The three we chose are "The Climax Bar" on Walking Street, "The Blues Factory" on Soi Lucky Star and "Lam Morrisons Rock Club" in the Soi Marine Plaza.
First off we called into "The Climax Bar". Being right beneath the huge "Polo Entertainment Venue", "The Climax Bar" is pretty hard to miss as you stroll along Walking Street. Though it looks pretty small from the outside, it is 'tardis-like' once you enter, with the band set up to the right and the best seating to the left.
Further back into the bar though, there are pool tables and extra seating ...... though sadly with no view of the stage area.
The club is well air-conditioned and the seating is comfortable. We sat immediately facing the stage as from certain other positions, the view is effected by pillars.
Drinks prices are very good, with Gin & Tonic being only 85 baht.
The band was in full flow as we took our seats and giving a 'steller' performance of "stairway to heaven". This was the 'full' version and I can honestly say that it was played to perfection. This being one of the classic songs from my teenage years, many was the times I listened to this song on 'repeat' through headphones in my bedroom ...... I know what it sounds like ...... the Climax Bands version was extremely accurate, but with just the right amount of 'flair' being shown by the 'lead guitarist', 'Peit'.
'Toy', Bass Guitar and Vocals.
Whilst we could quite happily stayed at "The Climax Bar" , we really did want to visit The Blues Factory and "Lam Morrisons Rock Club" in order to get a good comparison of the three.
We finished our drinks and left a 100 baht tip for the band on the way out. Money well spent.
Only a short walk away on Soi Lucky Star we find "The Blues Factory" which shares an entrance with the infamous JP Bar. However, since the JP Bar doesn't really get going till around 4 or 5am access to "The Blues Factory" is unrescrited.
Entering into "The Blues Factory" you access a dimly lit and very 'moody' area. The Stage is the centre of attention, as it should be and all seats have a very good view of it.
We sat in the only free area, on the left hand side of the stage. Friday nights is apparently Ladies Night and the place was pretty busy with a mixture of Farang couples and escorted Farangs.
At the time we entered though, the seemed to be in the middle of a 'raffle' of sorts. Everytime you buy a drink you are given a 'ticket' and during the natural 'breaks', numbers are called out and the 'winners' receive cuddly toys and other 'rewards'.
To be honest, I don't really see the point of this, but i'm sure for regular visitors it all adds to the flavour, charactor and sociability of the bar.
Pretty soon the band returned to the stage. "The Blues Factory" actually has two bands The Blues Machine (a serious and top quality Blues Band) and the Rock Band. The Rock Band, I have heard, is still finding it's feet with it's new line up. It also positively 'welcomes' capable members from the audiance to participate in various capacities.
On this particualar night, a member of the audience accompanied the band on the 'mouth organ' .... he was actually pretty good.
Sadly however, the selection of songs being played where not really my 'cup of tea'. Once the band got into it's flow, they played a confusing version of Pink Floyds 'Another Brick in the Wall', followed imediately by 'Rolling Down the River'.
The female singer, Mary, was extremely 'animated' and professional in an 'over the top' way. But the crowd seemed to appreciate it and everybody else seemed to be enjoying their evening.
The price of a Gin & Tonic here was 135 baht (50 baht more than "The Climax Bar" ) and this added to the fact that I didn't really 'get' the music choice or the bands style made the decision to leave a relatively easy one. As I have said though, others in the bar seemed to having a good time. Taste is a relative thing.
Out of "The Blues Factory" and turn right into Soi Marine Plaza, here we find "Lam Morrisons Rock Club".
Lam Morrison used to be the 'Star Attraction' "The Blues Factory", earlier this year however (2007) he left to open his own Club and this was to be our first visit.
The layout and setup of "Lam Morrisons Rock Club" is very, very good. Again all seats have very good stage views and the lighting, whilst pretty dim, concentrates attention on the stage.
One thing that struck us straight away was the friendliness of the Service Staff. The speak extremely good English, are well presented and courteous at all times.
Gin & Tonic cost is 140 baht, the most expensive of the 3 clubs visited tonight. Measures in all clubs were about the same.
Lam appeared to be having some problems with the set up of his equipment and spent around 15 mins tuning his Guitar and adjusting the controls on his Amplifier. Since it was now way ofter midnight, I thought this strange. Had they only just begun playing their 'set'?
Once they did begin to play in earnest however, they proved to be a more than capable band. Lam himself was, of course' the centre of attention and was brightly lit in the relative darkness of the club. The rest of the band played in his shadow, literally.
The songs they played, were in the main instrumental. Additionally, the music choice was predominantly American Rock and not the traditional Guitar Rock classics that I (coming from the UK) am familiar. Though I have no point of reference, I have to say they were played with 'flair'.
In conclusion and despite my original intentions of conducting a direct comparison of the three best Rock Clubs in Pattaya, I have to say that it would be unfair to pick a 'best' from these three bars.
Each has it's own 'charactor' and each will attract it's own customers and personal taste will decide that.
For me, my favourite is definately "The Climax Bar" for it's cheap drink prices and choice of music. That said, it's a place to sit, listen and appreciate well played Guitar classics.
Others may prefer the atmosphere of "The Blues Factory", if you are going out as a group then i'd probably recommend this place too. The music on my night was not to my personal taste, but it would make for a fun night as long as you wasn't too critical.
"Lam Morrisons Rock Club", is a place to go and see the 'Man' himself. It's all about him and you either like that or you don't. I don't know exactly what I expected, but to be honest I think I expected more.
As I have said though, there is no 1, 2 and 3 in this case as the bars cater for completely different audiences .... why not visit them all and see for yourself?
I cannot provide a 'Best' but I can say that there certainly is no 'Bad' amongst the three.
