Still rapturous for Raptor

It’s been 13 years since they split but last weekend, former teen idols Joni Anwar and Louis Scott of Raptor delighted their fans by reuniting for a concert at Royal Paragon Hall.
Organised by the radio station Cool 93 Farenheit, tickets sold out within three hours of going on sale. The show opened with the popular single “Superhero” off their first album, which quickly made Raptor a household name.
Joni, who’s has Indonesian and Scottish ancestry and Louis, who’s half Thai, half Scottish, were 12 and 13 when they emerged on the pop scene back in 1994. They released a string of hit records until their eventual break up in 1998.
Both with successful solo careers in music, TV and film, the lads kept the vibrant mood alive with such hits as “Tong Yok Hai”, “Chuey Doi”, “Ya Pood Wa Leuk” then handed the stage over to dancers who glided around the stage on rollerblades, as Raptor famously did in “Leun Mak Chue Yak”.
Screams erupted as the duo thanked their fans for their warm welcome and slowed the tempo with popular romantic ballads like “Roo Seuk Yang Rai” and “Ya Pod Loei”, as fans held up light boards and iPads with messages that reflected the mood for love.
The stage darkened for a screening of music videos by Louis showing cuts from his first to last albums and revealing his growth as a solo artist. Louis then came back to the stage and performed several songs, among them “Ya Tad Pom” and “Listen One”.
The highlight was a romantic moment during “In My Heart”, which saw him on stage with special guest Sudarat “Tukky” Butrprom, which whom Louis starred in “Tukky Jao Ying Khai Kob” (“Tukky the Frog Princess”), and featured a medley of popular songs that included “UFO” by Raffie Nancy, “Kra Dook Kra Dik” by Mo May and Nook Suthida’s “Thorn Sai Bour”,
Joni was next in the spotlight as video footage screened his singles like “Yak Hai Rou Wa Rak Tor”, “Rou Tur Bang Mai” and “Yang Noi Kor Khi Dai Chue Wa Pen Kon Rak Kan”.
The duo then handed over the stage to special guests (Supoj “Lift” Tunchareon and Thana “Oil” Suthikamol, who performed their hits “Doo Mai Doo”, “Rom Bor Joy” and “Khor Man” and followed up with Raptor songs including “Yar Kid Wa Tor Mai Me Khai”.
Surprisingly, Joni and Louis walked down from stage and allowed fans to get up close and cosy with them while singing the ballad “Kid Tueng Ther”.
The show closed out with the duo dressing up in bright costumes and singing a medley of hit songs, among them “Kreang Jai”, “Go Go Go”, “Mai Care”, “Let's Live for Today”, “Chai Loei” (Oh Yes!), “Raeng Bun Daan Jai” and “Kam Wa Pheun”.