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

Greetings,

Tonight in Phnom Penh you can find Los Primos doing Cinqo de Mayo at Lantern, Joshua Chiang promoting his new album at Botanico, Pristine, Ace & Pitou (cello) flirting with jazz at Green Pepper, and The Extraordinary Chambers rocking at Oscar’s on the Corner.  Then there are open mic/jams at Cloud, Bosporus and Voodoo Saloon.  In Siem Reap Son Sabor Trio is similarly Cinqo-ing at AMBAR.

Friday in Phnom Penh gets started with Jeff Baker at Botanico@Odom Garden, Geography of the Moon at Tacos Kokopelli, and Gone Marshall at Voodoo Saloon.  Later and louder, Winsum Losesum are joined by Radioactive Death Monkey for metal at Sam’s, while Gareth Bawden is opening for K’n’E at Oscar’s on the Corner.  In Siem Reap, Joe & the Jumping Jacks are visiting Laundry Bar.

On Saturday it’s jazz with Intan & Friends at Aquarius, while The Broken Cymbal duo are at Central Café and Scott Bywater is at Botanico.  The big show is Japan Guitar Shop plus Spiked Gravy at Oscar’s on the Corner.    In Siem Reap, Jam-Cha are at Star Bar and The Harbour hosts three solo acts: Brin Wood, Andy Luna and Cecile Hinas.

 Come Sunday Acoustic Sunday Sessions at  The Vine features a set by Virginia Bones, and Joe & the Jumping Jacks go late at Oscar’s on the Corner.   In Siem Reap Son Sabor Trio are at New Leaf for brunch.

**For the rest of the gigs check out the listings at the bottom of the page** As Wednesday is starting to grow as a live music night, remember to check the guide early next week, as many shows are not advertised and so won’t be included until the last minute **

Asian Punk/Hardcore/Metal website Unite Asia this week featured a small piece on the recent No Justice Fest at Cloud featuring Nightmare AD, Doch Chkae, As The Heart Betrays and Winsum Losesum – acknowledging the return of heavy music to Cambodian stages.

Coming soon to Bandcamp (from the laboratory of Professor Kinski), with a special listening party at Tacos Kokopelli, an eight track album of the songs of Ariane Parkes.  You only have to wait until Friday 13 May.

 

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

Colin Hodgkins – bass player and rapper with Japan Guitar Shop, originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, then Indianapolis, Indiana.  “This is the first I’ve formally been in a band.  In college I’d rap at parties and jammed with friends, but I’ve not been on stage consistently.”

Do you have a pet musical hate?
I haven’t embraced streaming music.  I preferred when we all had music collections, it felt more social.

A private musical indulgence:
I listen to old music rather than exploring new music these days.  Although I do hear a lot of new music around town in Phnom Penh – I see Geography of the Moon where they’re writing on stage.  But at home it’s old tunes like The Roots or Outkast, classic stuff.

The year you first came to Cambodia :
2014.  I’ve come and gone since, came and visited several times before I moved here.  I’ve probably lived here five, six years now.

An early music memory:
When I was about six I had a cassette of MC Hammer, I really wanted to emulate him.  I would practice dancing like him.  My first concert was Green Day, I was in fifth grade I think.  I remember sitting in the very back and the girl right beside me kept flashing – from the back row.

The last thing you had to eat:
I just had a veggie burger from Cousin’s.

A country you want to visit:
Nepal, and go hiking.  Sri Lanka, I’ve never been there either.  Ethiopia, for the food.  That’s my final answer.

A book or movie you keep going back to:
I’ve read The Grapes of Wrath a few times.  Watched anything by the Coen brothers many times.

What languages can you speak?
English, a little bit of Spanish, and very little Khmer.

Your primary instrument, and when you started playing it:
Right now it’s bass, and also I rap in Japan Guitar Shop.  I’ve played guitar for maybe 20 years, but bass only for a couple of years.  We had three guitar players in the band so someone had to switch to bass – on different songs we would make a choice whether we wanted piano or bass.  Now we have a great pianist and a great guitarist, so I’m on the next thing available.

Something people might be surprised to know about you:
Most people still don’t know that I rap, and that’s one of the main things I do for our band.

You have a time machine and a magic ticket to one gig or festival in the past.  What do you choose?
It would be cool to go back to the early grunge scene in Seattle, see some of the shows where you had Nirvana on the same ticket as the Red Hot Chilli Peppers in some small bar.  It would also be fun to go back in time and see rich people listening to Bach playing.

A question from the last participant, Yuval Riklis:  when/if you leave Cambodia, as an artist, what is the legacy that you would want to leave in the community here?
I’d like to be remembered as somebody who helped other artists and bands to collectively build this music scene here.

Steve Porte Photo of the Week

Leandro Fonseca getting down with Funky Chicken, Oscar’s on the Corner, Saturday, 30 April, 2022.

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.

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 5 May 2022

** residency/weekly

For DJs and clubs, we recommend Phnom Penh Underground

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

 

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

*Note that Wednesday events are often not announced until early in the week – check back here for updates*

Coming soon:

By Weekly Wrap