Live Music bars and Pub Insight Bangkok

         

    Live Music  Insight Bangkok

      Fron-line international acts are returning insight Bangkok after a lull caused by the economic crash in 1997. Most gigs - recent ones include Norah Jones, Alicia Keyes and Sting - are held at Impact Arena or BEC Tero Hall.

         Local music in bars varies tremendously. The huge Tawandaeng German Brewhouse on Thanon Narathiwat features local band Fong Nam on Wednesday evenings. Led by American Bruce Gaston, the band combines the music of traditional Thai phipphat orchestra with rock. It's not everyone's cup of tea but give it a listen if you're in the neighbourhood. Likewise, visitors may find Thai rock and country a novel experience and prefer to stick to standard Western staples like R&B, blues,rock, reggae, and jazz all of which ate yours for the picking


       T-PoP(thai pop music) is full of plastic looking Luk kreung (half-thai,half-western) stars like Tata Young, singing bubblegum tunes to doey-eyed teens. Far more entertaining ate the indie bands that gave been grabbing attention since the 1990s. Indie labels like Hualampong Riddim and Panda Records provide recording opportunities outside the mainstream, and their bands play regular gigs Small clubs and party nights feature acts such as Apoartment Khunpa and Futon Playing a repertoire that includes metal, electronica, ska, thrash and grunge. Every November, local and international indie music takes centre stage when Bangkok's coolest radio station Fat Radio (104.50FM) stages its two-day Fat festival at various venues.

       To add the the mix, during the cooler months, ourtdor beer gardens have Thai and international bands playing a diet of pop covers.

      Bars And PUB Insight Bangkok

     Upmarket bars with international sensibilities are found all over central Insight Bangkok. Try skyhigh champagne and caviar (both in price and sltitude) at the roof-top bar distil on Thanon Silom, or cocktails at the exquisite modern Thai restaurant Mahanaga (Sukhumvit Soi29 ) or Face Bar (Sukhomvit Soi38). The Conrad Bangkok, on Thanon Withayu, has one of the coolest hotel lobby nars imaginable in the Diplomat Bar, while the Sofitel Silom offers reasonably price bottles of wine with 37th-floor city panoramas at V9. The hip Thai scene comstantly shifts with the whims of local image mavens, but increasingly centres on the major Sukhumvit thoroughfares of Soi Thonglor and Thanon Ekamai.

        The English and Irish pub scene is mainly concentrated on Thanon Silom and Thanon Sukhumvit, with notable venues being Bull's Head on Sukhumvit Soi 33, The Dubliner and O'Reilly's. There are also a few American-style sports bars, such as Guliliver's (Thanon Khao San) and microbreweries like Londoner Brew Pub (Corner of Sukumvit Soi 33). All these places have variations on the usual pub grub and games formula.

        Opera and Classic Music Insight Bangkok 

    Multi-talented Cambridge graduate Somtow Sucharitkul, who has written  Hollywood horror scripts and several books in English, including the excellent Jasmine Nights, set up the Bangkok Opera in 2002. Among its three or four yearly productions of classics, like the Magic Flute, are Somtow's own works such as Mae Naak, which is based on Thai ghost story. His works are mainly staged at the Thailand  Cultural Center.

     The Insight Bangkok Symphony Orchestara, as well as providing many of the musicians for the Bangkok Opera, plays regular concerts throughout the year, often at the Thai Cultural Centre, Off Thanon Ratchadapisek, and on Sundays in Lumphini Park during the cool season.

       The International Festival of Dance & Music brings international acts for a season of opera, classical music, contemporary dance and ballet every October to November, while the Thailand Cultural Centre hosts regular concerts.