Still vibing from the night before, the next day we were on another mission to seek out something equally as enjoyable. The manager of a local resort said she would take us to a different venue, and yes, we could take in our half-full bottle of whisky from the night before. Slightly trendier in appearance, this place was packed with a mixture of young professionals and seasoned club goers. When we arrived they were spinning R&B and hip hop which suited us just fine.

About an hour into our arrival the DJ handed over to a local band named Scoop Rider, who received a surprisingly warm welcome given that they had just interrupted Madonna and Pharrell in full flow. This was the second time in a week we had witnessed live music in-between standard DJ sets in Udon. I don’t mind this concept as long as the band is good and they don’t milk their moment of fame for too long. I had become sick of sub-standard amateur music nights back in the UK and my tolerance levels for such events is fairly low.

The pop-rock band played out for the next hour, and even though we didn’t understand the lyrics once again, the energy of the band and response of the crowd was enough to capture our attention and for us to enjoy the set. The guitarist was very good and often led the way with some decent solo work, the two front men had good stage presence and on the whole, dare I say, the band were remarkably professional for a rural outfit.

Perhaps the whisky was helping the medicine go down. I don’t think the locals could actually believe we were enjoying the music as if it were native to us. 'When in Rome do as the Romans do' is my policy and for the second time in a week, I was among Thai people enjoying Thai music without any tourist-directed frills to entice holiday-goers, or gap year travellers into buying overpriced drinks. This was a very welcome break from the commercialism of Bangkok. This was a local vibe for local people, no entry fee, bring your own bottle and get among it.

This was only the beginning of my search for an alternative representation of music related youth culture in Thailand. It was pleasing to see that the whole country isn’t consumed by commercial tunes and cheesy teenage love ballads with adopted Western melodies. One would have expected that being based in Bangkok, I would have experienced a feast of new music, but the truth is, I just haven’t looked for it.

Having witnessed the decline in quality of underground music in the UK, I had naturally retreated back towards commercial music clubbing. I had forgotten that years ago, some of the most interesting people I knew and still keep in touch with today came from niche music scenes. So, it is time to branch out into new pastures in a new territory.

Words: Alfred James. Alfred James is a freelance writer, web marketer & Life Coach, based between Bangkok and London.

Photo: Flickr user ishot71, of Madonna in concert with Pharell, two of Thailand's commercial favourites.