Leng Pleng

A welcome back to PlanB

This Khmer New Year we welcome back PlanB, nine-piece band including a full four-piece brass section, from Adelaide, South Australia, for their Magical Mekong 2023 Tour, starting tonight in Phnom Penh, touching down in Kampot, Battambang, Siem Reap and finishing up in Vientiane.  Bass player Peter Flierl was good enough to answer LengPleng’s questions about their return.

Even for a touring band with a history of performing in South East Asia this year’s tour is an ambitious one, with many venues that will be new to you. How did it all come together?

You certainly hit the nail on the head with the ambitious tour aspect. Although PlanB have had the good fortune to perform in Cambodia during four international tours pre-COVID, the band has not played in one single venue that is included on the current Magical Mekong Tour. This makes it particularly exciting for the band who will be touring for the first time with a four piece brass section  – giving the fans/punters even more action to focus on during the PlanB performance. Our saxophonist, Phil Allen, also plays the digeridoo, which we have incorporated into a few of our songs.

Cambodia was the sole destination of the band’s last international tour in February 2020. The Som Chop Tini Tour had the band performing at some amazing Cambodian venues including Hard Rock Cafes in both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. We also performed at the idyllic Cambo Beach Club in Siem Reap in a fund raiser for the Angkor Hospital for Children. The reaction to the band during that tour was phenomenal and built on our previous forays into the Kingdom.

After that tour, I wanted to bring the band back to Cambodia as soon as possible. Unfortunately plans (including PlanB) were put on the back burner with the arrival of COVID. As things globally returned to a new sense of normality, I discussed with band members the idea of returning to Cambodia. It was pretty much a no-brainer. Band members who had been involved in previous tours were just itching to get back to the country and the new members were quick to climb on board.

I was lucky to have a small network of handy contacts scattered throughout Cambodia which I was able to tap in order to identify potential venues for PlanB to perform during the upcoming tour. It’s still an emotional roller coaster and a labour of love planning international tours for such a large band. Fortunately I through these contacts, I have been able to pull together what promises to be one of our most adventurous and exciting international tours to date.  We have also been lucky enough to be included in another fundraiser on Fish Island which looks like being one of a countless number of high points on this tour.

While we in Cambodia enjoyed most of 2020 with plenty of live music, then had our turn to suffer lockdowns in 2021, we heard terrible tales of venue shutdowns and closures from Australia, not to mention a ban on travel.  How did PlanB weather the time?

There certainly were many shutdowns/closures of venues – with some not opening again. Whilst live performances virtually disappeared, PlanB took the opportunity to finalise the band’s third studio album, Hello Dear Stranger, releasing it on October 2021. The album consists of 14 tracks and is played in its entirety during the band’s live shows, together with a selection of crowd favourites from the previous albums.

Cambodian audiences can expect a musically and visually exciting performances with a generous offering of infectiously danceable tunes.  PlanB have always played music with infectiously memorable hooks, riffs and melodies.  The songs span a broad spectrum of genres yet still exude the distinctive PlanB sound that has endeared the music to fans globally.  The latest album has influences ranging from northern soul through to reggae and punchy ‘hit you in the gut’ rock’n’roll, all linked together by irresistibly catchy melodies and musical hooks which ensure the dancefloor is constantly full.  With nine energetic and expressive personalities on stage, the visual stimulation from a PlanB performance only serves to enhance the already exhilarating audio experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: supplied

You can find PlanB in Phnom Penh this weekend at Waterside on Thursday, Friday at Duplex, along the highway to Kampot for Saturday and Sunday shows at Monkey Republic and Fish Studios Rooftop, back to Phnom Penh for Oscar’s on the Corner on Monday (early show), and thence to Balcony Bar in Battambang for Tuesday.   Next weekend they’ll be in Siem Reap before heading to Vientiane for the closing date.