I fervently wish
I didn’t know what Hong Thong,
Blend, and Sang Som meant.
Went with Fam, Thong, and Boy (right to left in the photo below) to see Aof Pongsak at Territory Chainat last night.
Aof was brilliant. They call him the Little Squirrel over here, and his frantic breakneck prancing around the Territory stage didn’t leave much doubt why. Amazing energy.
I was tremendously proud, last night, to be a part of our little four-man Thai entourage. Fam, Thong, and Boy are very much the cool kids in town. I was also proud to see another young concertgoer wearing a UNC sweatshirt.
Nevertheless, I struggled with loneliness for parts of the night. Both Aof and his opening act stuck to extremely popular songs in order to bring the crowd together under the roof of shared musical experience, so my unfamiliarity with many of the tunes was unique and obvious in relief. Though every one of the hundreds of strangers in the house engaged warmly with the only foreigner there and made a point of inviting me to share drinks and dancing and standing space, my outsiderhood was constantly exposed by the Thai lyrics, and I felt a bit silly smiling my dumb mute smile while everyone else sang songs they’d grown up with.
After Aof’s set, Fam and the boys joined me for a wild dance party to canned American hip hop. They are truly good friends.