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

Greetings,

Visiting Phnom Penh for the first time this weekend from Siem Reap is Jam-Cha, a high energy outfit featuring Andrey Meschcheryakov and Chema Rodriguez, the rhythm section of Son Sabor Trio, and the dual vocal/guitar front of Rod Tolentino and Chris Barrameda, promising a blend of funk, rock, reggae and soul.  Find them at Bosporus tonight, at Oscar’s on the Corner on Friday, and at Duplex on Saturday.

Of note elsewhere in Phnom Penh on Friday, Mirasol & Gaby are at Odom Garden and Machiko & Takeshi are at Bosporus.  Meanwhile in Siem Reap Electric Soup are at The Harbour, and this weekend Fred-R is at Kep Natural.

On Saturday in Phnom Penh Kheltica will be putting in a performance at the grand opening of new venue The Welsh Consulate.  Also find The Blue Souls at Aquarius, Geography of the Moon at The Box Office, and Boxchords at Central Café.  New outfit Funky Chicken are at Sunset Boulevard, and K’n’E return to Oscar’s on the Corner.  In Siem Reap Andy Luna is at AMBAR.

Also of note this weekend is the Back to Reality festival at Nesat Village, Chrouy Svay, Srae Ambel, featuring many activities and a heavy dose of live music.

From the laboratory of Professor Kinski comes not one but two new releases – well, one this week and one next week.  Penhsteady, a collaboration with Phil Javelle, is a new imagining of seven rocksteady/ska classics.  Next week, the long-awaited Checkered Past mini-album Public Announcement will be dropping.    Word to the wise:  it’s Bandcamp Friday this week – all proceeds go directly to the artist.

Our revived sister publication, kumnooh.com, 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.

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.

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

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

Ant Colloff.  Kampot based singer-songwriter who also plays in the duo Fishstix, and once when playing an island festival was advertised as Rocking Johnny and so created a persona for the occasion.  He also hosts the Lunch Box (12 noon – 2 pm), Thursdays and Fridays on Radio Oun.  This weekend he’s playing at the Svay Chanti Back to Reality festival in Nesat Village, Srae Ambel.

Do you have a pet musical hate?
Pop punk, like Blink 182 and stuff like that.  I like proper old punk.  But my main one is arrogant musicians who make everything all about themselves.

A private musical indulgence:
A long time ago, before I started singing and playing acoustic, for about seven years I was a lead guitar player.  So when I was driving to gigs, to get me in the mood for playing lead, I would always play Hotel California to get me in the right mind-set.  Not when there was anyone else in the car though

The year you first came to Cambodia  (or when was the first time you left Cambodia?):
December 21, 2009.  I had been travelling, and I was in Vietnam, but didn’t find it the sort of relaxing place to spend Christmas and New Year.  I’d once met a guy in Rauratonga in the Cook Islands who told me about Bodhi Villa in Kampot, and that sounded great, and I thought hey, I’m not that far away.  Got to Phnom Penh, drove down to Kampot in a mini-van, which took seven hours because of the roads at the time.  I’d sent an email saying I’m going to be a day late, but they hadn’t got it, and Bodhi Villa was booked out.  A fellow sitting at the bar said we’ve just opened a guest house, Villa Vedici, do you want to come and stay?  I’ll give you your first night for $5.  Great, how do we get there?  He says, oh, I have a speed boat outside.  Speed boat?  Kampot always felt really nice for me, so that’s why I ended up coming back and living here.

An early music memory:
One of the first gigs I went to see was Iron Maiden at the Birmingham NEC when I was about 15.  I was a big fan, and my aunt and uncle were living in Birmingham.  Two of my friends from school were going to come with me, and we’d stay with my aunt and uncle and go to the gig together.  But then one of them got the flu, and the other smacked his head on a doorknob and got concussion, so they couldn’t make it.  I ended up going to see Iron Maiden with my aunt and uncle – he was the cool uncle, he’d been to see AC/DC stuff like that.  Anthrax was supporting – they were very heavy, maybe a little bit too heavy for me at the time.

The last thing you had to eat:
A bacon sandwich.

A country you want to visit:
Turkey. I’m interested in a place called Golbekli Tepe, an archeological site at least 12,000 years old – proof that there was building and agriculture way before it was previously thought. Plus an underground city called Darinkuyu that would house 20,000 people on 13 levels, with about 16,000 air pipes going up to the surface. I’d love to see that.

A book or movie you keep going back to:
This is Spinal Tap.  My favourite movie by far, I must have seen it 100 times.  I could quote the entire film almost.  I was really surprised when I found they were American, they were such brilliant English accents.

What languages can you speak?
My best second language would be Khmer, for sure.  I wouldn’t say I’m brilliant, but I’m decent.  I can hold a conversation for about five minutes, as long as it’s about something I do.  I did five years of French at school, so it’s there somewhere but I forget it when I don’t use it.  I know a bit of Czech as well, because i once had a Czech girlfriend, and now I love meeting Czech people because they don’t expect an English guy to know any Czech.  I always ask them to scratch my back, and tell them I’m going to the pub for a beer, things like that.

Your primary instrument, and when you started playing it:
Guitar, at 15 years old.   I was very committed, by the second lesson I could play all of the first chords and was playing songs.   I had a teacher who was both good and bad – bad in that sometimes I’d turn up and he wouldn’t be there.

Something people might be surprised to know about you:
I can Russian dance – all the kicking the legs up stuff.  I was in the Scouts, and we did it for a Gang Show.

You have a time machine and a magic ticket to one gig or festival in the past.  What do you choose?
The original Woodstock, to see Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix especially.  One Led Zeppelin concert, I don’t know when.  When they did their reunion, I’d previously seen Page and Plant before, and I didn’t think Plant’s voice was up to it.  So I didn’t even enter the ballot for tickets.  Then I saw the video of it afterwards and thought, oh my God, that would have been amazing.  And Hendrix at the Isle of Wight.

A question from the last participant:   What is a personal belief that you have that most people don’t?
I don’t consider soup a food.  It’s more a drink, or baby food or something.  It doesn’t excite me at all.

Steve Porte Photo of the Week

Mumu bassman Stan Paleco with Spiked Gravy at Oscar’s on the Corner on Friday 18 February, 2022.  Safe travels Mr Stan.

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 3 March 2022

** residency/weekly

For DJs and clubs, we recommend Phnom Penh Underground

 

Thursday

 

Friday

 

Saturday

 

Sunday

 

Monday

 

Tuesday

 

Wednesday

 

 

Coming soon:

 

 

 

Coming later:

 

 

 

By Weekly Wrap