Live Music

TOKYO JOE'S
25/9 Sukhumvit Soi 26 1 (opposite Tara Hotel)
02-661-0359 www.tokyojoesbkk.com
daily 6pm-lam

Nobody knows quite where blues aficionados went before this place opened, but they've found a home here. After a brief hiatus,Tokyo Joe's is back in a new location where two cool guys put all their efforts into this live blues mecca, and it shows. The stage sets fire nightly from 9:30pm with talented, mostly-local musicians performing blues, interspersed with jazz, soul and R&B. Unique for Bangkok are the flamenco nights on Mondays; Sunday's jam sessions are well-liked. A mixed, but mostly Western crowd is always impressed bythe schedule (check the website for details) and the unassuming, tasty Asian-American pub favourites. This place is for serious blues lovers.

AD HERE THE 13TH
13 Samsen Rd, Banglumphu
089-7694613
daily 5pm-midnight

Funky, jammy, bare - one of Bangkok's coolest hangouts is nothing more than an aisle packed with five tables, a tiny bar and instruments. It's a joint you'd expect to find on Manhattan's Lower East Side, except for the Chang beer North of Khao San Road (ask for'Ad Here', once in the quarter), the down-to-earth, bohemian hang-out packs 'em in nightly On weekends, young Thais, expats and tourists spill out on the sidewalk when the joint is jumpin'. The resident band churns out cool blues, Motown and Janis Joplin; Georgia, the city's only true Blues Mama, has a voice and figure to match, and would never sing Hotel California. People from around the globe drop in for a quick jam; you're bound to meet more nationalities than you can list. Down some crazy cocktails, or do the Thai-style whiskey-soda-ice thing, along with some super-cheap booze munches. An insider's must.

BROWN SUGAR
231 / 20 Sarasin Rd [ BTS Rajdamri ]
02-250-1826
Mon-Sat 11am-1am, Sun 5pm-1am

Sarasin Road, bordering Lumphini Park, packs a strip of teeming bars.The best one is clef nitely this long-standing, smoky jazz club.The joint evokes a jazz haunt of yesteryear with dark woods, tight benches and a tiny stage. Newsweek called it'Asia's Number One Spot' and to prove the point, it's packed every night. If you care for seats, arrive early, before the brilliant band starts at 9pm.You can have some decent pub grub, but it's pricier than one might assume from the look of the haunt - same goes for the strong drinks, Sunday nights are the best - it's the night off for most hotel bar singers, who all congregate here to let their hair down and jam with local pros.

SHELA
106 Soi Lang Suan
02-254-6463 www.shelacorner.com
daily7pm-1am

No boys allowed! Shela's super-friendly, mellow vibe makes it a welcome addition to the mini-boom the city has seen in female-exclusive establishments. The two-floor space is heaving with toms (tomboys) and dee (ladies) working their butch-femme dynamics, straight women, and all other females in between. A very Thai space, but open enough to embrace farang women as well - cute and flirty servers make everyone feel right at home. Menu features light Thai dishes, drinks include the dubiously titled "Sperm" and "Freaky Ladies;' but most just stick withThai whiskey sodas. House band plays hip-hop covers with some Thai pop treacle in between - in general, the music, both on stage and spun, is bangingly good, although the crowd is so chilled-out it takes a while before patrons bust out their moves.

SAXOPHONE BAR
3/8 Phyathai Rd [ BTS Victory Monument ]
02 246-5472 www.saxophonepub.com
daily 6pm-2am

This unpretentious place is a Bangkok landmark when it comes to solid live jazz and blues. Just a stone's throw away from a BTS station, it's nevertheless not a tourist hangout. Filled with masses of fun-filled, youngish Thais and the odd foreigner thrown-in,the spacious joint can pack up to 400 people on its low-ceilinged,wooden floors. Nightly, talented Thai bands belt out sincere jazz, jazzy funk and R&B while the crowd feasts on hearty Thai and Western fare.

AD MAKERS
5I IS I Soi Lang Suan [ BTS Chidlom ]
02-652-0168
Sun-Thur 6pm-lam, Fri & Sat -1am

Bangkok's sanctuary of live rock n' roll. Nightly, Ad Makers draws a crowd which can appreciate decades of classic rock hits from Hendrix to Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Police to Coldplay. Mon. through Sat. a trio of hipsters strums acoustic sets from 8pm to 10pm, leading the way for the Big Boy Band, performing classic rock hits until 1am. Sunday nights feature an all female folk band. Don't expect designer cocktails here; the bar is stocked mainly with Jack Daniels and Johnnie Walker. They serve respectable grub, including - count 'em - 37 varieties of spicy Thai salads.

TITANIUM
Sukhumvit Soi 22 [ BTS Phrom Pong ]
www.titanium-club.com
daily 6pm1:30am

Well folks, and now for something different. Picture this: congenial hostesses clad in Bangkok-Zeitgeist ao dai. A gifted all girl rock n' roll band jamming nightly Bangkok's widest selection of vodka -- 90-some varieties to choose from. An intimate atmosphere, especially in The Vodka Room, chilled to a nipple-rising minus 10 degrees. Not exactly a place to bring Mum, but a fun night out on the slightly wild side.