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

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

Greetings and Pchum Ben acknowledgements:

We have visitors!  Ishi Baka Ciao, a band first formed in Ethiopia and featuring Cat Isaacs of The Broken Cymbal, is making a quick tour of Cambodia – in Phnom Penh on Thursday night at Oscar’s on the Corner, Friday at The Tin Hat and Saturday at Villa Grange, then at Laundry in Siem Reap on Tuesday.

Also on Thursday night in Phnom Penh find Friend Music School Musicians at Let It Be Cafe and Clay George at Lost Bar & Grill.  In Siem Reap, Kiko & Carlos are at Amici Signature and PMac is at Arin’s. 

Friday night in Phnom Penh The Busking Kings are at Front Bar, Khmer Magic Music Bus perform at a Cambodia Living Arts fundraiser at Bouchon Wine Bar, and at RUFA Department of Performing Arts there is an ASEAN classical music concert – note limited seating.  Also on Friday find newly quarteted Arome Khmer 4 at Craft, Muxu at Botanico, new outfit The 3BU at Can Can and musical fusion combo Lakhon Luong at Back Street Bar.  Going loud at Cloud is a last minute charity concert featuring metal acts After God and Doch Chkae, while the long-awaited return of Checkered Past is at Hometown Hangout.  Montra goes late at Oscar’s on the Corner.  In Kep, Wooden Bridge are at Kep Natural and Rod Andrey Carlos are at Republic Bistro in Siem Reap.

Saturday in Phnom Penh you may sample the return and relocation of The Originals sessions featuring Lewis McTighe, Mia Priest, and Ariane & Liam at The Deck, find Skeptical Chemistry at Craft, Lisa Concepcion at Botanico and/or Ex-Pulse at Back Street Bar.  Oscar’s on the Corner host a night promoting the Nesat Market Festival on New Year’s Eve, featuring a pub quiz along with Johnny & the Scallywags, Smack the Unicorn and Montra.  In Siem Reap The Groove Congress is at Laundry.

Come Sunday check out Sunday Sundowners open mic hosted by Scott Bywater at Tacos Kokopelli, Stu Cottom at Bar Oz, Siem Reap Soundlab at Back Street Bar, Natasha at Can Can, The Lost Girls at Lost Bar & Grill and Electric Muxu Orchestra at Oscar’s on the Corner.

Looking ahead to what’s going on in Phnom Penh during the holiday week, on Monday Stu Cottom is at Lost Bar & Grill and The Lark are back at Oscar’s on the Corner.  On Tuesday David Zdriluk is at Craft and The Extraordinary Chambers are at Oscar’s on the Corner, while Low Season Riders are at Karma Traders in Kampot.  Wednesday night in Phnom Penh sees a fourth anniversary party for Little Susie with Stu Cottom followed by Phil Javelle, and later on Bart – Psar are at Oscar’s on the Corner.

Department of Coming Soon

Next week sees a metal mini-festival at Atlantis in Siem Reap, a new album release (Friday 4 October) from Geography of the Moon, then later in the month concerts by both Musica Felice and Phnom Penh Choral Ensemble, and shortly afterwards the 21st annual Phnom Penh International Music Festival 2024, this year highlighting Eastern European musical heritage, not to mention a 1974 tribute night at Oscar’s on the Corner and the Nesat Market Festival at New Year’s Eve.  And somewhere in there also a tour by Australian band Plan B.  Plenty to look forward to as high season beckons.

In Memoriam: Darryl Packo Paxton

To mark his passing this week, we reprint the Passing Chords profile of Packo originally published on 2 December 2021.  Poignantly, this interview was published in advance of him playing at a memorial concert for the late Peter Doyle.  Farewell, mate, you will be missed.

Passing Chords – a few things you may not know about

Jesse Zenchuck AKA Maozi.  Jesse is from the Vancouver area in Canada.  “When I was 16 I started a punk band, SARS Punks.  Then joined a ska band, The Kingstones, and later a prog style band called Subtle as a T Rex, where I was just singing.  In China I was in Operation Turbo Dumpling – we had a Scottish girl who played flute and fiddle, a Czech guy who played sax and keys, and I did guitar and vocals, we had bass and drums, that was really fun.”  He will be playing keyboards with Checkered Past at Hometown Hangout on Friday, and out front on guitar and vocals with Smack the Unicorn as part of Saturday night’s Nesat Market Festival promo gig at Oscar’s on the Corner.   He also has a hiphop band in Phnom Penh currently called The Cheezy Boyz.

Do you have a pet musical hate?
Bad lyrics.  And really showy singing, like Mariah Carey.

A private musical indulgence:
On Discord there’s a server called The Freestyle Club, and I go in there all the time.  There’s  around 35,000 members, all rappers, and there’s a beat plane and they all freestyle together.  I love that – I’m really into hiphop.  I’m always listening to instrumental hiphop beats.

The year you first came to Cambodia:
About ten years ago, on holiday.  Stayed up on Riverside, and visited the genocide museum, which was brutal.  I fell in love with the country, and I always wanted to come back.  A couple of years ago I was thinking of where to go to next – it will be my two year anniversary in a month or two – a good friend of mine was in a similar situation, and we decided on Cambodia.  It’s been awesome.

An early music memory:
My dad playing me Thunderstuck by AC/DC.  He said, “this is a good song” and so I said, “this is a good song”, and  I remember telling myself that this is my favourite song now.  That made a big impression.  I also remember dancing to Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls.

The last thing you had to eat:
A slice of cold pizza.

A country you want to visit:
Iceland.  That would be really cool.  And maybe Ghana.  I also really want to go to Ireland and I will be going there next summer.

A book or movie you keep going back to:
I don’t really return to books or movies.  I’ve only ever read one fiction book twice, and that was Jean-Paul Satre’s Nausea.  A movie that I have watched twice is The Greasy Strangler, that’s a really interesting one.

What languages do you have?
Canada is not as bilingual as people think – I learned French for a few years and completely forgot it.  I’ve picked up a bit of Spanish, spending some time in South and Central America.  Then I learned Chinese – speaking, not perfect but decent.  So English and a bit of Chinese.  My Khmer is not going so well – slow and steady.

Your primary instrument, and when you started playing it:
Guitar, at about 15.  I started playing all day, every day, I would carry it with me wherever I went.

Something people might be surprised to know about you:
I’ve been vegetarian for 20 years and just recently began eating fish.

You have a time machine and a magic ticket to one gig or festival in the past. What do you choose?
Seeing Fela Kuti live would be really cool.  I feel like there are so many amazing shows that we would never know about.  Maybe a big Bob Marley show in Jamaica.

A question from the last participant – What could be done to positively impact the Phnom Penh music scene to make it more vibrant?
Having more touring bands coming through.   I feel like the local organic scene is quite vibrant already.  And more good music venues.

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

Mikayla Gonzalez seen here with Crash Boom Bang during her send-off gig at Oscar’s on the Corner on Wednesday 25 September.  An apartment break-in has left Mikayla without her passport and ID, forcing her abrupt return to the Philipines to get a new passport issued. This will not be an easy, quick or seamless process. You can help Mikayla by making a contribution via the ABA QR code pictured in the graphic below.

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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 26 September 2024

** residency/weekly

For DJs and clubs, we recommend Phnom Penh Underground

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

***Note many regular gigs may be cancelled this week for Pchum Ben – check with the venue***

Wednesday

***Note many regular gigs may be cancelled this week for Pchum Ben – check with the venue***
*Note that Wednesday events are often not announced until early in the week – check back here for updates*

Coming soon:

 

 

By Weekly Wrap