Despite floods, X Japan's Bangkok concert was a storming success | Bangkok Post: Arts & Culture

One by one, the concerts fell by the wayside. A national flood crisis, millions displaced, travel warnings, inundated access roads, logistical nightmares _ not exactly conducive to holding large-scale events. David Foster, Jason Mraz plus a host of international DJs cancelled their gigs in recent weeks. Pitbull's Nov 28 concert has also just been axed.

In the middle of the crisis one show went ahead. With many access roads submerged, the promoter bussed some fans in from CentralWorld. Others navigated heavy traffic on the raised expressway, but few taxis were willing to take anyone Muang Thong-bound. We travelled by van from Victory Monument, after standing in a queue that was literally half a kilometre long. This was X Japan, though, and 12,000 fans on Tuesday night were determined to make it.

That X Japan took the concert and their Thai fans seriously, that they put their hearts into the show, was obvious. An eccentric performance heavy on nostalgia and sentiment unfolded before a raucous sell-out crowd at Impact Arena. Androgynous Yoshiki, 45, was especially popular, as he struck topless poses atop his piano or drum kit to a cauldron of screams, while singer and Kim Jong-il lookalike Toshi, 46, went through what seemed an entire phrasebook of Thai expressions between long versions of songs including IV, X, Rusty Nail, Endless Rain, Jade, Silent Jealousy and Kurenai. The lively Thai and Japanese fans dressed in black T-shirts, or as cosplay nurses or manga characters, seemed to know the words of every song.