***for full gig listings jump to the bottom***

Greetings,

It’s one of those weeks where at least in Phnom Penh the weekend starts early.  Tonight, Thursday, catch Busking Kings at Ponytails, Scott Bywater at Botanico, Mary & Takeshi at Trattoria Bello,  Geography of the Moon at Sundance and The Extraordinary Chambers at Oscar’s on the Corner.  Also open mic/jams at Bosporus and Cloud and a handful of other regular gigs.

On Friday Gerard & Gaby are at Green Pepper, Havana Nice at Cloud, and Jun at Central Café.  Scott Bywater presents new act tamarinda at Odom Gardens, and it’s the (almost) final gig for Spiked Gravy at Oscar’s on the Corner.  In Kampot, Trio Tropical is at Voodoo Boulevard.

On Saturday afternoon the Kampot music shop No Strings Attached presents a livestream from Facebook, Joe Wrigley in concert, from 3 pm.

Saturday night’s big event is of course The Secret Garden concert at Sofitel – tickets still available for Master Kong Nai, Sophia Kao & Metta Legita, Intan Andriana & Friends and the long awaited return of Maki Orkestr.  Seating is available, and space for picnic blankets.

Elsewhere in Phnom Penh, 12me and Koalition Supreme are at Duplex, The Broken Cymbal are at Bosporus, The Blue Souls at Central Cafe, and K’n’E are late at Oscar’s on the Corner.

Elsewhere in Cambodia on Saturday, in Kampot, Samurai Saloon house band The Kampot Geezers kick off the open mic, and then show up at Karma Traders on Tuesday.  It’s a busy Saturday night in Siem Reap, with Jam-Cha at The Harbour, Three Peas at Arin’s, and Son Sabor Trio at AMBAR.

Allow us to re-introduce our revived sister publication, kumnooh.com, that aims to provide a lengpleng.com service for the wider arts – painting, sculpture, literature, dance, architecture and classical music – across Cambodia.  Check it out every Tuesday – to subscribe send a subscribe email to fabianhipp@kumnooh.com.

**For the rest of the gigs check out the listings at the bottom of the page**

Note:  LengPleng.com has returned to its weekly email service.   If you wish to receive LengPleng in your inbox every Thursday please send an email saying Subscribe to gigs@lengpleng.com.   And tell your friends.

 

Passing Chords:  a few things you might not know about…

 

Michele Bowen.  “My first gigs in Cambodia were with singer/songwriter Amanda Bloom. She would perform and sing on the piano with bassoon and cello backup. A very interesting combination of sounds. I’d describe her music as a fusion of classical and pop, with a hint of avant-garde. I also performed once in a CTN variety show with a band called The Sibling Band. I’ve done a fair share of performances with the Classical Music Concert Series organized by ArtPlus Foundation with Anton Isselhardt. I joined up with Kheltica in 2018 and the newly formed Phnom Penh Symphony Orchestra starting in 2019. My most treasured musical memories have been with Phnom Penh Soloists, a classical chamber music ensemble. There’s a great recording featuring few of us (Mathias Aspelen, Jen Bird, Mirab Babaian, and I) on Youtube performing an arrangement of a Mozart piano concerto. We haven’t performed since 2020 but hopefully, we’ll be putting something together soon.”

Do you have a pet musical hate?
Hmm yeah. Too many to name. Here’s one:  I hate going to a concert or a rehearsal and having to sit through a bunch of talking. Less talking, more music. That’s how it should be.

A private musical indulgence:
My guilty pleasure is musical theater. In the classical music world people like me are conditioned to view musical theater as a lesser art but I love it. I lived in New York for two years in my late 20s and saw so many Broadway shows I couldn’t count them all.

The year you first came to Cambodia:
My husband took a one-year contract for WHO in 2012 and since I’d recently had a baby and wasn’t working at the time, decided we’d come along for the fun of it. That year turned into another year which continued year after year and now it’s been ten years! Before coming to Cambodia I was teaching bassoon and music theory at Georgia State University in the US. That’s what I thought my career would be but since getting stuck (on purpose) in Cambodia I’ve tried lots of different things searching for a new niche. I’ve taught a lot of music lessons and even taught general music full-time in the classroom. By far my favorite is playing the bassoon in various groups in Phnom Penh. I’ve been asked to play in several groups with styles that normally would  never include bassoon—jazz, Celtic, avant-guard pop, and now Balkan Gypsy! Since this is Phnom Penh, people don’t care much about which instrument you play, as long as you can play.

An early music memory:
My grandfather was a pharmacist but sidelined as a stand-up comic. He dressed up in plaid suits and told jokes, and sang funny made-up songs accompanied by his homemade instruments that he made from junk. It was hilarious.

The last thing you had to eat:
Don’t laugh. I had a sandwich made up of plant-based deli meat, vegan cheese, and superfood pesto from Backyard Cafe on gluten-free bread. Delicious.

A country you want to visit:
I know it’s not a country but I really want to go to Antarctica. Not just to visit, I want to get a job at the South Pole Station as like a baker or a shop keeper (or piano teacher?). It’s my fantasy dream job!

A book or movie you keep going back to:
The Lord of the Rings! I love fantasy fiction and The Lord of the Rings is the best. When I read Gimli and Legolas I like to read them as female. Or Merry and Pippin. To make up for the lack of female characters.

What languages can you speak?
Does the language of music count? Just kidding.   I am truly an American. Only speak one language. I can get around town speaking a bit of Khmer though.

Your primary instrument, and when you started playing it:
My primary instrument became bassoon when I was 14. Before that I was playing the clarinet and saxophone! But I wanted to do something more weird so I switched to the bassoon.

Something people might be surprised to know about you:
I’m training for a marathon! Don’t know which one yet. Just doing it for fun.

You have a time machine and a magic ticket to one gig or festival in the past.  What do you choose?

Vienna, April 5, 1803. The premier of Beethoven’s 2nd symphony (my favorite). Performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by Beethoven himself.

A question from the last participant:   Where are you playing next?
Sofitel Secret Garden Concert with Maki Orchestr!

What We’re (Still) Making a Fuss About This Week

The upcoming new EP from Geography of the Moon, The Unravelling, will be released next Wednesday, 22 February.  From LengPleng last week:  “The follow up to 2020’s Fake Flowers Never Die, the four songs are shorter and punchier; the familiar sound seems tighter and more direct, retaining their mixture of the playful and the ominous but with a certain streamlining.  LengPleng is enjoying it – for the rest of you it’s available for pre-order on Bandcamp –  but if you’re absolutely jonesing for new GOTM check out the video released this week for the first single from the EP, Nowhere to go but everywhere, full of familiar food, furniture and street scenes.  Definitely an early favourite for the Radio Oun Top 100 Songs of All Time poll at the end of the year.”

Steve Porte Photo of the Week

Ricky Haldeman and hat playing with Spiked Gravy, Sunset Boulevard, Saturday 12 February, 2022.

Musicians, venues, punters:  if there are things that you know that LengPleng should know, please tell us and we’ll do our best to tell the world.

See you around the traps.

your correspondent,

Guillermo Wheremount
LengPleng.com
gigs@lengpleng.com (mailto:gigs@lengpleng.com)

Weekly Gig Guide – week commencing Thursday 17 February 2022

** residency/weekly

For DJs and clubs, we recommend Phnom Penh Underground

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Coming soon:

  • Geography of the Moon, 25 February, Bosporus
  • U2 tribute by Joshua Chiang, 25 February, Central Café
  • Little Thieves farewell performance with special guests, 26 February, Sam’s
  • Uncomfortably White Brothers at Kampot Craft Beer Festival, 26 February, Monkey Republic (Kampot) 

Coming later:

 

 

By Weekly Wrap