for the music.
