Two international stars, two divergent styles
Early next week will see two performers arriving in Bangkok. On Monday, Bruno Mars will hit Impact Arena with all his funky fanfare. On Tuesday, Jake Bugg will play live at the Scala, an intimate venue perfect for his acoustic set. Mars first. What to say? The latest Grammy-winning singer-songwriter-producer-dancer will rub Bangkok shiny with his 24K magic not just in one but two gigs, on Monday and Tuesday. Such was the enthusiastic reception of the artist that BEC Tero, initially planning for just one show, had to add another when the first was sold out in less than an hour after the booking opened. The 24K Magic World Tour this weekend brings the Honolulu-born Mars to Macau, before he hops over to Bangkok for the Monday show. Then he’ll move on to Manila, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and then back to the US for the North American leg. This is Mars’ second visit to Bangkok. He first came here in 2014 as part of The Moonshine Jungle Tour, after his Unorthodox Jukebox album made him an international star. On that trip, we learned from his Twitter that, of course, he went to see muay Thai, tasted fried bugs, and caused a stir when he posed with a bootlegged copy of his own CD. That’s a good one, Bruno. So what are you looking forward to hear? 24K Magic, Versace On The Floor, That’s What I Like — those and other soul-funk-dance hybrids that makes his tunes catchy and infectious, plus the brash kineticism of his choreography and dance troupe. We wish those who managed to get tickets a real blast. On Tuesday, as Mars does a repeat out there at Impact, Jake Bugg will serenade the Scala. Bugg, a 23-year-old British singer-songwriter, will likely to appear solo, on a stool with his acoustic guitar, and play for the 700-seat theatre tunes that sound country, blues and indie rolled into one, from Me And You, Trouble Town, Taste It, Two Fingers, Broken, Seen It All, and many more. If you plan to go to Mars on Monday, Bugg will have been a perfect winding-down, a sophisticated cooling off from the funky heat of the day before.
Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic World Tour takes place at Impact Muang Thong Thani on Sunday and on Tuesday. Jake Bugg’s Solo Acoustic Tour Live in Bangkok is at the Scala Theatre on Tuesday.