| Expect the unexpected. That’s what I told myself on the night of Monday March 17th when I went to Harry Connick Jr’s Live in Bangkok. |
| Well, the reason was that jazz music was never really the mainstream in Thailand. So I didn’t think the concert would be jam packed. The next thing was that only his fans would know and enjoy his songs. Third, I never went to the Bangkok Convention Hall at Central World for the concert; thus, I would never know what it would be like. Fourth, I knew in advance that 90% of the seats were at the same level, the rest would be on the temporary stands at the back of the hall, so I did not know if I could view the stage clearly. Last, the concert was on Monday night, so who would be in the mood to attend the concert. |
| Despite all those thoughts, I still looked forward to going to the concert. It was simple. I have been listening to his music since 1992, when I was in high school. (I still cannot believe it.) |
 ‘Oh My Nola’ | January 2007 | Released |
| Arriving at Central World around 06:30pm, the first thing need to be done was finding the parking. It was as I expected, it’s hard to find the parking. I had driving around the parking lot trying to find the nearest spot to the lift to the concert hall. Finally, I got it. |
| I still had time so I went to B2S checking some new books. When I was about to leave the store, at the Thaiticketmaster counter, there were some tourists asking about Harry’s concert. So I thought, “Was it the concert management’s intention in holding the event at Central World in order to attract foreigners and tourists given that this was not the kind of music Thai people liked?” I thought I was right! |
| 08:40pm, the concert started on-time. (It’s not like Thai concert that normally starts 40-60 minutes later than the scheduled time.) Well, the concert hall was full. I thought more than half of the audiences were foreigners or tourists. Thai audiences were mainly celebrities and some well-know people. Personally, I felt like attending a concert in another country.The theme of this tour concert was to perform the New Orleans Jazz style. Harry did not perform any jazz standards that Thais might be familiar with or heard of such as the song from the movie ‘When Harry Met Sally’ or songs from his platinum album ‘Only You’, which was got US Platinum. All the songs were from his latest couple albums. (If you want to find out more about his music, you can visit his website at http://www.harryconnickjr.com) |
 ‘Chanson du Vieux Carre’ | January 2007 | Released |
| One of the highlights was when he and his band performed His Majesty the King’s composition “Near Dawn” or “ใกล้รุ่ง”. I was touched. |
| His performance and his band truly brought the audience to New Orleans. It brought back my memory when I was in the States and had a chance to visit New Orleans. I really enjoy the music. The performance was pure, fresh, and lively. It’s an entertaining night. |
 ‘Only You’ | February 2004 | Released |
 ‘When Harry Met Sally’ | July 1989 | Released |
| By the way, up until now, what happened were not the things that I exected. The hall was full (though I felt like I was not in Thailand). The audiences were enjoying the music (mainly because there were foreigners). The concert hall was not OK but the sound system was good. And the view to the stage was OK but I still did not like it. (It made me felt like I was sitting in the high school gymnasium.) |
| As I said earlier, expect the unexpected. When the concert ended, all audiences went straight to the elevators crushing out. I waited about 15 minutes before leaving the hall. Then I walked to elevator and stood in line waiting for the next trip. Ding! Ding! The elevator came. Suddenly one big guy broke the line and said “Let the VIP go first!” The first person in line surprised and puzzled. I was in the back of the queue and thought to myself “What the hell!” I did not want to tell who the idiot VIP and his families were. I never thought that people with a high position in the society would do such a thing like breaking the line. For one thing, he was not Thai. I was very disappointed. But then again, Thai people were too nice. That lady standing at the head of the line just let them went through. Just like that! |
| Anyway, expect the unexpected! |
If I got something out of this concert, I would say “Do whatever you love; then you’ll deliver your best and do it with your heart.” When Harry performed on the stage,  you would know that he loved what he did. He just gave it to the audience 100%. So…just listen to your heart. Then do it with your heart, but do not expect anything. |
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