Pups no more

Alternative rock pioneers Moderndog blew out their 15 birthday candles with a party last Friday at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium surrounded by friends and more than 2,000 faithful fans who happily chorused "Happy Birthday" in front of the special cake. It was, for the most part, a good bash though some fans were a little disappointed with the two-and-a-half-hour show, which was packed with lots of guests, a boring magic show and lots of costume changes but not enough music.

Unlike their 10th anniversary bash - a solid rock concert at the same venue - the "5 3 15" concert was designed to look back over the decade and a half since the lads made their debut on the music scene. Nearly 30 songs from five albums were newly arranged especially for the show, with some tunes sung by friends who've been working with the band since Moderndog formed in 1994.

After a hour's wait, fans applauded as vocalist Thanachai "Pod" Ujjin, guitarist May-T Noijinda and drummer Pawin "Pong" Suwannacheep and bass player Somat "Bob" Bunyarattavej, who started with the band but quit after they'd recorded their second album, made their way on stage and performed the rearranged "Loi Maa Loi Pai" and "Chewit' from the debut album "Moderndog".

They were then joined by Sukie Kamolsukosol Clapp, formerly of Bakery and the band's first producer, who jammed on keyboards on "Bangsing" before playing "Happy Birthday'".

Then it was the turn of Apartment Khunpa's bassist Pookan "Mai" Sansuriya, who jammed on "Niyai" and "Wan Sudtai".

Jump around

The band left the stage but soon returned in shocking orange jumpsuits for "Roob Mai Lor". The mood remained upbeat with Groove Riders' bass player Natthapol "Kor" Srijomkwan coming on stage to play on "Gun Lae Gun" and "Chan Yong Kong Haijai" before ceding his place to Suweera "Q" Bunrod of Flure.

Songstress Palmy was the next guest, joining the band for an acoustic version of "Sing Tee Mai Koey Bok" on a toned-down stage furnished with beanbags.

The intermission was filled with a rather boring magic show and there were sighs of relief when Moderndog returned to the stage dressed in plaid shirts and jeans. Michael Tang, aka Thailand's Michael Jackson, got Pod in a dancing mood and the band quickly segued into a tight set of their hits before wrapping the show with Palmy playing drums on "Saneha".

But the fans were not going to let the Dog go home without an encore. As cheers grew later, the band came back and ended the party with "Korn" and a medley that blended "Vatal" "Animal" and "That Song".