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Inevitably, most media will tell you the 2005 Hua Hin Jazz Festival was a “complete success”. In terms of attracting the numbers and boosting tourism for the area, they would be right. But whether people actually came away changed and enlightened by the musical vibe and experience, only the beer can tell… A heavy heat weighed down on the huge throngs crowding Hua Hin’s beaches and streets for the annual Heineken Jazz Festival. This made the beer go down quicker and the music fade even further into the background.  There is something about being at a festival with the sand between your toes, waves gently lapping the beach, the moonlight peeping in and out of clouds, all while listening to chilled jazz tunes. But I was hard-pressed to appreciate those things with the masses of people making the simple things in life, like ordering beer, finding a spot to drink beer, and relieving myself after drinking beer, a thorough chore. Even the VIP area suffered from shoulder-to-shoulder crowds and excruciatingly long queues.
Stifling temperatures and heaving crowds aside, the event was also marred by traffic jams, a lack of toilets and at one point, running out of beer (!).
However, there were good-looking Heineken staff behind the bar and an army of garbage collectors efficiently picking up after the purportedly 10,000-strong crowd. The beer was cheap (60baht for 50cl) though often not cold enough and the food was also inexpensive and tasty.
The event went off relatively hitch-free and no rain hampered the evening. The main action was on the beach stage in front of the Sofitel Hotel. The anticipated highlight of the evening was bassist John Pattitucci and his guitar and trio band. The famed Pattitucci was quite the illustrious guest at this year’s jazz festival with many accolades to his name. He won over the Thai audience by performing a rendition of the King’s composition. But the act that really stood out was popular local outfit Crescendo with their energetic pop jazz sound.
Sunday night of the festival was actually much more relaxed as the bulk of the crowd headed back to Bangkok during the day. With more space and no waiting for amenities or services, I was actually able to focus on the music. To kick off the night, Mansri played what sounded like background jazz music to me. But then their guest female vocalist appeared on stage and saved the day with a mature and well-controlled voice from someone so young. Apartment Khunpa played a tight and funkin’ set though it wasn’t very jazz and probably irritated older members of the audience.
This year the Heineken PR posse aimed to attract younger people to the event by inviting popular bands like Apartment Khunpa. And they evidently succeeded. Contrary to jazz music’s normally elderly fan base, Hua Hin was packed with many young punters. But did any of them actually come for the music? If not, what were they doing here? For that matter what was I doing there? My guess is that people (myself included) are just lazy, preferring a getaway where they won’t have to travel very far, where they won’t be challenged musically and where they can drink beer by the seaside. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
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