but I had to swim the Rio Grande to get here!" And with that
totally memorable intro, Poo (guitar & harmonica) and Tyboon (banjo
& violin) swung into some of the best and most varied live music I've
ever heard in Chiangmai!
The dynamic duo were setting the scene at the opening of Thai Time
in "45 Street", the little soi that runs at a 45 degree angle
from John's Place in Moon Muang to somewhere in Rachamanka. American
Howard opened the bright little place last month and borrowed Poo and Tyboon
from compatriot Joe at Hilltribe Cafe, Moon Muang, where they are
the resident musicians and Jack Daniels quality checkers.
Seems like there's NOTHING these guys can't play, from country &
western through blue grass to rock, with liberal helpings of Irish folk
thrown in! Their English is excellent and unlike some po-faced so-called
professionals they actually WANT you to join in with them. Check them out
soon and do all you can to stop 'em swimming back to Phitsanuloke!
Rock on…..
…..and don't miss Faces, the new name for The Last Straw, where
Chiangmai's answer to Ashley Hutchins plays and (if you're not very careful)
sings English folk rock as well as more widely known stuff. Same topic,
a former drummer with Steeleye Span will be here for Loi Kratong and needs
only a drum kit to give free lessons. Any venue care to help, afternoons
only? Dutch Frank is back and together with the lovely Khun Tay has taken
over the big place in Rachawitee opposite The Mask. Currently the
No Name Cafe with great and cheap Thai food, there's live music
here too and by the time you read this, maybe a stronger theme and a New
Name. They still have TF Cafe in Loi Kroh but it's on the block
and offers are invited…..
At The Mask itself, Khun Jan runs a squeaky clean show with a good pool
table and, of course, those long, thin Indonesian masks for sale, rare
in Thailand. Good Friends and their friendly neighbourts Home
To Roost do well with occasional partying and now you can even get
a decent London haircut at the lattter!
Warning signs
A lantern-jawed para-medic must have thought he'd hit Port Moresby last
month when his talents swung into action on 2 consecutive nights in Loi
Kroh. First he leapt from his favourite table at The Fillmore East
to attend to a bike crash in front of Traveller Inn. The Brit on
the front of the 750 was beyond all help, but he did all that was required
for the unfortunate American passenger who is now in a stable condition
in Ram Hospital. Next night it was off with the shirt to staunch the bleeding
in another bar close by where local jealousies sharply affected a local
farang.
Hundreds of Hash House Harriers (drinkers with a running
problem) invaded Chiangmai late last month and partied almost everywhere.
Memorable gimmick (for those who could remember) was the Tequila Clinic
at their big bash at the Rydges
Tapae Hotel where these 2 "dental nurses", complete with
chair, were on hand to administer the addictive anaesthetic!
Happily our medic wasn't needed on the third night when the same street
saw an unseemly brawl outside yet another place which seems unable to get
it's act together. No wonder that the feds appeared in force a few nights
later to stamp home the message: Chiangmai needs this nonsense like a hole
in the head!
Warning labels
And on a lighter note, responding to my news last month about Beer Scooters,
a reader tells me that due to increasing liability litigation, US liquor
companies are now placing the following warnings on all cans and bottles:
The consumption of alcohol may: cause you to think you can sing; make you
think you have mystical Kung Fu powers, resulting in you getting your ass
kicked; cause you to roll over in the morning and see something really
scary; cause inexplicable rug burns on the forehead and knees; create the
illusion that you are tougher, smarter, faster, and better looking than
most people; lead you to believe you are invisible (or worse, bulletproof);
lead you to think people are laughing WITH you; cause a disturbance in
the time-space continuum, whereby gaps of time may seem to disappear; cause
pregnancy.
It's from the internet: Women will never
be equal to men until they can walk down the street with bald heads and
beer guts and still think they are attractive to the opposite sex
BUT I DON'T GIVE A CLUCK!
Night
Fowl
JUST LIKE THE REAL THING?
Almost! The Spitfire Mk V111 in RAAF livery (no red to avoid confusion
with the enemy by ground gunners), arguably the best looking piston-engined
plane ever! Framed in dark Thai timber, each piece is numbered and only
1000 pieces will ever be produced. Made by Thai craftsmen with care.
Night
Fowl
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