Last Night We Were All Hippies

Compared to the "combat rock" mindset adopted by many young gig goers in the west, their Thai counterparts are on the whole, way more relaxed and mellow.*

This was certainly the case at the Summer Hippie concert held on Cha Am Beach (about 200 kilometres south of Bangkok) last night. Mind you, the combination of a beautiful night sky, a cool Gulf of Thailand sea breeze and shiny, happy Thai pop music is pretty hard to rage against.

Besides these factors it was a terrifically enjoyable night out thanks to the brilliant concert setup. Having been to more than a few gigs in my time - mostly in New Zealand and the UK - it was an interesting and a pleasant change to attend a concert where there were: 

• Plenty of high quality food and drink options at affordable prices
• Plenty of vendors on hand to ensure no long queues for food and drinks 
• Plenty of punter-friendly attractions including a foot massage section and a too-cool smoker's area 
• No fights among "overly refreshed" punters 
• No drugs (I didn't see or smell the usual party drugs but I am very out of touch on these matters)
• Gig goers of all ages 
• Really well dressed gig goers 
• Great sight lines and a well balanced sound system

What about the performers? All of the acts put on good shows playing upbeat tunes that added to the carnival atmosphere. Rule of thumb - a horn section always adds so much in an outdoor live concert setting.

Bottom Blue, who were led by a charismatic and energetic frontman, was one band that caught my eye. Their faster numbers were great combining doo wop, ska and rock - an unlikely combo sure - but like som tam salad, their all-in-the-mix approach worked well, and more importantly, got many punters up dancing.

I'll have to investigate more of their music. We missed the headline act, Modern Dog, but they apparently played to a very full house.

*It's not all peace and love. A few weeks back, a few hundred fans of the Deftones staged a mini rampage outside a Bangkok venue when the inept and incompetent concert promoter cancelled the gig at the very last minute.