Once or twice a month, the gay bars in Pattaya empty out of gay boys. Why? It’s the monthly Mor Lam concert on third road.
Mor Lam is a Laotian or Isan word meaning “expert singer”. It also means in this context a concert of singers. The word Lam refers to the song. Most of the boys in the area come from Isan and this concert once a month is their chance to “go home”. To have a night off, without worrying about work, problems such as lack of money and who will have sex with them next, and it’s a chance for them just to dance and have fun.
So what happens at one of these concerts? If you’ve never been. go along. It feels like every gay boy in Pattaya is there. The straight boys aren’t quite so taken by the event, but some do go. The boys will love to take you (as long as you pay to take them off from the bar and buy them whiskey while you’re there). It costs around 100B a head to get in, but then you have to rent a chair (a few more Baht) and you’re normally expected to buy some whiskey (not too expensive). They are a bit like “Sunday night at the London Palladium” combined with a pop concert, combined with a pantomime. There is usually a main star or stars who come on half way through (although it’s hard to tell when). They will come to the front of the stage and get decorated with flower garlands by the admiring fans. There are big ensemble numbers with a huge mixed dancing troupe. There will be a host or two who will talk and tell jokes, and whip the crowd into a frenzy (but of course you understand nothing). There may be a comic pantomime number which is basically slap stick and you can get the jist, even if you don’t understand the detail. Occasionally there will be a guest speaker, such as the mayor and everyone shows respect to him.
So if so much is unintelligible to us, why do we go? Well, first, the dancing troupe has a number of sexy boys in it, and they are worth looking at. Some of the numbers may well be shirtless and you can letch for a bit. But mainly it’s to see Thai boys really having fun. The pretence goes. The boys are home in their own environment. The hardships of their life and the drudgery of the humdrum work falls away and the boys are free. They are all-enveloped in the music and the dance. Many of them will strip to the waist, stand on chairs and dance too. I’ve seen many a farang get on a chair and join in the atmosphere. It’s like the biggest private carnival in town, and you are privileged to be invited to it. So, if you get a chance, go along. Let your hair down (if you have any left) and watch as the boy’s spirits fly away for an evening. And don’t burst their bubble by being an old fuddy duddy and wanting to come home early. Stay, enjoy, and be a Thai teenager for an evening. Your “street cred” will go up and if you approach it with the right frame of mind you can watch boys being boys. And please don’t go just so you can “pick up” a sexy boy. Let the boys have their fun and stop working for one evening. They work all the time every other day. Let them have one off.
The bar owners hate the evening. They lose all their boys (or as many as can wangle time off). The customers don’t come as they know the bars won’t have any boys. And as if that’s not bad enough, many are missing the following day as the boys have hangovers from the over generous farangs who took them and bought them whiskey. But is this a reason to deny the boys their once a month treat? You can decide! Mor Lam. Once a month on average for 8 months of the year. A treat, a privilege and a Pattaya speciality. Let me know what you think.
