Last weekend, I went to my first music festival in Thailand. Back in Europe, I love summers and festivals are one big reason for this! Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect of Silverlake, so I kept my expectations low. I bought my ticket back in November, but EDC sent me to Indonesia for a mission – only to return on the day of the festival, so I was not sure if I would be able to make it. Since I only bought my ticket to see Incubus, and they were the closing act (11.30pm-1am) I decided to go for it!
Upon return from the mission, I handed my luggage to my colleague and with only my keys, phone, ID, some cash, camera and of course my festival ticket on me, I took a taxi straight from the airport. It took quite a while to get there: traffic jams, getting lost. The concert ticket said the festival would take place in Pattaya, but it is actually 15 km further. Of course the taxi driver made a fuss of this, etc.
Anyways, I arrived around 7 or 8 pm – about 6 hours late. In Europe, this would mean there is no chance in hell that you will get a spot up front. However, Thailand and Thai people are amazing! No pushing for space, people walk in and out after each show. So even though I was 6 hours late, I got a spot in front! Also, the ticket says cameras allowed, but it did not specify the type. So, since i had my SLR with me from my work mission, I took it in with me and there were no problems! Amazing! I met up with some friends, but since they preferred drinking (and I don’t/can’t drink in Thailand), I stayed near the stage, waiting for Incubus. There were only two bands playing prior to their show: Owl City (an American band from that annoying ‘Fireflies’ song) and Seether (an ok band from South Africa).
Around 11.30pm, there was still no sign from Incubus, so people started chanting Incubus, etc. Soon, they came on stage and started off with ‘Megalomaniac’! That was awesome! I was pleasantly surprised there was no high-pitch screaming. I was once at the airport when a Korean singer arrived and the noise was deafening, not to mention awful.
Incubus played for about 1 hour and 40 minutes, which was great! However, the last time I saw them was at the Brixton Academy in London, also from the front row, and that was a much nicer concert – smaller crowd, more interaction, plus – I caught Mike’s pick at the end. The CD that came out around that time was ‘Light Grenades’, which I loved! However, ‘If Not Now, When?’ is not really my favourite due to the high amount of slower songs… I don’t know what happened, but the power seemed to be gone. At Silverlake, Incubus played quite some new songs, understandably, but I preferred the older ones.
Luckily with my camera, I could take some really nice shots to entertain myself during these slow songs. When they did their encore, I was thrilled to find out it was ‘A Certain Shade of Green’. Unfortunately, they messed up the intro and had to start over… What?! I still love Incubus though… I really beg them to put the rock back in for their next release. ‘If Not Now, When?’ Yes, now.
wwwanchi 