Barefoot in the grass
Palmy turns acoustic for her latest full-length concert
After 12 years of entertaining Thai music fans with soft pop edged with occasional rock, award-winning singer Palmy returned to the stage last weekend with a show focused entirely on country-folk acoustic sounds.
Walking out on to a grass covered stage at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Bitec) in Bang Na sporting a hippie-style hair band and bare feet, Palmy started her show with fun rearrangements of hits “Ka Ka Ka” and “Khid Mark”.
The acoustic rhythms did nothing to dampen enthusiasm and the crowd was up and dancing from the very first number.
“Many people think an acoustic concert wouldn’t be fun but we’re all here to have fun together,” she told the audience as screams and applause reverberated around the hall.
She removed the headband before starting her next song, “Fah Song Chan Ma”, then addressed the audience again, saying, “I’ve spent four months preparing this concert but I’ve been dreaming of a full-length acoustic concert long time, just never had the chance. This is like a dream come true. Thank you all.”
The show continued with “Kun Chae Tee Hai Pai” and “Nalika reun kao” followed by the Beatles’ “Blackbird”, which she dedicated to her fans.
Screams once again erupted as guest Singto Numchoke, Thailand’s ukulele king, walked out on to the stage, duetting with Palmy on a medley of hits and then matching his songs to those of Palmy that had similar meanings.
And so “Yoo Tor Dai Rue Plow” blended with “Yoo Tor Loey Dai Mai” and “Kwam Songjam See Jang” merged “Yoo Yang Ngao Ngao”.
Singto wound up his set with an acoustic version of Palmy’s "Pood Mai Tem Pak".
The Thai-Belgian singer turned back the years as she continued the show, performing “Yak Yud Wela”, the original sound track of hit movie “Pee Mak Phra Khanong” and the sad ballads “Rong Hai Ngai Ngai Kab Ruang Derm Derm”, “Klua” and “Khwam Cheb Puad”.
Her next special guest and the music director for the show, Chulachak “Hugo” Chakrabongse, appeared on stage as Palmy sang “Walk the Line”, the soundtrack to the Johnny Cash biopic, and they performed together before Hugo went solo for “99 Problems”.
“This is my first time as music director of concert and I’m really grateful to Palmy for trusting me. I don’t feel like a music director though, more like contractor whose work it has been to find the best carpenters for the best job”.
Palmy returned to the stage again for the last part of the show and led the dancing audience round the hall as she sang “Rockstar Syndrome”, “Ooh”, "Yak Rong Dang Dang”. “Tick Tock”, and a reprise of “Ka Ka Ka”.
