Up in the stars and far away

 

Three years after wowing their fans with their first major show, “The First Contact”, to mark the tenth anniversary of their debut album, Slot Machine, the Thai rockers seemingly obsessed with all things extraterrestrial, beamed their mothership down into Impact Arena last Saturday to whisk their thousands of fans into their galaxy.
But before boarding the mothership, the audience packing out the 10,000-seat auditorium, was welcomed by leading South Korean indie outfit, Kiha & The Faces, with whom Slot Machine toured the United States and Canada in April to introduce Asian-style rock to international fans. 

 

Fans expecting a healthy dose of the sugary K-pop that has swept the world in recent years were left surprised as Kiha & The Faces rocked the hall with a set of pop, rock and reggae and showed that there’s much more to the Korean music industry than we knew. And despite the language barrier, the band’s sensational music and performance effortlessly brought the audience to its feet and won them loud applause and cheers. 
And after an hour and nine songs, including a cover of Slot Machine’s mega-hit “Kham Sutthai”, Kiha & The Faces had undoubtedly gained thousands of Thai fans, adding to its huge fanbase in Korea.
Screams and cheers filled the arena as Slot Machine’s gig opened with a visual of outer space projected on the vast screen at the back of the stage. Then there came the mothership and its crew – vocalist and frontman Karinyawat “Foet” Durongjirakan, bassist Atirath “Gak” Pintong, drummer Settharat “Auto” Phangchunan and guitarist Janevit “Vit” Chanpanyawong. 

 

Clad in elegant and as promised, earthling-like costumes, the four aliens took up position in the crop circles painted on the stage. Foet looked smart and slightly raffish is in black offset by an ’80s-Chinese Mafia-style white scarf around his neck while Gak had wizard-like appeal in an haute-couture long red velvet gown. Auto and Vit kept it a little simpler, going for the rock star look in black. 
Fans, ranging in age from teens to 40-somthings, continued to cheer as the four aliens swung into “Chan Chao” from their fourth album "Cell" released in 2011. 
And with that, the mothership was well and truly launched with thousands up on their feet and dancing while the less extrovert sat back in their seats and watched the universe and the moon in motion drift fast as Slot Machine’s intense music unfolded. Credit must go to English lighting designer Tellson James, a production stalwart who’s worked on Whitney Houston and George Michael concerts, for his otherworldly designs.

 

Slot Machine kept it all coming throughout the first half of the show, feeding exhilarated fans with songs from all six albums nonstop in a set that included such smash hits such as “Dream,” “If I Die,” “Kham Sutthai,” and “Beautiful”. 
In between, they segued into three English-language songs from “Spin the World”, their international album released last year, performing “Sky Burning Stars”, “the Land of Himmaphan”, and “MRT” to loud applause.
The music video of new song “Lab Ta” (“Close Your Eyes”) was premiered before the intermission, which was followed by a short appearance by the band’s only guest. Unknown to most of the audience, he performed the acoustic rock ballad “Rak Ther Thang Mod Khong Hua Jai” made famous by 1990’s band Pause. The song, all about deep and understated love, is among the most touching of Thailand’s anthems to love. 

 

Foet then introduced the guest as Nattapong “Gerb” Thongmuang, backup guitarist for the band for the past seven years and a member of the Slot Machine family. He also took time to highlight each of the other members in turn before calling on fans to sing along to Slot Machine’s first song, 2004’s “Ror” (“I’m Waiting for You”). 
Audience members were also asked to turn on the flashlights on their mobile phones, creating a sea of the stars and turning it into one of the most magical moments of the show.

 

The mothership continued to draw in the fans as the concert moved towards its conclusion, with the audience singing, swaying, and dancing to such major hits as “Kon,” “Klerm,” “Yon,” and “Rung.”
The ship landed with the band’s biggest success “Phan” (“Yesterday”) from the album “Mutation” and the aliens left the stage, only to return by popular acclaim to perform a reprise of “Ror”.