click here for an audio-visual look at the gig highlights

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

This weekend we’re welcoming back PlanB, an eight-piece rock’n’soul outfit from Adelaide, South Australia for their sixth (!) visit to Cambodia.  Check them out on Bandcamp, Cambodia Lifestyle, LengPleng and in our feature article below.  The fun starts tonight Thursday at LOLA Music Lounge, then on Friday they’re at Hometown Hangout, Saturday Duplex and Sunday The Waterside – next week they’ll be on the coast.

Tonight Thursday in Phnom Penh Baldwin’s are having an anniversary bash featuring Bandi Jan van Kooij on multiple saxophones, while Adam Marsland is at Lost Bar & Grill and The Extraordinary Chambers are joined by Gaby Courroux at Oscar’s on the Corner.  In Siem Reap, Kiko & Carlos are at Amici Signature.

Friday night in Phnom Penh, Mirasol, Gaby & Alan get together as The Funk Alternative Experience at Craft, while The Lazy Drunks at The Box Office, Melody & Joe are at Botanico and 4Mara & Izame Siva are at Can Can.  Brooke Palmer is at Noisy Chili and The Broken Cymbal are at Back Street Bar, while Stu Cottom is at Aussie XL and Rockustic are at Uniga.  Later Montra are at Oscar’s on the Corner.  In Kep, Summer Lee Carlson & Mute Speaker are at Raingsey Bungalows and Andy Luna is at Kep Natural.  In Siem Reap Andrey, Rod Chema jam with Gerard Evans at Mezze Bar.

On Saturday night in Phnom Penh, Sinville Roadshow is at The Deck, Carmela Santos Torres is at Botanico, and PhnomPenhers, a new Golden Era revival band with some familiar faces, are at Vinoteca.  Brooke Palmer at Bat Muk Yu, Stu Cottom is at Paparazzi, and Angkor Classique are at Au Marche.  Later and louder, Smack the Unicorn are at Hometown Hangout and The Blue Souls are at Oscar’s on the Corner.  On the coast, Andy Luna is at Kep West and Graham Cain is at The Bay.

Department of Festivals and Touring

**Check out our LengPleng Visiting Bands Coming Soon listing at the bottom of the page**

Next weekend, Saturday 30, 60 Road Studios in Siem Reap present the second annual 60 Road Fest, which will feature a full day of performances – highlights include Blue Strangers, Frankie Teardrop Dead, The Wild Men and Japan Guitar Shop.

At the end of December, Friday 27 and Saturday 28, the second Pepperfest will be held in Kampot.  The line-up features After God, Alli G, Bamboo Train, Bob Passion, Cartoon, Kan, Roberto Salgado and Ricky B.  And then there’s the Nesat Market Festival New Year’s Eve party at Nesat Vilage on 31 December.

Looking further ahead, early details have been announced for the metal festival Slam City 2025 to be held in March in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh – alongside local bands there are also acts from Japan, China, Singapore and Philippines.  More information to be released soon.

The LengPleng Interview

The labours of love – PlanB in 2024

Australian veteran rock’n’soulers PlanB – all eight of them – are coming to Cambodia this week as part of their Paint It Black tour of South East Asia.  They first came to Cambodia in 2010, then returned in 2011, 2017,  2020 and  2023.  While they were passing through Vietnam this week LengPleng was able to have a chat with bass player and tour organiser Peter ‘Sneaky Pete’ Flierl to discuss what’s new in the 2024 version of the band and reminisce about previous tours.

I understand there’s a forced change in line-up this time.  “Yes, our usual drummer was initially coming along for the tour, but had to pull out.  So I reached out to a Vietnamese drummer, Thao, who I’d known back in the day – she played drums in a band that my wife and I formed, the Mekong Delta Band.  We arrived in Vietnam last Thursday, flying in from Adelaide, and went straight into the rehearsal studio with Thao.  It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster since arrival.  And she’ll be coming to Cambodia with us.”

Passing Chords – a few things you might not know about  

Tiffany, half of the duo Sinville Roadshow.   “I was born in New York City but raised in the Mojave desert in southern California.  I grew up in a family of jazz musicians and dancers so music has always been a priority in life for me.”  Sinville Roadshow have been recently gigging in Kampot, and this week travel to Phnom Penh to play at The Deck on Saturday evening.

Do you have a pet musical hate/pet peeve?
Musicians who don’t listen to each other on stage because they just want to be heard more than anyone else.

A private musical indulgence:
Singing along to Def Leppard songs at home.

The year you first came to Cambodia:
2003

An early music memory:
My mother used jazz music as an alarm clock to wake me up for school every morning. She often played John Coltrane’s version of My Favorite Things.

The last thing you had to eat:
A jalapeno sausage as a hot dog with mustard and sauerkraut from a place called The Bird’s Nest in Kampot. Delicious food.

A country you want to visit:
The Free Republic of Liberland

A book or movie you keep going back to:
The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

What languages do you have?
English, Spanish, Arabic and some Pig Latin I remember from childhood.

Your primary instrument, and when you started playing it:
I started playing the violin at nine but didn’t stick with it. My parents didn’t force me to practice because I grew up in America in the 80’s, and we sometimes didn’t see any parents for days at a time.

Something people might be surprised to know about you:
I’m actually a really kind person with a great sense of humor.

You have a time machine and a magic ticket to one gig or festival in the past. What do you choose?
I saw Hot Tuna at Wendy Williamson Auditorium in Anchorage, Alaska in 2010. That was fun, and I’d love to go back and experience that again. Great band and lots of love at that concert.

A question from the last participant: How does music in Cambodia influence your sound, and make it unique to play here?
Being in Cambodia has definitely influenced our songwriting. We’ve written songs with some Khmer language and cultural themes, as well as drawing musical inspiration from the environment.  I think being a musician in Cambodia also toughens you up a bit – performing in heat and humidity increases your stamina, and makes you more focused and resilient.

Department of Mutual Support:  Friends of LengPleng

      

 

Being a Friend of LengPleng is open to venues, acts, and even private individuals; if you value the service we provide please consider assisting us financially.   For a modest contribution ($25 for three months, $40 for six months, $75 for 12 months), you get the logo of your choice into the weekly email and onto the weekly wrap page, and an automatically click through to a page on our website for further information, photos, videos and so on – we like to think of it as an alternative to Facebook.

We also pay special attention when you have a good story for us – an upcoming event or an artist you wish to highlight.  Email gigs@lengpleng.com for further details or bail up Scoddy wherever you see him.

Steve Porte Photo of the Week

Frank Scarfone with The Blue Souls at Oscar’s on the Corner in October 2024 – they play at Oscar’s on the Corner on Saturday night for their last show for the year.

 

If you wish to receive LengPleng in your inbox every Thursday please send a subscribe email to gigs@lengpleng.com.

Musicians, venues, punters:  if there are things 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 21 November 2024

** 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:

  • Low Season Riders, 6.30 pm, 29 November, Craft
  • Ben Harrison (Singapore), 8 pm, 29 November, Meta House
  • Treebu, 8 pm, 29 November, Back Street Bar
  • The Stuffs, 9 pm, 29 November, Hometown Hangout
  • Salazar Quartet, 10 pm, Apsara Theatre (Siem Reap)
  • 60 Road Fest: Blue Strangers, Cecile Hinas, Frankie Teardrop Dead, The Wild Men, Sokunthea & Andrey, Vort-X, Ya & Friends and Japan Guitar Shop, 2 pm, 30 November, 60 Road Studios (Siem Reap)
  • The Originals Showcase with Brooke Palmer, Rob Narciso and Ruadhan, 6 pm, 30 November, The Deck
  • Rags to Rainbows, 6.30 pm, 30 November, Craft
  • Lakhon Luong, 8 pm, 30 November, Back Street Bar
  • Miss Sarawan, 8 pm, 30 November, LOLA Music Lounge
  • Summer Lee Carlson & Mute Speaker, 9 pm, 30 November, Hometown Hangout
  • Jazz Sauce, 8 pm, 1 December, Back Street Bar
  • Wooden Bridge, 8 pm, Karma Traders (Kampot)
  • Checkered Past, 9 pm, 7 December, Duplex
  • Brooke Palmer, 6.30 pm, 9 December, Craft
  • Geography of the Moon, 9 pm, 13 December, Hometown Hangout
  • Geography of the Moon, 6.30 pm, 14 December, Craft
  • Virginia Bones (solo) and Andrea Rubbio (solo) , 6.30 pm, 17 December, Craft
  • PepperFest, 27 – 28 December, Kampot Camping (Kampot)
  • Nesat Market Festival, 31 December, Nesat Market (Koh Kong)

Visiting bands coming soon:

By Weekly Wrap