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

Greetings:

Something a bit different in Phnom Penh this Friday – in celebration of the release of the new version of the vintage saloon jazz classic One for My Baby (coming to all platforms on Friday 9 June, presave at https://ffm.to/one-for-my-baby), Robert Marleigh’s Crooner Crawl starts at The Box Office, moves to The Vine, and weather allowing to further venues.   Elsewhere in Phnom Penh, Jive Buddies (Javelle/Hess/Potter) are at Green Pepper , Boxchords are at Craft, and Cove Aaronoff & special guest are at Tacos Kokopelli. Antonio Elchico is at Botanico and Hugo is at La Petanque; Soselo Summer are followed by Temple at Oscar’s on the Corner.  In Siem Reap, Salazar Quartet are at Villa D and MM Band are at Arin’s.

In Phnom Penh on Saturday, The Sock Essentials open early for Khmer Blind Band at The Deck, Kevin Sysyn is at Botanico, and Green Leaf Motif are at Seekers Spirits.  DanDan is at Sundance, Mourin Terry is at Cloud and Nestor & Lily at Mayazon.  At Oscar’s on the Corner Marianna Hensley and Greg Beshers open for Temple.  In Kampot, there’s an open mic with Roberto Salgado at The Bay, and in Siem Reap  Gerard & Giuliano are at Harry’s & The Welsh Consulate while Jae Ann’s Soul Urge at Arin’s.

The LengPleng Feature Article

A brief history of Chea Horn and the Khmer Blind Band

On Saturday evening Golden Era specialists Khmer Blind Band return to The Deck for a night of fun, rock’n’roll and dancing.  LengPleng was curious about the story of the band and sat down with bandleader Chea Horn to discuss his journey, with the assistance of Un Samphors as an interpreter.

Horn got involved with music in Battambang in the mid 1990s, at the age of 18, playing acoustic guitar, then bass and lead guitar, inspired by the old Cambodian rock’n’roll of performers like Yul Auralong.  His mentor, Menh Sothyvann, a famous musician and songwriter, was impressed by his guitar playing, and taught him all about the music industry.

Read the whole article here

Passing Chords – a few things you may not know about

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neil Furey.  Guitarist Neil made his way into the Phnom Penh music community via a Jeffro Starks open mic at The Irish Place on St 110, and soon became a regular blues jammer.  He is now playing with Soselo Summer where he is forbidden to play blues.  You can catch him with Soselo Summer at Oscar’s on the Corner on Friday night for their last show before the midyear holidays.

Do you have a pet musical hate?

Lack of volume control.  One of the things I like most about music is playing with people, that’s the heart and the centre of all of it, the exchange; as long as that’s going on it almost doesn’t matter what you’re playing.  So a lack of volume controls tends to reduce the enjoyment for me.  Also I don’t have much time for electronic music.

A private musical indulgence:

Early recordings of Horslips.  They were the first to really bridge Irish traditional music and rock, and there are things that they do in the process of that in the earlier albums that are amazing.  It speaks to me on a couple of different levels, as Irish but maybe also as a wannabe guitar hero.

The year you first came to Cambodia:

I visited in 2005 as a tourist; I was living in Vietnam from 1999.  I moved here in mid-July 2009.

An early music memory:

Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina, by Elaine Paige.  In the late 70s/early 80s my folks would play it on audio cassette on car journeys, where the car seemed to often break down.  A Fiat 127 or something similar.  Those interminable journeys.  Are we there yet?

The last thing you had to eat:

Delectable peri-peri chicken with fries served up as only The Deck can.

A country you want to visit:

Chile.  Bhutan also, more specifically the Himalayas.

A book or movie you keep going back to:

The Blues Brothers had a formative influence on my life.  It introduced me to blues and opened that door for me.  The years i spent as a teenager trying to chase – and I’m still trying to sound like them when I play blues. Bookwise I’m a bibliophile.  I usually read four or five books a week and have done for decades, so they all kind of blend together.  To pick one, the stories of HP Lovecraft.

What languages do you have?

English. My Irish is non-existent on account of leaving school at 16, and living abroad.  My Vietnamese was quite good ten years ago, up until I moved here.  When I return it comes back some, but I’m never there for very long.  My Khmer is frankly embarassing – the pronounciation crucifies me every time.

Your primary instrument, and when you started playing it:

Guitar.  I was 13 or 14.  As in so many things at that age, due to my older brother being into it and borrowing his guitar to play.  I flailed around for a couple of years, unhindered by any kind of talent.  It wasn’t until I went to see a local guitar supremo play – he could do everything, the gymnastics of Van Halen, the subtleties of classical, and everything else in between – that I had a revelation. I’d never associated what I did with what I saw guitarists do on TV, that seemed like another world. It made it real to me and gave something that I could aim at in my own fumbling way.  I did get piano lessons when I was about seven years old, but it didn’t take.

Something people might be surprised to know about you:

For those that don’t know me the obvious answer is that I like bats.  And when I say like, I mean I love bats.  A lot of my life has been dedicated to studying them. Also at one point I spent a lot of time playing music with friends in graveyards  – during the early 90s in Dublin there were very few places to go if you had no money, so these were a good option for teenagers wanting to make music. Naturally quiet and a bit more wind protection (Irish winters being harsh) than sports fields!

You have a time machine and a magic ticket to one gig or festival in the past. What do you choose?

The Last Waltz, The Band and guests at Winterland in 1976 – talk about bang for buck.  Everyone from Neil Diamond, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, The Band themselves. A close second: Jimi Hendrix at the Monterey Pop Festival.  Then Rory Gallagher, who I never got to see, in his early days.

A question from the last participant – which was the best country that you ever played music in?

For older memories, it would be either Ireland or Denmark. I used to play for a living and moved to Denmark in 1992 for a year.  I went busking every day and played gigs on the weekend.  When I arrived I had just enough money for the first month’s rent, and it was great, out on the street every day to earn your keep.  I turned 19 while I was there.  Happy days.

I spent a lot of time playing in Ireland too. One Irish guitarist/singer, Hamilton “Hammo” Quearney, had a great influence on me. Wonderful technique. I was lucky enough to play with him quite a bit.

For more details about Neil’s professional work check out this piece in the Irish Times.

Department of Mutual Support:  Friends of LengPleng

Consider becoming a Friend of LengPleng – it 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  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 8 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:

  • The Blue Souls, 7 pm, 15 June, Trattoria Bello
  • Scott Bywater, 7 pm, 16 June, Botanico
  • Arome Khmer, 6.30 pm, 16 June, Craft
  • Hip hop night with Matsumara Fishworks, PRE and Big Daddy Klang, 8 pm, 17 June, The Deck
  • Intan & Yusbel, 6.30 pm, 20 June, Craft
  • The Broken Cymbal, 7.30 pm, 21 June, Voodoo Boulevard
  • Green Leaf Motif, 8.30 pm, 23 June, Cloud
  • Healy Yasukochi Swing 2, 7.30 pm, 28 June, Voodoo Boulevard

 

 

 

By Weekly Wrap