Sometimes Koh Chang can really surprise you, and this was one of those really good times that we were surprised. For a bit we were transported back to I was thinking a small French cafe where they played R&B and it was brilliant.
“Cheap Thrills” has just recently opened and it run by Andrea Tonon Appiani, a native of Venice from Italy but he admits that most of his time was spent in France. He came to Koh Chang six years ago and like many of us never got the place out of his blood. Returning last March he set about to revamp and remake an old landmark bar into his vision of what a live music venue should be.
We have to admit he has done a damn good job. You know that you are in Koh Chang, Thailand, but it feels like some small French bistro that you discovered in some little corner in France. Some place you want to go back to night after night. The decor is definitely what I would call “European meets Thailand underground cafe style” with a very eclectic range of murals, made art, found art, paintings and such, really quite fun just looking around…
The real draw though is the music. Andrea said that he has some R&B bands from Bangkok coming down every now and then and the band last night was, well, excellent. We are not sure if they are the house band, but if they are you are in for a real treat. We are certainly not music critics at the Sun, but we were so, so pleasantly surprised at the excellent music. Certainly a mix of R&B, a bit of Ska and such. You can see that the band really puts their heart into it, they enjoy what they are doing and they are good at what they do. The music does not deafen you, the levels are just right and the mix is bang on. We even have to say the recorded music before the band got on was really cool… overall we can certainly recommend “Cheap Thrills”
When we sat down and talked with Andrea he said the venue is just starting and there is a lot of work to do, but they are coming along. Sunday and Thursday will certainly have something on, they want to bring in some bands from all over and still have local coverage. They are putting up more artwork, adding to their food menu and working on the bar little by little. There may be impromptu nights and they working on a schedule.
In closing if you want an excellent night out with a live music venue “Cheap Thrills” is a place that could not be better. They offer an ever changing menu with some signature dishes, reasonably priced drinks a unique and wonderful atmosphere and really, really good music. Do yourself a favour and drop in, you will come back.
Located in South Klong Prao.
View Klong Prao in a larger map
