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

Greetings:

The highways are burning this week with Chema & Rod in Phnom Penh with gigs at The Tin Hat, Sundance and The Vine, with a Friday night appearance as part of Alli G & TheQuilas Siem Reap Squad at Oscar’s on the Corner.  Similarly Stu Cottom heads to Siem Reap with Saturday and Sunday evenings at Star Bar and JD’s on Saturday night.

 A brief visitor tonight in Phnom Penh is Octopoulpe, a half-naked creature playing tentacular music, from Math-rock to hardcore-punk, at Cloud.  Later on it’s Temple at Oscar’s on the Corner and in Kampot, the regular jam session at Tiki Garden.

On Friday night in Phnom Penh, there’s rhumba & Flamenca with Chris at Craft and Antonio Elchico at Botanico, while you can also enjoy a Havana Club Boat Party with La Union on Kanika Boat or celebrate Canada Day Eve with Dave Zdriluk at Tacos Kokopelli.  Elsewhere there’s a choice of audience participation events with a hip hop open mic hosted by Initial G at Sra’Art and Cloud Got Talent at Cloud.  In Siem Reap Octopoulpe plays metal bar  Atlantis.

On Saturday in Phnom PenhPhnom Penh start early with the soft launch of Castaway on Koh Pich featuring Alli G (with Ramy Falcon on Sunday).  In Tuol Tom Pong the Ghost City Sounds event features Soselo Summer and The Visa Runners and DJ at The Deck.  Alternatively, Ysabel is at Little Susie, Ice & Elle are at Botanico and La Union are at Hideout. Oscar’s on the Corner hosts the return to the Lazy Drunks – see our feature article for a glimpse of the past and future.  In Kampot, The Kampot Playboys, Low Season Riders and Roberto Salgado are at Meraki.

Sunday brings the regulars – Jive Buddies at Villa Grange, Sunday Sundowners open mic at Tacos Kokopelli and Sunday Lark at Oscar’s on the Corner; open mic with Roberto Salgado at Funky Durian in Kampot and Swing Reapers at Villa D in Siem Reap.

The LengPleng Feature Article

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet: a blurry history of The Lazy Drunks

Let’s go back to a time when the only rock’n’roll stage in Phnom Penh was at the Sharky Bar, and most gigs were held in shotgun-dimension girly bars or tiny cafes with amps against the wall and audiences walking through the band to get to the toilet.  It’s 2009, the major bands in town were Mekong Pirates and Bum’n’Draze, the hardest working performers were a duo called Stiff Little Punks, nobody knew who Scoddy was, and out of the murk appears the Lazy Jazz Drunks.  Flash forward 14 years (three drummers, two singers and a couple of bass players and a shortening of the name later) and they make their return on Saturday night at Oscar’s on the Corner.  LengPleng cautiously tiptoed out to capture the history and take the temperature of the current version of the band.

SB:                 Usually bands disappear and they never come back again (unless they are The Schkoots or Cambodia Country Band).  And yet here you are.

TOM:             Now I feel old.  New Year 2016 was the last gig we did, with Stewie.  I literally haven’t picked up a guitar for over six years.

Read the whole article here

Passing Chords – a few things you may not know about   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Octopoulpe.  Born in a fish tank in Seoul in 2015, Octopoulpe is a half-naked creature playing tentacular music, from math rock to hardcore punk. Thanks to his many tentacles, he can play drums and control other instruments, lights and video-projections at the same time, allowing him to play with his digital self, as well as with many other guests.  Octopoulpe plays tonight, Thursday, at Cloud, followed by DJ Metalmouse, and at Atlantis in Siem Reap on Friday.

Do you have a pet musical hate?
Probably Ska Punk with double kick pedal.

A private musical indulgence:
Eurodance.  John Scatman was so gooood.

The year you first came to Cambodia:
In 2017, I was on tour in Asia with Octopoulpe and my other band, Digou.

An early music memory:
I saw Soulfly in Strasbourg, France, in 1998 if I remember. First “big show” of my life.

The last thing you had to eat:
A Korean barbecue.

A country you want to visit:
Australia. It’s on my to do list, and I’ll probably try to tour there next year.

A book or movie you keep going back to:
Well, I don’t have so much time to read books or watch movies again and again, but when I was kid, I probably watched Gremlins over 30 times.

What languages do you have?
French, English, Spanish.

Your primary instrument, and when you started playing it:
I bought my first acoustic guitar with my best friend when I was 16, mostly covering Unplugged in New York from Nirvana.

Something people might be surprised to know about you:
I’m a robot.

You have a time machine and a magic ticket to one gig or festival in the past. What do you choose?
I think any At the Drive In show from the Relationship of Command era.

A question from the last participant – what is your favourite word and why?
I recently learnt Spanish because I moved to Mexico a bit less than four years ago. My favorite Spanish word so far : hormiga (ant). No reason, I just love how it sounds.

Department of Mutual Support:  Friends of LengPleng

Being a Friend of LengPleng gets your logo 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.  Individuals may also wish to nominate a venue or band to support either anonymously or for the personal glory.   Your contributions will help us keep the lights on and upgrade the infrastructure to more reliable levels at LengPleng Towers – $25 for three months, $40 for six months and $75 for 12 months.  Everything else stays free.  Email gigs@lengpleng.com for further details or bail up Scoddy wherever you see him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve Porte Photo of the Week

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve Porte is summering in New York City.

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 29 June 2023

** 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:

  • Two Country Drunks, 6.30 pm, 7 July, Craft
  • Cardboard Lo-Fi, 8 pm, 8 July, Sundance
  • Cambodia Country Band, 10 pm, 8 July, Oscar’s on the Corner
  • Sunday sessions with Clay George, 5 pm, 9 July, The Vine
  • Funky Jazz Trio, 6.30 pm, 14 July, Green Pepper
  • Arome Khmer, 6.30 pm, 14 July, Craft
  • Cardboard Lo-Fi, 7 pm, 14 July, Botanico
  • Austin, 8.30 pm, 14 July, Cloud
  • David Zdriluk, 8 pm, 15 July, Sundance
  • Arome Khmer, 8.30 pm, 15 July, Cloud
  • Boxchords, 6.30 pm, 21 July, Craft

 

By Weekly Wrap