More than 5,000 rock fans braved the chilly night air in Chiang Mai last Friday and flocked to Central Airport Plaza for the annual "100 Rock Festival".

The event, which usually takes place in December, was held over until February because of the proposed ban on alcohol advertising, which would have left a hole in the budget, according to Suwarak Kalayanasant, marketing manager of Pernod Ricard (Thailand). Tickets - albeit a mere Bt100 a pop - were also sold for the first time in the festival's history.

"We estimated the turnout was somewhere around 5,000, but the venue has a capacity of 10,000," says Surawak, adding that the overall budget of the festival was Bt15 million.

"By selling tickets we also aimed to screen out potential troublemakers."

Asked about the potential for another Bangkok Rock Festival, the marketing manager is noncommittal.

"The bands, the music trends ... everything needs to be ready. It certainly won't be this year, but maybe next year."

The venue in Chiang Mai was divided in two, the first arena featuring several fun game booths, a VIP lounge and a long bar; the second, the stage and seating/standing area for the concert.

Opening acts Café and Burn warmed up the early birds - mostly youngsters in their 20s - with some tight covers of Thai and foreign artists.

Last year's Seed Award winners Slot Machine were slated to perform next, but a last-minute cancellation saw them replaced by Endorphine, who boast a new line-up. The original singer showed her vocal prowess with a selection of the band's hits plus covers of Silly Fools numbers and The Cranberries' "Zombie".

Moderndog did their best to rock the crowd with "Ta Sawang", "Busaba" and "Rak Khon Chue Tim", but failed to get the Chiang Mai set jumping.

The only foreign band was the Red Hot Chili Pipers, a pipe band from Scotland, who performed disappointingly few of their own numbers, but managed a raucous cover of Queen's "We Will Rock You".

The Scottish outfit, which features three bagpipers, two percussionists and one guitarist, played on The Darkness' album "One Way Ticket to Hell and Back" and on the soundtrack of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".

The band, which released its critically acclaimed, self-titled debut album last year, is much in demand at the moment, performing all over the world. Before the festival, they played at popular Chiang Mai pubs Warm Up and Bangrak.

"Queen is our favourite band," said frontman Stuart Cassells, talking in the VIP lounge after the show.

"Our music is a kind of fusion of traditional and modern sounds. We want to bring it to audiences all over the world."

And for those wondering whether Scotsmen wear anything under their kilts, the young frontman dispelled any doubts by revealing his bare cheeks.

Paradox were the stars of the night, playing a lively set that had the crowd up and dancing. With their departure from the stage, the crowd thinned noticeably.

Those who chose to stay on, watched Clash close the festival with a tight set featuring songs from their latest album "Crashing".

Kitchana Lersakvanitchakul

The Nation