The Rock Pub: Bangkok’s House of Rock

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Back again!  The curfew has finally been lifted, so nightlife in Bangkok is slowly getting back on its feet.  I hadn’t been to the Rock Pub in a long, long time, and finally got my chance. 

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I had taken the express boat into town at noon and soon had a rucksack packed full of books, making my back ache badly.  I then met with good friends in Bangkok for dinner conversation, the high point of every month for me.  But, as everybody was going to leave for home early, I made quick plans for an alternate location to get a taxi home.  I took the Skytrain straight to the Rock Pub, which is on the way home with good taxi spots. 

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I walked into the Rock Pub at 23:00 hours sharp, and the band had just ended a number.  Only a half dozen people in the whole place.  I went to an empty front table, put down my heavy pack, stretched my hurting back, and ordered a beer.  I was horribly thirsty and in great need of pain relief. 

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The band was Munson and they immediately started the next number:  “Smoke on the Water” (“fire in the sky”).  I knew that I had found the right spot.  Then it was AC/DC’s thundering “Highway to Hell,” and I knew I was on that old familiar road.  The beer was cold and went down well. 

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Munson are masters of Rock.  Long hair right out of the 70s, they looked like they were tough veterans of the Rock and Roll wars with years under their belts.  I walked into a perfect time warp.  Without missing a note or a beat, they pounded out great covers of 70s and 80s Rock.  The sound was a torrent of thoracic-thumping, Heavy Metal thunder, shaking right through to my core.  It was a beautiful night. 

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I don’t know all the details of Heavy Metal songs or bands, because I wasn’t collecting albums in those days.  I only heard the songs on car radio while on the road.  So I can name only a few bands or tunes covered from Munson’s set:  Metallica.  “Iron Man.” “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” (by Bob Dylan, but a Guns N Roses cover).  AC/DC.  “Sweet Child of Mine.”  Guns N Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle.”  And on and on with great Heavy Metal covers until 01:00 closing time. 

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Rock lives on! The Rock Pub endures!  

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-Zenwind.

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Peaceful Expression in Bangkok

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The Royal Thai Army military junta, holding absolute rule since the recent coup d'etat, has prohibited public protests against their seizure of power.  Their clampdown is reasonably effective, in that they are nipping any flash mob protests in the bud.  (I guess they are adapting to modern social media immediacy and launching rapid response teams to potential protest sites.)  Sundays seem to be the biggest day for protests, so they are active today.  A couple of city parks have been closed by troops because of rumors of protest activity.
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Protester tactics have been evolving quickly.  One silent protest gesture from several days ago is the "three-fingered salute" from The Hunger Games movies, in defiance of the martial law regime.  Damn, it's also the traditional Boy Scout salute, so be careful who you greet in the city!  They have been arresting anyone who gives the three-fingered salute.  Really!  Arresting them. No lie.
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Getting around this cause of arrest, flash mob participants have been gathering in public places with the military only finding them "eating sandwiches and reading books" (no three-fingered salutes).  That's got to be frustrating for a "Fed" to find only peaceful folk doing peaceful things.  Can't bust them for that.  Maybe, if they are diligent, they can bust them for littering their sandwich bags.
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There is a lot of irony and subtle humor in these actions, but this signals what everyone knows:  that martial law must someday give way to civilian law.  The sooner the better.
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So far, few have been killed or maimed in these protests, making it much safer to be about than before, but this state of affairs will get old soon.  These days ahead will be a test of Thai character and reasonableness.  "May you live in interesting times!"
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-Zenwind.
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Easing into the Rainy Season

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We have occasionally cooler weather when the clouds block the sun, and a strong rain usually relieves the constant heat.  The monsoon rains have been late this year, but they are welcomed whenever we can get them. 

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Our neighborhood Royal Thai Army “Emergency Rapid Deployment Force” that is bunkered down at the corner police station is well-armed.  As well as some sort of Humvee-like vehicle, they have a light machine gun as well as multiple assault rifles.  I passed their bunker today when they were changing guard, and I caught a look at their standard weapons drill, e.g., checking live ammo from the last shift, etc.  

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Because of my own super-strict Marine training, I was a bit alarmed at the random way they were pointing their weapons as they locked in a live magazine into their rifles (if not, hopefully, having a chambered round in them).  I think that this military institution has not had enough bad historical experience with accidental live fire disasters to get truly radical with weapons safety rules.  Our standard Vietnam War weapons rules were rigid and uncompromising.  I cringed as I walked past their relatively careless procedures with weapons and ammo, and I will in the future avoid being anywhere nearby at their change of guard. 

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Other than that, most of us feel more secure and safe now – except for that inconvenient curfew of midnight to 0400. 

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Movie Review:  X-Men: the days of future past (2014).  It was a great film, making good use of several of its fine actors.  What I really loved was the travel back to 1973, a classic year, one that I somewhat remember.  Yet I wish they would have picked better representative examples of the music of that era.  A bit of harder rock and Southern rock would have made it perfect. How about Elvis' "Aloha from Hawaii" broadcast?  Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon"?  The Who's "Quadrophenia"? And most importantly, the Allman Brothers Band's "Ramblin' Man," and also the birth of AC/DC?  

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-Zenwind.

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