Winter in Scala with Karnataka

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, being of unsound mind and body, did attend the concert of Winter in Eden and Karnataka in Scala, London, on Thursday 13 December 2012. The gig was not otherwise well attended, and rather cold. The first band were muddy sounding, with a murky mix, and the singer saying she was recovering from a throat problem. They sounded a bit like Mostly Autumn, but without the guitarist. Though they had a guitarist. The headline band, Karnataka, were quite similar with a better sound mix, though I could not hear the synthesizer well. The singer, in gesture and temperament, seemed rather large for the stage and the rest of the band; though certainly no problem on the eye, particularly in the Christmas dress. Her hair indicated a pleasing pre-Raphaelite; though the music was not particularly Celtic, and the songs were long and developed. The guitarist was quite good, though some of the solos seemed a little pedestrian and would have benefited from greater rhythmic flexibility and a more sensitive axe, like a Stratocaster. Unfortunately, the band finished with a Led Zeppelin cover, which rather showed up the rest of the compositions. In total, it would be a "ho ho hum" from Melachi.

Katacurious

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, did attend the gig of Junius, Alcest and Katatonia at the Academy, Islington, on 10 December 2012. The venue was full for both the support bands, and Junius played a solid, slow and somewhat grungy set that was well received. Alcest played similarly slow and more atmospheric music, with rather long songs, sometimes sounding trancy, like a heavy Enya, with the celtic vibe. The vocals were too low in the mix, felt I. Katatonia seemed better than last time I heard them at Koko (when they kept stopping), and were notably, well, loud. Although I liked their performance, I feel there is something lacking; possibly it is the rather unimaginative rhythm section, or the monotone emotional delivery, the lack of melody, or the way very many of the songs end oddly. Pleasing, yet curious, in the mind of Melachi.

Brand Talanas

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, being of unsound mind and body, did attend the concert of Talanas and My Dying Bride at the Islington Academy on 7 December, 2012. The Talanas set was well attended, the music sounding a bit like Opeth without the tunes on the way to Augury, the bassist sporting what looked like an 8 string bass, and the singer most personable with a passable Johnny Depp or Russell Brand impersonation. I will certainly be looking for some more stuff from them. My Dying Bride played very slow and rather heavily for a long period, in a rather gloomy vein; the most interesting sections musically were duets with the two guitars. It lacked the blues-based vibe and the riffs you find in say, Black Sabbath or Electric Wizard. The few faster songs, such as the final one, were the most effective, to my mind. They sounded rather like Katatonia, but rather less flexible (who oddly are playing there on Monday). Maybe an acquired taste, then, but without doubt serious doomsters.

IQ Medium to High

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, being of unsound mind and body, did attend the IQ concert at the O2 Islington, London, in December 2012. For reasons unknown to me, this annual gig seems to attract a certain type of balding, rotund old people, who stand around the bars drinking and talking loudly, and this was no exception. Even listening through this, the vocals seemed a bit rough to the ear, particularly towards the beginning of the evening, though less so than in previous years. We were spared a saxophone. The most effective songs were the more recent ones, such as Ryker Skies and Harvest of Souls, which tended to allow themselves a little more time to develop. Well, nothing much new here, but I will probably go next year as well.

Pentatonic Bar and Project Mayhem, Chiang Mai

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, being of unsound mind and body, did visit the Pentatonic Bar, Chiang Mai, Thailand, in November 2012. Walking back to my rather dire hotel, I wandered past an open disco bar, and determined to leave this dismal city as soon as possible. Then I heard what sounded like the strains of Iron Man from a nearby shed. Entering, and finding it decorated with vaguely rocky, sprayed murals, I found a dozen patrons, young Thais and few foreigners, and a four-piece band, Project Mayhem. Ordering a beer at about 80B (1.50£), and reclining at the back on an armchair apparently retrieved from a dump, I remained to listen; this band played numerous rock standards, they were really smoking, literally and figuratively, with greatly fluid lead and bass guitarists and fine drummer and singer. Even their cover of Stairway to Heaven was goosebump-inducing. Thinking perhaps the town was not so boring after all, I dropped in a few days later, to see them again playing for friends and some beer. Anyone planning a transcontinental flight to see a band could do much worse than travel to see Project Mayhem at the Pentatonic bar in Chiang Mai.

Zeppelin Cafe, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, being of unsound mind and body, did visit the Zeppelin Cafe, Phnom Penh, on Street 51 by the Walkabout Hotel, Cambodia, in November 2012. It is small and narrow; there were about a  dozen patrons on a weekday night. I sat at the bar and spent the evening opposite a picture of a moody Ozzy, listening to deep cuts from 70s hard rock, many of which I had not previously heard. I drank beer and spirits alternately, in keeping with the vaguely American ambience, managing with some effort to ring up a total bar tab of ten dollars. There were two waitresses, looking about fourteen, though they may have been older; joined at 11pm by a young man looking about ten, though may have been younger. They were efficient but not terribly communicative. Despite the wall of vinyl, the proprietor played entirely from his computer; on enquiry he said that he had copied some of the vinyl to digital, though other tracks played from an original digital source. Well, what can I say? Clearly one of the truest and best bars in the world.

Rock Pub, Bangkok

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, being of unsound mind and body, did visit the Rock Pub, Bangkok, near Ratchatewi Skytrain station, in November 2012. The venue is of normal pub size, with a stage at the far end, on which a band, Mundee, was playing to about a dozen patrons, mainly Thais with a few westerners. I ordered a bottle of beer from the bar, which was rather expensive for Thailand, at 119B (about £2.40) and listened to a slightly slowed down version of Sweet Child of Mine, which was quite effective, followed by a similar number. After this they stopped. Well, this was rather tame for 2am on Saturday night.

Bass Girl Sings

I returned a Friday, at about midnight, when another cover band, Munsen, were on stage, though with a synthesizer that remained without a keyboardist, and to an even smaller crowd. They played a wide variety of requested covers, specialising in Ozzy Osbourne's solo material, the guitarist coping quite well; the vocalist might be better in the more modern thrashy style, thought me. The rhythm and "bass girl" sometimes sounded a little sluggish, but I often think this about cover bands, and it may be me rather than them. On this showing, I would say this venue is worth visiting, though there may be better things to do in Bangkok at 2am, certainly anyone with visions of headbanging Thai rock chicks (if they exist) will be disappointed. I also have the general impression that rock in Asia stopped in about 1990.

Full Moon Party

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, being of unsound mind and body, did attend the Full Moon Party at Haad Rin, Koh Phangan, Thailand, in November 2012. That day torrential rain had continued from the previous week, but I resolved that I may as well go, rather doubting I would ever return to Ko Samui, having suffered unending monsoons on the beach, mosquitos in my hut, powercuts in near-deserted nightclubs, and a pickpocketing of my mobile phone by a ladyboy, for some reason strolling the streets at 2am (after spotting it was missing, I returned to find her, lurking in the shadows, and she gave it back).

Slide

I had thought the party a large hippy assemblage, a bit like Glastonbury by the beach, though I myself naturally arrived by speedboat. Passing numerous sellers of buckets of cocktail, I selected one including (in the demonstration display) Jack Daniels and coke. But instead of adding a nice miniature of JD, the gentleman poured an unidentified liquid of similar colour. Since all cocktails taste much the same (except, of course, margarita and frozen martini), I did not complain.

The moon did actually look quite nice, as did the lights across the sea, and the beach had maybe a dozen sound systems playing dance music, and buffed or beautiful backpackers jollying up and down, in a luminescent ink. No hippy was to be seen, and the music varied from a fairly trancy pop to the full-out house. I am not a great specialist in this genre, but I had the impression that the sets were not particularly good, and I am puzzled how it was possible to dance for eight hours to it.

There was a bit of fire-walking, and some people did become drunk, though fewer than you might see in Leicester Square any night of the week.

At the far end of the beach I found a pleasing cabin, I think called the Elephant bar, where one could sit on cushions and drink peacefully, though suffering from drum and bass, possibly the least interesting music known to man, all suffused by the damp and a sweet smoke. After a further stroll across the bay, where I was frisked by another ladyboy, who was this time frustrated by my experience, I settled in a reggae beach bar, which served as a fine refuge for the torrential rain at 4am, when I wrapped myself in gagoul, waiting to return for the speedboat back at 6.

Back on Chaweng Beach, Ko Samui

This involved an hour or two's queue, in which fisticuffs between factions of impatient backpackers was narrowly averted, followed by about half an hour's wait at the other end on a leaking bus with a driver who was waiting for some drugs to take effect so she could sober up. But finally I did arrive safely home to my hut on another damp beach; and it is indeed not likely that I, Melachi, will return to Ko Phangan.