Names: Jeff Berlin, Stu Hamm, Billy Sheehan. Collective number of Guitar Player magazine "Best Bassist" awards: 12. Average age: 51. Still able to rock the party? Definitely.

Last Thursday the trio of bassists joined forces under the collective moniker B3 for a crowd of several thousand at Bangkok's BEC-Tero Hall, and proved that you're never too old to stand on an amp, hoist your guitar in the air and slam out a badass bass line.

Each artist took the stage for roughly 40 minutes. Berlin led the way with a fusion approach to well-known pop songs, such as "Tears in Heaven" and "Runaway Train".

He was followed by Hamm's unique style of play, a rock sensibility laced with funk-inspired riffs. Sheehan rounded out the evening, showcasing the lead-bass method that made him famous.

Though expertly supported by Jude Gold on guitar and John Mader on drums, the real magic happened when the band left the stage and the bassists performed solo.

Controlling both melody and rhythm on his song "Nostalgia", Hamm used both hands on the fretboard to create a haunting and complex refrain.

Indeed, the bass legends seemed reluctant to share the stage. At one point, after guitarist Gold broke from the pack to unleash a furious solo, Hamm joked, "What the hell was that? It's a bass player's show!"

After a finale marked by some speedy slap-bass playing, Hamm raised his red Fender in the air to rousing applause and announced, "When they write the book, and you look up 'World's Greatest Rock Bass Player', there's gonna be a picture of this guy … Billy Sheehan!"

Though his receding, frizzy mat is unlikely to garner him a similar award for "Rock's Greatest Hairdo", Sheehan - now 53 - strutted on stage with the same bravado he showed some 20 years ago when playing with Steve Vai and David Lee Roth.

Given the virtuosity of the evening, the crowd remained seated and respectful, watching the masters as if at a concerto rather than a gut-pounding rock concert.

But the pent-up excitement found release when the three joined on stage for an encore of "Crossroads", the blues-rock staple best known thanks to the legendary British trio Cream.

The formerly peaceful crowd suddenly morphed into a swarming throng and rushed the stage, invading the cordoned area reserved for security staff. Camera phones in hand, they fought for a chance to see the stars up close.

After the requisite drawn-out finale and an equally long series of bows, B3 left the stage, only to be cheered back out for a second encore.

Hamm announced - oddly enough, and perhaps as a tribute to fading rock stardom - that the most appropriate closing song they could think of for the encore was "Big Bottom" by the movie spoof-group Spinal Tap.

Some of the song's more poetic nuances may have been lost in the applause (one line runs "my baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo"), the crowd definitely appreciated a follow-the-leader series of solos. Berlin, Hamm and Sheehan tried to outplay each other and improve on the preceding riff.

In the end, someone brought out a camera from backstage and the three masters posed in front of the crowd. Fans stretched to get into the picture frame, hoping their appreciation for the show would make a visual impression to go along with the roars of the night.

JR de Lara

The Nation