FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Wanna hear a dirty joke?

Wanna hear a dirty joke?

The irreverent singing, badmouthing trio Sam Yaek Pak Wan has plenty of them last weekend

IT WAS a comeback for singers Aof Pongsak, Pop Pongkool and Wan Thanakrit – collectively known as Sam Yaek Pak Wan (Intersecting Badmouths) – and a comeback for the piercing putdown comedy that’s become their trademark.
The three singers and their guests performed almost 30 songs altogether at a pair of “Season 4” shows last Saturday and Sunday. But the trio spent most of the hours-long events making fun of other people.
The “victims” included each other, their parents, their colleagues and bosses at GMM – and anyone in the audience who happened to show up late or slip out to answer nature’s call. The trio cracked jokes about popular television shows and even some hot social issues.
And for all the putdowns and risque asides, Royal Paragon Hall was packed both nights. Sunday’s event lasted a little over four hours.
Thanks to a clever script, the stars again managed to draw laughter with a stream of funny sketches and jokes that were occasionally dirty and cruel. And, of course, they also received loud applause for their remarkable singing talent.
The concert started with the trio performing Thongchai McIntyre’s “Boomerang”, chosen to reflect their return to the stage. Aof and Wan emerged airborne in a sling, while plump Pop had his sling dragging him onto the stage. He’d made his own hilarious entrance for the 2014 show too, arriving on a tiny bicycle.
The trio next performed six of their own songs in succession, including “Wan” (“Sweet”), “Raya Plodpai” (“Safe Distance”) and “Yud Mai Dai Khad Jai” (“Can’t Stop It”).
Later, backed by the Extra Band, they did a medley of six tunes that have been hugely popular in YouTube. “None of these songs belong to us,” Wan assured the giggling audience. There was “Chuak Wiset” (“Magic Rope”), which has had nearly 251 million views online), “Thing Wai Klang Thang” (“Abandoned Midway”) and “Mai Koey” (“Never”).
In his solo segment Wan wowed the crowd with “Ja Bok Ther Wa Rak” (“I Will Tell You I Love You”), on which he both sang and played piano.
Then, joining the trio onstage, Eve “Palmy” Pancharoen was her usual soft-spoken self until it came time to sing, when she unleashed her power on two of her songs performed with the hosts and then a mesmerising solo rendering of her ballad “Kwam Songjam See Jang” (“Faint Memory”).
Other guest singers were Joke Kornpop from the band So Cool, who sang two numbers with Pop, and comedienne Tukky Sudarat, who did a funny skit with Wan.
The guys were not just being “badmouthed” this time around but also foul-mouthed, firing off torrents of double entendres and gags about excrement and other personal matters. After a crack about pubic hair, Pompam of Thoey Thiew Thai (Ladyboys Travelling Thailand), wondered aloud with amusement just how much lower they might go next time.
But will there be a next time?
The trio actually declared that they’d thought their previous show would be the last – they never expected to be onstage together a fourth time. The show’s theme, “Reborn to Badmouth”, hinted as much, and the opening video had them being “reincarnated”, implying the show was being brought back to life.
Regardless of the plans, the intentions and the low humour, no one was offended. After all, comedic shows like this feed the public’s hunger for entertainment and soothe the stresses of everyday life. For some it’s surely a form of mental therapy, and for everyone else a chance to “reset their mood”.
Even when the funny barbs were aimed at the audience as a whole, it was appreciated. They joked that everyone was trying to laugh as much as possible to squeeze as many chuckles as they could out of every baht spent on the tickets. 
While bidding goodbye, Wan said the trio was unsure there’d be a fifth edition. If the hunger for this brand of entertainment remains strong, there’ll no doubt be a fifth. But for anyone looking for more substance in an evening out, perhaps four was enough.
 
nationthailand