Three cheers for our heroes

IT’S HARD to think of one occasion in the last 25 or 30 years when pop icons Nuvo, songs-for-life legends Carabao and rocker Amphol “Nui” Lumpoon, former frontman of Micro, have graced the same stage.

Yet that is exactly what happened last weekend when GMM Grammy’s concert-organising arm, Atime Showbiz, delighted fans by bringing all three acts together for the aptly named “Big Heroes” blow out.

All three have been in the music business for more than 25 years and have hundreds of hit songs to their credit.

Two rounds of the concert, the latest in a series of shows featuring popular stars of the past, were staged at Royal Paragon Hall last weekend, with the Sunday show packing in thousands of fans who screamed their hearts out during the impressive performances by Carabao, Nuvo, and Amphol. More than 30 songs, most of them hits from yesteryear, were played during the more than three-and-a-half-hour-show, which was loosely divided into three parts but featured several crossovers.

Nuvo kicked off the night with one of their most popular songs “Sanchattayan Bok” (“Instinct Tells Me”) with Amphol joining them midway through the number much to the delight of the audience who cheered loudly. Carabao’s Thierry Mekwattana replaced Amphol, joining Nuvo for a jam on “Mai Pen Rai Loei”.

Nuvo’s front men Jirayut “Joe” Wattanasin on rhythm guitar, Saharat “Kong” Sangkapricha on lead and Norrasak “John” Rattanaveroj on the “keytar” took turns to sing more than a dozen of their hits. among them “Sud Sud Pai Loei”, “Pen Yang Nee Tang Tae Kerd”, “Niyam Rak”, “Lok Kan Len Loei”, and “Luem Pai Mai Rak Kan”. Kong mesmerised the audience with his gentle crooning on “Luek Sud Jai”.

The audience sang along to the familiar songs, and many were up on their feet and dancing.

The excitement level rose a notch higher as Carabao showed up on stage for the second part of the show. Greeted by resounding cheers and applause, it quickly became obvious that a large part of the audience, probably more than half, was there mainly for the songs-for-lifers.

Led by front man and guitarist Yuenyong “Ad” Ophakul, Carabao had no trouble keeping the audience singing and dancing along through their entire set, which featured mainly their faster songs including those with their trademark 3-cha rhythm.

As has long been their wont, the band played non-stop, effortlessly segueing from one number to another and performing their much loved 14-song medley that includes the hits “Wanipok”, “Kon Jon Pu Yingyai”, “Welcome to Thailand”, “Surachai Sam Cha”, “Papaya Pok Pok”, and “Luang Phor Koon”. The audience stayed on its feet, not only because most wanted to dance but because those who would have preferred to sit couldn’t see the stage for the dancing fans.

Carabao was joined by Amphol during their performance of “Thale Jai” (“Sea of Hearts”), a favourite number and one of the most covered sounds around. Joined by Nuvo’s Joe, Kong and John, Carabao wound up their show with the rousing “Bualoy” to tumultuous applause.

Amphol completed the concert with an energetic performance that featured more than 10 of Micro’s hit numbers including “Jai Soam Soam”, “Bok Ma Kam Diew”, “Som Lon”, “Ao Pai Loei”, and “Sia Mai” and was joined by Joe and Kong on guitar for “Ma Lek” (“Iron Horse”).

A truly memorable show thanks to the impressive performances, this reviewer particularly enjoyed the jams and found himself wondering why there was no segment jointly performed by Carabao, Nuvo and Amphol. Such a performance would have made the concert even more special.