It's only rock and roll but we like it

Some 30,000 music fans converged on the seaside resort of Pattaya last weekend eager to rock along with musicians old and new in the first “Rock on the Lake” festival hosted by Silverlake Vineyard Pattaya. Silverlake, it must be said, is no stranger to music festivals and this year it proved it’s up there with the best of them, ramping up the standards of the light and sound systems and bringing its Silver Stage down to ground level to improve the outdoor acoustics.

Featuring the cream of Thai rock talent from the1980s to today, the fest kicked off with a show by Helmetheads, a rookie band with the Spicy Disc label. The four lads played a solid set of Thai and foreign songs including Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock”, The Knack’s “My Sharona”, Eric Clapton’s “Cocaine”, Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “By the Way” on the Lake Stage and drew quite a crowd, not bad for a hot afternoon where most people would normally have been hiding from the sun. 

I walked down the small hill towards the Silver Stage to catch the Rock Mahoree, a mini festival in itself featuring several bands such as The Morning Glory, who played their “Taew Ja” and “Rak Jing Rai Jing” before seguing into Obchoey’s “Show Huay Khon Suay Jai Dam” and winding down with “Ploy Ther Khuen Fah.”

Rather than wait for the next band to come on stage, I made my way back up the hill in time to catch Tattoo Colour on Lake Stage. The popsters separated their show into two parts: the first featuring slow songs from their debut album through to their latest “Pop Dad” including “Mai Chai Chan Laew Man Ja Pen Khrai” and the second faster-paced numbers such as “Kha Moo” with the audience obediently following singer Harin Sutamjarat’s instruction to jump up and down. 

Veteran pop band Nuvo was next up on the Lake Stage, performing a set of hits that went down well with the crowd. They were followed by Hugo, who mostly performed songs from his English-language album “Old Tyme Religion” including “99 Problems”, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Delight” and the title track, as well as the unforgettable Thai hit, “Khwam Lub Nai Jai”. Blackhead, also assigned to the Lake Stage, played it safe with the same set as at their other concerts and jammed with Tattoo Colour in “No Gen”.

I returned to the Silver Stage for the set by Palmy. An incredibly popular performer, she drew cheers and screams as she performed her sing-along hits. Another dash back up the hill got me to the Lake Stage in time for Moderndog, who proved they can still pull in the crowds even after 20 years though Palmy won out in terms of sheer numbers.

Festival headliners Asanee-Wasan Chotikul were next out on stage along with the same musician line-up as on their world tour. The audience was delighted to sing along to such legendary love songs as “Huajai Sa-orn”, “Ther Pan Jai”, “Sith Khong Ther”, “Rak Ther Samer”, “Khon Sudthai” and “Yin Yom” and to dance to fast-paced tracks “Wua Luem Tua”, “I Love You”, “Luk Phuchai”, and “Sai Lor Fah”, which featured a drum solo. The brothers closed out their set with “Yin Dee Mai Mee Panha” and Asanee chose to respect tradition by throwing guitar picks into the crowd. 

While the youngsters set off to hear 25 Hours, I stayed put for Maew Jirasak, who surprised his fans by opening with “Khwam Khid Thueng Mai Khoei Pakpon”, a new love song with a beautiful guitar line. He then segued into his trademark rock, playing two tracks off his “Catarock OSX” album, “Tha Man Mee …” and “Roo Wa Tong Luem” and following up with covers of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and Blur’s “Song 2” with the support of 12-year-old Mix on guitar from Thailand’s Got Talent and Max on drums.

Now well past the witching hour, I waited eagerly for my personal favourite of the night, Pong and Pop from Hin Lek Fai or Stone Metal Fire but was sad to see most of the youngsters heading downhill to catch Slot Machine on the Silver stage. Pong rocked with “Nang Maew” before going back to The Olarn Project’s “Kumpapan 2528” album with “Hon Thang Khong Khun” and “Ya Yud Yang”. 

Pong talked with the audience before rocking them again in “Fai Prathana”. And while he couldn’t remember the lyrics of the requested “Chan Mai Chai” by The Sun, he impressed instead with Hin Lek Fai’s “Yom” with the audience singing loudly along with him. Pop played a rapid shredder solo in “Khang Khao Fai” and the guys signed off with “Sratha”.

Meanwhile over on the Silver Stage, Slot Machine continued to rock fans with sing-along hits such as “Phan” and “Chan Chao” well into the night.