Decades after Kurt Cobain’s guttural rasp seduced Generation X from its collective bedroom and into the postpunk clubs of 1990s Seattle, the late Nirvana frontman remains a talisman for the young and disaffected the world over.

It was a quarter-century yesterday since grunge’s reluctant poster boy took his own life at the age of just 27, and Cobain’s former manager Danny Goldberg says he’s finally ready to reflect publicly on the legacy of an enigma and a pioneer.

In “Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain” – published this week to mark the anniversary – Goldberg remembers a Cobain ahead of his time, whose quick wit and humanity shone through the brooding melancholy.

“The impression of him in the media had become a little distorted and focused disproportionately on his death, and not as much on his life and his artwork,” Goldberg says.

In this file photo taken on April 09, 1994, fans of Seattle-based grunge rock star Kurt Cobain burn a poster bearing his photograph and reading “I Love You” during a vigil in his memory.

“He was an incredibly soulful singer; his voice conveyed a vulnerability and an intimacy that’s rare. He tuned into something that helped people feel less like freaks, less alone.”

This empathic quality ensured that the songwriter’s work remained relevant, Goldberg says, even to teenagers born after Cobain’s death, a world away from the drizzly Pacific Northwest of his formative years.

And the universality of the singer’s appeal is the reason that T-shirts with the band’s classic blank-eyed smiley logo can be seen wherever teenagers gather, from Toledo to Tokyo.

“He’s one of a handful of artists whose art transcends his time,” Goldberg notes.

The depressive but singular talent who grew up in the misty woods two hours west of Seattle morphed into a rock god seemingly overnight, when “Nevermind”, Nirvana’s second of three studio albums, catapulted the alt rock group to stratospheric fame and spawned the cult of Kurt.

Goldberg met Cobain in 1990, when Nirvana were up and coming but hoping to take their unique blend of scruffy punk, raw metal and Beatles-inspired melodies mainstream.

“Nevermind” did just that, becoming one of the most successful albums of all time, with 30 million copies sold worldwide. The instant classic booted pop star Michael Jackson from the top of the US charts and saw Nirvana shift the course of pop culture, inspiring music, fashion and ethos.

Exactly 25 years after the devastating suicide of the 1990s counterculture poster child, Cobain’s former manager Danny Goldberg releases “Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain”.

In the three-and-half years he worked with Cobain, Goldberg witnessed Nirvana’s spectacular ascent. He was there for the singer’s warm but tempestuous relationship with mercurial fellow grunger Courtney Love, and the birth of their daughter, Frances Bean, now 26.

Tellingly, he witnessed the interventions aimed at loosening heroin’s grip on the rock star.

Cobain’s death sent shockwaves around the world, the grisly details and the loss of a unique voice as gut-wrenching as the poignant suicide note.

“I don’t have the passion anymore, and so remember, it’s better to burn out than to fade away,” he wrote, referencing a lyric by folk rocker Neil Young.

The news devastated Goldberg, and it wasn’t until recently that he began coming to terms with it: “For a long time it was too painful for me.”

“I miss him, I still love him,” Goldberg says. “I wish he were still around but I’m happy I got to know him at all.”

But the former Nirvana manager, who Cobain had hailed as a “second father”, emphasises that behind the drug use and depression the superstar was a “musical genius.”

He was also a romantic goofball, Goldberg adds, who happened to be the  proud owner of four pristine, sealed copies of “The Chipmunks Sing the Beatles Hits”.

Goldberg believes Cobain’s “slacker” appeal – the tattered sweater, the dish-water-blond locks, swept frequently and absent-mindedly from ocean-blue eyes as he flicked a handrolled cigarette – drew attention from his impressive intellect.

“I always knew there was a depth to the energy and feelings that he was playing with; it was deeper than just a great chorus – even though he did write great choruses,” Goldberg says.

His manager credits Cobain with championing women and helping to “redefine masculinity” within the music world.

“He could be very powerful and compelling – and at the same time, be sensitive and caring. That was a departure from the rock orthodoxy of the time,” he says.

In his memoir Goldberg recalls a show in Argentina that infuriated Cobain when the crowd booed the opening allfemale act Calamity Jane – so the Nirvana star retaliated by refusing to perform the band’s breakout hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.

“The audience didn’t deserve us playing it,” Cobain said at the time.

“He was committed to a feminist ideal and respect for everybody, a kind of antimacho ethos,” Goldberg says, also noting Cobain’s support for gay rights.

“He had a truly alternative version of what it was to be a rock star.”

Though the supernova that was Nirvana went dark when Cobain died, Goldberg says the ripples of his brief life endure, putting him in a league with icons like Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon and Bob Dylan.

He resists speculating on how the musician’s trajectory may have evolved had he lived, but Goldberg is certain the artist would still be innovating, saying Cobain “was always evolving, not just copying himself.”

“I just hope that whatever he was doing, I’d be able to hang out with him,” he adds with a chuckle.

Boyzone’s concert – the last stop in Asia on their “Thank You & Goodnight Farewell World Tour 2019” – at Thunder Dome last Thursday was probably not a commercial success, judging by the number of vacant seats both upstairs and down.

And it lacked one of quartet’s powerful vocals after Keith Duffy fell sick and was rushed to hospital.

As a result, the concert was delayed for an hour though Ronan Keating, Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch gamely went ahead with the show as a trio. And while it was a shame that the audience missed out on Duffy, though some of course did get to see him in the Boyzlife’s concert last December, in which he performed with Westlife’s Brian McFadden, the three remaining members did a great job in entertaining the audience.

Screams rang out from the fans, as the threesome came out on stage and opened their first set with “Who We Are”, “Love Is A Hurricane” and “Isn’t It A Wonder” before following up with throwback hits “Coming Home Now”, “Baby Can I Hold You” and “You Needed Me”, with the audience happily singing along.

Listening to “Baby Can I Hold You”, I was reminded of Duffy making fun of Ronan Keating’s Irish accent in that song with Boyzlife.

“Well, well, Bangkok. How are you doing? Sawasdee khrub. Boyzone has been coming here since 1995, I think. You welcome Boyzone with open arms. You make me feel like I’m home. That’s why the band is here tonight to thank you for the last 25 years. Tonight, you’re going to hear songs from the last 25 years – the songs that you want to hear,” Keating told the cheering crowd before introducing a female vocalist to replace the ailing Duffy on “All That I Need” and “I Love The Way You Love Me.”

After “Father and Son”, Keating paid tribute to the late Boyzone member Stephen Gately, who wrote “I Can Dream” 15 years ago. Later retitled “Dream”, Gately recorded a solo version of the song as the B-side to the 2001 single “Stay” (2001) and the band decided to rerecord the number adding their vocals to Gately’s version, thus including their late comember of Boyzone in their last ever studio album.

The trio went on to perform Boyzone hits as scenes from the music videos played on screen. Among them was “Key to My Life” where the five original members are attending school with a hot teacher. Female fans screamed, as closeups of each of the lads back in 1995 came on the screen.

Like Boyzlife, Boyzone covered Bee Gees’ “Words” with the audience helping them out by singing along.

Keating talked about the brand new album, which was released at the end of last year and like the tour is called “Thank You & Goodnight”.

“For the first time, we decided to change the formula for Boyzone’s album. This album mixes urban music with country, pop and rock because nobody listens to music the same way any more. These days, you stream songs from different places. You create a playlist. I hope you’ll enjoy the album,” Keating said as he swung into “Talk About Love”.

Two of Boyzone’s most popular ballads followed – “Love Me for a Reason” and “No Matter What”.

The Irish boy band closed out their last concert in Bangkok with the encore: “Life Is A Rollercoaster” and “Picture of You”.

He was last here in 2009 as a member of the now-defunct hip-hop duo Supreme Team and has since released two solo albums, “SNL League Begins” in 2011 and last year’s “Darkroom”.

Tickets cost Bt2,000 to Bt4,500 at https://Ticket.achi.co.th. Find out more at http://www.Achi.co.th the “achiactivation” Facebook page.

Bodyslam goes orchestral

Rock superstars Bodyslam will perform with an orchestra for the first time tomorrow during the Thailand International Wind Symphony Competition at Prince Mahidol Hall. Fans get in for free at 3pm, but there will be only 1,000 seats available.

In tune and ‘Timeless’

Koh Mr Saxman, Jennifer Kim, Winai Phanthurak, the Sound of Siam, Pod Thanachai, Non Tanon, Pu Anchalee, Cheer Thikumporn, Pana Nawas, Toei Pongsakorn, Pui Duangporn, the KU Wind Symphony, Richard Jackson and Japan’s Aya Takazawa and Ueda Masaki & Yoshie N join for “Timeless Concert” next month.

There will two shows at King Power Rangnam’s Aksra Theatre – on May 11 at 2 and 7pm and on May 12 at 3pm. Tickets are on sale for Bt1,500 and Bt2,500 at all 7Eleven outlets, and proceeds are going to the Siriraj Foundation.

Chotikul brothers and friends

Neekrung Connect’s first concert of the year features legendary brother duo Asanee and Wasan Chotikul on May 19. “Nam Aoei Nam Jai” is set for Impact Arena. Joining the brothers onstage will be Palmy and Napat Siengsomboon.

Seats cost Bt1,000 to Bt6,000 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and (02) 262 3456. Get the details at http://www.Neekrung.com and “neekrungmagazine” on Facebook.

Astro back in orbit

Six members of the South Korean boy band Astro will perform at Centra Plaza Lat Phrao’s BCC Hall on April 27. “Astro the 2nd Astroad to Bangkok [Starlight]” will feature JinJin, MJ, Cha Eunwoo, Moon Bin, Rocky and Yoon Sanha will come to Thailand for a concert.

Tickets cost Bt2,900 to Bt5,900 at https://Ticket.achi.co.th. Find out more at http://www.Achi.co.th the “achiactivation” Facebook page.

The party, which includes arts, fashion and graphics, features music by Maft Sai, Kanehbos and The Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band as well as special guest DJ Hasabe.

Tickets are available at http://www.Ticketmelon.com.

Zaap in a spin

Zaap Room returns tonight for its eighth edition with Italian DJ Giuseppe Ottaviani and Argentinian DJ Chris Schweizer manning the decks at Diamond Thonglor from 9.

Ottaviani has long been recognised as one of the genre’s most respected and prolific merchants. From his earliest studio work (as the engine behind famed group NU NRG), through to his latterday releases under his own name, he has established himself as a benchmark for eminent trance. Schweizer is a highly acknowledged DJ and considered among the best in Argentina. He specialises in electro house and trance.

Admission is Bt500. For more information, call (098) 171 9846.

He’s a champ

Ryan the DJ  the South African champion of Red Bull 3Style in 2017 – makes his debut in Thailand at The Club at Koi tonight starting at 9.

Tickets cost Bt300 with one drink.

Book a table at (02) 108 2000.

Dutchman in the air

Insanity Nightclub on Sukhumvit Soi 11 welcomes special international guest Rosh tonight. The DJ, who has played at The Flying Dutch, Future Music Festival Asia and It’s the Shi, currently holds a residency at One Night in Amsterdam. Catch him from 10.

Tickets are Bt400 for men and Bt300 for women. For more information and reservations, call (082) 731 8885 or go to Line: @insanity.

Beam lights up

Lunice  a producer and DJ from Montreal, Canada, and one half of the production duo TNGHT – will be at Beam in Thonglor on March 29 tonight from 9pm until late.

Tickets is Bt500 with one drink. For more information and reservations, please call (02) 392 7750.

MeYou and Urboy TJ perform “Ploy Ther Pai”, Jeena Dee and Tar Paradox do “Beautiful”, Sir Poppa Lot and Tae Trakultor offer “Khid Hod Baan”, F-king Hero and Tul sing  “Rongrien Kao”, and Liberate P and Boy Lomosonic have “Na Kak”.

Check out the tracks on YouTube’s “GmmGrammyOfficial” channel.

BNK48 onstage with Bird

Thongchai “Bird” McIntyre’s “The Return of BBB #11: Dream Journey Restage” concerts are tomorrow and Sunday at Impact Arena, the first in the evening, the second in the afternoon.

Ladies joining the superstar onstage will include Natapohn “Taew” Tameeruks, Kannarun “Prang” Wongkhajornkai, Katreeya English, Nat Myria, Jintara Poonlarp and a contingent of BNK48 members. Expect to hear “Chart Korn Malee Chart Nee Kharon”, “Mar Thammai” and many more hits.

Seats cost Bt1,500 to Bt6,500 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and  (02) 262 3456.

EDM get-together

The seventh Together Festival loads up on electronic dance music at Bitec in Bang Na on May 3 and 4. This year’s lineup features foreign DJs Snake, Alison Wonderland, Gryffin, Jeffrey Sutorius and Dash Berlin and local heroes Kungs, Marlo and Party Favor.

Get your pass at http://www.TogetherFestival.net.

No lie: A date with ETC

ETC are taking you to the prom with a “Ready to Move” party at Nineteens Up on Silom Soi 19 in Bangkok on April 20. They’ve just released “Lies”, their first single for their new music label Muzik Move Records.

Pay Bt550 to get in and you get a limited edition T-shirt featuring caricatures of the boys. Head to http://www.MuzikMoveStore.com or the Facebook pages “MuzikMoveRecords” and “ETCband”.

Fall in love with Mayer

American singing-songwriting charmer John Mayer makes his Thailand debut at Impact Arena on April 3. The seven-time Grammy winner is touring Asia and wants to see the City of Angels.

Mayer has had numerous massive hits, with this year’s “New Light” preceded by “Gravity”, “Love on the Weekend”, “Heartbreak Warfare”, “Daughters” and “Your Body is a Wonderland”.

Seats are on sale at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and  (02) 262 3456.

Annop “Por” Thongborisut, Pornpatchanok “Pang” Mitchai, Thanasit “Ton” Jaturaput, Nipaporn “Zani” Thitithanakarn, Wiwid “Tee” Bovornkiratikajorn, and Nisachol “Nest” Siewthaisong will perform 22 of the big band’s classic songs.

The musical is based on the tumultuous story of two families with the son of one Ton (Por) and the daughter Praewa (Pang) of the other squabbling over trivial matters in a song, “Baan Ruen Khieng Kan”, while Pete (Ton) and Tangkwa (Zani) flirt with each other in “Kratai Ngo.”

Nest Nisachol takes on the role of a female vendor, singing “Phor Kha Ruea Ray”, while taxi motorcyclists Tee Wiwid, Thanyawit “Palm” Jenaksorn and veteran rocker Tannatonn “Au” Palakawong Na Ayudhaya tease her in “Rak Khrai Kan Nae” before joining up for “Rerng Rak.”

The three-hour musical is created by Watchara Waewwutthinan, a scriptwriter and producer and also chief executive of JSL Global Media, performance director Watchara Paniem, and music director Au Tannatonn.

Tickets cost Bt1,500 and Bt2,500 at Thai Ticket Major (02) 262 3456 and visit http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.

Follow the movement of the musical at Facebook.com/SuntarapornMusical, Instagram and Twitter: jslglobalmedia.

It’s now summer break for most schoolchildren, and parents need to find some quality activities for them. Enrolling them in cram schools or special skill workshops is a popular choice but there are also others from which to choose.

Many theatre performances have specific, or recommended, age groups for spectators who would not only enjoy but understand them fully, and it’s hard to find one that kids and parents can equally enjoy.

Thanks to Silpathorn Award recipient Nikorn Saetang and Nuttapol “Ta” Kummata, one-third of pantomime trio Babymime, many families enjoyed some unique quality time watching “Play Around Objects” (in Thai “Len Rop-Tua”) at KBank Siam Pic-Ganesha Centre of Performing Arts’ Studio over the last two weekends.

At the beginning, the audience saw many familiar household objects spread around the performance area. Nikorn and Ta introduced themselves and reminded us that this wasn’t their first collaboration, noting that Babymime’s first two eveninglength productions were directed by Nikorn. Ta added, to smiles and applause, that more than 20 years ago Nikorn studied object theatre when he was trained at Paris’s Ecole internationale de theatre Jacques Lecoq, and didn’t want to forget how to do it and so we were getting to see this show now. Shortly afterwards, while they, and special guest performer and Babymime member Tongglur “Glur” Tongthae were clearing the stage, the audience listened to HM King Bhumibol’s “Yim Su” (“Smiles”), which set the right tone for the subsequent 80-minute performance.

In short and long scenes of different stories, Nikorn and Ta took us on a journey filled with creativity to a variety of places from a living room, an office, up into space and down under the sea. They used only the household objects we had seen earlier, ranging from sandals and a yoga mat to a spray bottle and vacuum cleaner hose and ingeniously blended them with their voices and physical movements.

Unlike object theatre works by artists who dedicate their whole career to the genre, this work was slightly short of being magical. Nonetheless, our laughter was frequent and our smiles almost nonstop. Among the most memorable moments was when three children from audience helped Glur, who also introduced each scene, clean up the stage. I’m also certain that most, if not all, of the kids in the audience that Sunday evening would continue to exercise their imagination by turning their household objects into different characters, and hopefully cleaning and clearing them afterwards. And that’s yet more proof that, in an age when many kids are glued to online games and we adults are bombarded by the visuals in our daily lives, both the young and the not-so-young need performances like “Play Around Objects” more than ever.

It’s also noteworthy that while the main theatre at this downtown performing arts centre is dark most evenings, its small studio, which doubles as a rehearsal room, is getting busier. Theatre-goers have watched two very different works there over the past few weeks. That’s a reminder that Thai theatre makers are producing more smaller works than larger ones; and a warning to those who are planning to build large playhouses, believing that it would support the development of contemporary theatre.

Time for More Laughter

– Toh Gloam Television will restage “Chai Klang: The Musical”, their comedic hit from 12 years ago, with new cast members at the venue’s main theatre, starting May 25.

– Tickets are from Bt 1,000 to 2,800, available now at ThaiTicketMajor.

– For more details, check out Facebook.com/KBankSiamPicGanesha.

Kunpimook Bhuwakul, 22, known by his nickname BamBam as a member of South Koream boy band Got7, will bring his “Black Feather” fan-meeting tour to Central Plaza in Khon Kaen tomorrow at 6pm and the Splash Beach Resort Maikhao in Phuket on Sunday at 5pm.

Passes cost Bt2,500 to Bt4,900 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and (02) 262 3456.

Lany make it a double

BEC-Tero has added a second Lany show after the American pop trio’s original date sold out. There’s now a second chance to see the Malibu Nights World Tour, on July 29 at GMM Live House in Bangkok.

Paul Klein, Jake Goss and Les Priest will be arriving via Malaysia and before continuing on to Japan, South Korea and other destinations.

Seats cost Bt1,800 and Bt2,800 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and (02) 262 3456.

Memories are forever

The Cassette Festival, a set of 1990s rewind concerts featuring more than 25 nostalgia acts, is set for Royal Paragon Hall on May 24, 25 and 26, with tickets remaining only for the first evening.

Mos Patiparn, Tata Young, Om Sunisa, EkkyTem UHT, Bow Sunita, Nicole Theriault, Tui Teerapat, TarTic Mr Team, Noom Kala, China Doll, Zaza, Fundee-Funden and Project H are among the attractions.

Seats cost Bt2,000 to Bt5,000 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and (02) 262 3456. Part of the proceeds goes to Friends for Life.

Zak tells his tale

Zak Chumpae, who went from country boy to luk thung star with 500 million views of the video for his debut song “Kham Paeng”, will have a “Tam Hoy Kham Paeng” fan meeting at Tonmai Music in Khon Kaen on Sunday at 5.30pm.

He’ll talk about his life and his struggles to eke out a living before hitting it big in the music biz.

Let Olarn test those ears

The Olarn Project, godfathers of Thai heavy metal, return to the stage for “The Olarn Project: X Fire” at BG Hall on Bangkok’s Rangsit Klong 3 opposite Dream World on April 20.

Ticket cost Bt1,000 at all 7-Elevens and the “Heavy Organizer” page on Facebook.