At Heaven Beach, a club in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the Thai band Nyok provided the beat for dancers.
WITH cinderblock walls, a dirt floor and a sign warning against dancing and “boom-boom” in the mezzanine, Heaven Beach, a club in Chiang Mai, Thailand, will never be accused of design excess. Then again, the predominantly young posse of foreigners and natives moshing to the energetic metal, grunge and rap sets by the Thai band Nyok aren’t there for the décor.
This doorless dive — more barn than bar, really — in the seedy backpacker quarter within the crumbling walls of Old Chiang Mai might be the last place you’d expect to hear guitar solos as spectacularly executed as those performed by Lek Surindon, Nyok’s self-taught lead guitarist. But Heaven Beach (48 Building 7, Ratchawithi Road; no phone) and its popular house band offer just a taste of the vibrant and diverse live music scene that’s taken hold in this laid-back northern city. “Ten years ago all you heard in Chiang Mai was Thai pop and reggae,” said the blues guitarist Mai Wiangthong, 28, while tuning up ahead of a set at La Brasserie, another music club. “But over the last few years it’s been changing for the better.”
Thanks to cheap Internet downloads, a growing number of foreign residents and improved college music curriculums, the city’s youth have been experimenting with a wider range of musical styles. When Chiang Mai’s Woranan School of Music, with classes in jazz, pop, blues, rock and classical music, was founded five years ago, 10 students enrolled; now it has more than 150. (Earlier this month, the government of Thailand, citing continued instability, extended astate of emergency for three months in over a dozen provinces, including Chiang Mai, giving officials broad powers to restrict political meetings and detain suspects. But businesses remain open and life goes on.)
The area’s growing crop of clubs offers different vibes and diverse sounds, showcasing all-Thai and Thai-farang bands (bands with musicians of mixed nationalities; farang means “foreigner” in Thai) performing original songs and creatively reimagined covers.
With a low ceiling and seats set close around the stage, La Brasserie (37 Charoenrat; 66-53-241-665), one of the city’s first live music venues when it opened almost 20 years ago, favors acoustics over style. Took Charenporn, the owner, as well as a blues and rock powerhouse known for spontaneous, Hendrix-inspired guitar solos, is the bar’s main draw, but there’s other talent here, too. Mr. Wiangthong alternates opening slots with Boy Blues Band, fronted by a Woranan instructor steeped in Chicago blues, whose growling baritone is the perfect foil for his stinging guitar.
Jazz enthusiasts will gravitate to North Gate Jazz Co-op (Sri Phoom Road; no phone), a neighborhood spot with tables spilling onto the pavement from its tiny storefront. Tuesdays are devoted to open jam sessions — “not always good, but always interesting,” in the words of Peter Vandemoortele, a Payap University jazz instructor whose trio plays at the Co-op. On one Saturday, the band Bong Lan combined saxophone, drums and keyboard with khene (a free-reed Thai mouth organ) and seung (a four-stringed guitar) to produce Thai-Western jazz fusion.
The newest addition to the scene is The Box (5 Nimmanhaeminda Road; no phone), a jewel-like glass cube on a trendy shopping and dining strip near Chiang Mai University; it features outdoor tables, a lounge area and mezzanine seating. Just a few months old, The Box is still finding its niche — it seems to favor jazz trios, with a smattering of smooth jazz-pop acts.
No comments:
Post a Comment