TAKE THAT, the most successful boy band in British history, was back in Bangkok last week after a 20-year gap that has seen the quintet break up, reunite and break up again, finally reforming as a trio featuring Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen.

Organised by new concert promoter Contango, “Take That Live in Bangkok 2016” was staged last Thursday at Impact Arena Exhibition Hall 3, Muang Thong Thani. Promptly at 8.30pm, Donald, Owen and Barlow appeared on stage in front of a decidedly modest crowd in the compact hall and belted out “Shine” from their 2007 “Beautiful World” album to loud cheers from the crowd.

“Thailand! Let me see your hands! Owen shouted and the fans were quick to raise their arms and wave them around from side to side.

Not wasting time, the “boys” – now in their mid 40s – continued their set with numbers from the early noughties that included “Greatest Day” and “Hold Up a Light”. Owen picking the latter to come down from stage to “say hi” to the fans then climbed back up to take a selfie with his band mates with the fans in the background.

The group delivered another hit, “Patience”, before going back to the ’90s with “Pray”, the first of 12 singles by the band to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart that came out in 1993 – back when the group still had two other members, Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Fans were treated to a little routine as the boys fell into formation and put on some suave, ’90s boy band moves throughout the songs.

Feel good acoustic tunes “Up All Night” and “Said It All” from 2008’s “The Circus” came on next, followed by “Could It Be Magic”, a cover of Barry Manilow’s hit from 1975.

Owen took centre stage with a guitar in hand, belting out the folk rock ballad “Four Minute Warning” from his 2003 solo album “In Your Own Time”. While not familiar to fans, it was a welcome addition to the set. Barlow then took his turn with “Let Me Go”, an uplifting, catchy song from his 2013 solo album “Since I Saw You Last”.

Take That then took it down a notch with “The Flood” from 2010 “Progress”.

“I think it’s time for us to go simple at this point in this evening.” Barlow said. “Bring the piano out and retend we’re in your front room, singing to you.” The backup musicians disappeared, leaving Barlow on the piano and Donald and Owen beside him. “Let’s see if you remember this one.” Barlow said, as he played the intro to “A Million Love Songs” from their 1992 debut “Take That & Party” on the keys.

“Babe” from 1993’s “Everything Changes” was next followed by “How Deep Is Your Love”, their cover version of the Bee Gees’ hit. They then segued into “Back For Good”, one of the group’s best known hits from 1995. The positive, funky and danceable “These Days” from their 2014 and most recent album “III” got the crowd on their feet clapping and swaying. Take That’s famous cover of Dan Hartman’s disco hit “Relight My Fire” followed, with the fans singing and dancing along throughout the song.

The lads closed out their set with more “Rule The World” and “Never Forget” before bidding fans goodnight and promising they wouldn’t have to wait another 20 years to see them in Bangkok again.

There was a sense of strangeness at seeing Take That as a trio, but vocally and musically the reduction in numbers did nothing to tarnish the integrity of the remaining band. Much credit is due to the fact that the group has evolved and adapted through time to become a new pop group in its own right, one that is undeniably more mature but still charming and fun.

GUITAR LEGEND Carlos Santana loves his Thai fans a lot, so much so that he has become something of a regular on the Bangkok concert scene, playing to a sold-out crowd every two or three years. His latest gig, part of his “Santana Luminosity Tour 2016” on Monday night at Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thai, was his fourth concert in the City of Angels to date and came just a couple of years after his previous tour in 2013.

Judging by the energy of the concert crowd, the love is entirely mutual. The crowd had been thoroughly worked up and over by opening act Carabao, the songs-for-life veterans and the doyens of Thai rock scene, and excitement was at fever pitch by the time Santana came out on stage.

Compared to his legion of veteran hippie-looking fans at the concert, the 68-year-old Mexican-American seemed like a Zen rock star with his frequent messages of peace and wellness. He rarely broke out into fevered jamming, most of the time contenting himself with blasting out his music nonchalantly, smacking his gums yet still remaining flamboyant.

The set performed on Monday was a mix of classic hits like “Toussaint L’ouverture” , “Gypsy Queen” and “A Love Supreme” plus “Love Makes the World Go Round” and “Freedom in Your Mind”, which are to be released on “Santana IV”, a comeback album with the original Santana band line-up next month.

After “Freedom in Your Mind”, Santana announced that it was time to make the women happy and play “Maria Maria”. The crowd went wild at the hot hit and airwave favourite and sang along to their heart’s content. Lead vocalist Andy Vargas did a decent job of covering the vocals originally performed by The Product G&B.

While the ladies in the crowd were certainly pleased as they sambaed to Santana’s brand of Latin rock, drummer Cindy Blackman, the only woman on stage, stole the attention with her superb, intense performance. Blackman, who is also Santana’s partner in life, proved that she’s very much a star in her own right, keeping the crowd spellbound during her solo.

Just as in 2013, Carabao returned to the stage for a jam with Santana, rocking fans with a well-improvised set that continued for three numbers before handing the stage back to the guitar maestro for “Sacala” and “Oye Como Va”. The show hit a high note with another airwave favourite, “Smooth”, made popular by Rob Thomas.

With a career spanning almost half a century, Santana is one of the few guitarists of his era who continues to tour and make music. His pal, former Beatle Paul McCartney is an exception, though he too is showing signs of slowing down.

Santana, who has always been inspired by late blues guitarist BB King, paid homage to Jimi Hendrix as well as to McCartney at the end of the concert. It was a nice touch but for the packed auditorium, just watching and listening to Santana work his magic on the guitar was enough of a thrill.

Screams for an encore brought the guitarist and showman extraordinaire back out on the stage for a lively rendition of “Soul Sacrifice” and “Saidera” to close out the show.

DIANA KRALL’S SHOW |at Royal Paragon Hall last Friday night, her third visit to Bangkok and the first since 2005, was another sumptuous feast of jazz and pop for her Thai fans.

The best-selling Canadian singer-pianist, 51, rolled into town this time on her “Wallflower World Tour”, packing the venue at Siam Paragon. Accompanied by double bass, guitar, fiddle, keyboards and drums, she opened the evening with the 1920s jazz standard “Deed I Do”, giving it her patented treatment and drawing loud cheers.

Krall thanked the crowd in Thai and then switched to |English to say, “It’s a pleasure to be back here again.”

The only singer to have had eight albums debut at the top of the Billboard jazz chart, she’s won five Grammy Awards and eight Junos, her homeland’s equivalent. Add to those statistics nine gold, three platinum and seven multi-platinum albums and 15 million discs sold, and she’s clearly a formidable force in the industry.

Krall gave Bangkok her full artillery of timeless hits. There were the well-known numbers “Let’s Fall in Love” and “Frim Fram Sauce” by Nat King Cole, “So Nice” by Sergio Mendes, “Simple Twist of Fate” and “Wallflower” by Bob Dylan, “Temptation” by Tom Waits, and “Angel Eyes”, a tune most associated with Frank Sinatra.

There was Burt Bacharach’s “The Look of Love”, which was a mega-hit for Krall, “If I Take You Home Tonight” by Paul McCartney and, perhaps with the recent death of Glenn Frey in mind, “Desperado” by the Eagles.

Effortlessly elegant, Krall’s stage presence is as soothing and enigmatic as her rare, slightly raspy contralto. Her genuine enthusiasm was inviting and intimate, making fans feel as though they were sitting in her living room.

The twists she adds to the songs she covers are always exhilarating – and usually unexpected. She’ll announce the title beforehand and the tune is immediately recognisable, but then she lets whim take flight, and listeners can only follow along with a smile all the melodious ups and downs of her interpretation. It makes for a great musical journey.

And that’s quite apart from Krall’s exceptional musicianship. Her piano sings along, whispers, rocks, shouts and weeps at her fingertips. In addition, the members of the band were obviously carefully chosen to enhance her masterly performance, bringing harmony to the whole.

Sound-wise, Paragon Hall proves to be a fine setting for concerts, able to handle the most delicate of passages. The stage set was simple but adequate, the lighting just enough to frame the music’s varying moods. Of course, with Diana Krall at the piano and microphone, nothing extravagant is needed. The woman would be just as captivating playing in an underground cave.