Following the applause

2010-11-10T12:16:00.001+07:00

on sabbatical. for a while.

Catching up: 6 - 24 October 2010

2010-10-26T08:08:00.000+07:00

Your correspondent has been in some kind of sabbatical mood for a couple of weeks, but just wants to note a few exciting developments and events that have taken place recently.

The first is the sudden appearance (at Setsara Sessions just before Pchum Ben) of the cool gypsy jazz duo Balgass (Seb and Deb), who walked out of the night and into the open mic and were quickly snapped up by clever bar managers all over the city. They have since played Equinox, Chinese House and Paddy Rice, making a particular impact at Equinox on Thursday nights providing live music for swing dancing; they also picked up a bass player along the way. They are only here for a limited time so catch them if you can.

Also on the list are the Eastern Jazz Brigade - a crowd of faces familiar to PP music fans -- who have been pumping out some inspired post-bop jazz at places like Gasolina, Equinox and Le Jardin, and soon at Chinese House.

I also want to note the return of the Mekong Pirates after a four-month absence (some of which has been taken up working on a CD - check out http://mprecordingsessions.blogspot.com for a technically dense but humorous and rewarding story of the difficulties encountered in trying to overcome Cambodian recording conditions). They played Chinese House last weekend and rocked. I particularly enjoyed the new cohesion in the guitar section, with some great wah-wah noise sneaking its way into the sonic mosaic.

The Cambodian Space Project has continued to be involved in some interesting gigs, notably two gigs at the Chinese House, first as part of the Kon Khmer Kuon Khmer Golden Era of Cinema weekend, and then a mighty night to launch our 45 rpm vinyl single, Knyom Mon Sok Jet Te. We were able to invite some of the great musicians of the vinyl era who put on a wonderful performance. Some of the excitement was captured by Andy Brouwer. The CSP was also involved in the Cambodian International Film Festival, surviving some spectacularly poor organisation by the events company involved to play briefly at the opening on Wednesday night and then after the closing on Sunday night outside Chaktomuk Theatre.

See you soon.

Jams, boats, buses and birthday parties: 23 September - 2 October 2010

2010-10-04T15:35:00.000+07:00

I got kind of distracted and suddenly I’m a week behind in updates. Way back last week I went to the Electric Eclectic Limelight Jukebox Jam at Paddy Rice, hosted by Melanie, where a variety of performers signed up and took part in a subdued setting – the venue is a difficult one for performers as there are a lot of hard surfaces leading to not particularly great acoustics, and rather too many televisions for a place putting on live music. Melanie was assisted by Paul and Gem, and I threw in a couple myself for a small but enthusiastic audience.

On Friday night the Cambodian Space Project went aquatic, playing for a birthday party on a boat on the Tonle Sap, then Saturday night played Paddy Rice for a large and liquid crowd. I made it for the second set, having with the Swedish Ambassador re-launched D’Sco: The Geckos of Love as Pswingology, playing for the swing dancing group Phnom Penh Pswings’ night at Chinese House, as part of their big swing weekend. Noteworthy was the return of the medley sickness, that manifested itself in a 12 minute 12-bar marathon that almost caused soft tissue damage in those dancers who insisted on trying to keep up.

The highlight of the weekend, though, was the CSP’s trip to Khlaeng Poar Tboung, the village in Kampong Speu that is home to our fabulous drummer Bong Sak. I don’t think I can put it better than Andy Brouwer did … and re the Paddy Rice gig, and ongoing sound problems – yes, we are working on it.

And then suddenly another week was underway, back at the Phnom Penh Acoustic Sessions at Setsara on Wednesday night. This was a particularly special night because we were able to veer away from the white-guys-singing-in-English (lovely though we all are)(and not ignoring the gorgeous French contributions we get) format by having a series of fantastic Khmer performers, including local music veterans and staff from the Top Banana. I confidently predict we will one night have the next Sinn Sisamouth emerging from the crowd of motodops waiting patiently outside. The mix of people taking part is inspiring in a city that still is largely segregated in terms of performance. But perhaps I’m just going to the wrong places.

And finally I come to last night, Rory’s birthday party at Maxine’s (aka Snow’s), where a great crowd came out to dance in the newly expanded space (more dancefloor) and, thanks to a new piece of equipment, actually hear Srey Thy’s voice over the chaos. There are still a few kinks to work out, but progress is being made. Rory and his mates also gave us a little song; thanks guys for a great night. And there was a very funky new blue guitar on display.

See you about - enjoy Pchum Ben. If you're staying in town, come see something different .... The Green Mist at Equinox on Saturday night.

Open mic to open mic: 15 - 22 September 2010

2010-09-23T16:56:00.000+07:00

Way back in the middle of last week .... began the Setsara-based Phnom Penh Acoustic Sessions. The popular Thai restaurant on Golden Street next to Equinox is catching the open-mic virus (I haven't made it to any of the others yet) and the opening night on Wednesday 15th created a great vibe from the beginning. The proceedings were hosted, and indeed opened, by CSP leader-and-founder Julien Poulson who played a great half hour set, followed by TJ, and myself, and Expresso Thmei, and after that everything gets a bit hazy ... The Swedish Ambassador and Grizzly Adam and Bong Thom all chimed in with some accompanying guitar, bongos and harmonica, and there were different pairings and groupings throughout. There was very quickly really nice feel and the audience were neither deafened nor deafening - the balance was good. A special portion of the evening was Srey Thy singing accompanied only by herself on a hand-drum, which brought all the tuk-tuk drivers creeping out from the shadows to listen.

Thursday night I had the pleasure of taking part in a theatre performance at Chenla Theatre put on by the Kok Thlok Association of Artists, whose shadow artwork currently graces the walls of Equinox. This musical moral fable about life in contemporary Phnom Penh was part of the Lakhaon festival of Khmer theatre supported by Centre Culturel Francaise. I joined the house band on drums for an extended nightclub scene, surrounded by musicians far superior to myself, and with whom it was a joy to work. Look out for anything with Kok Thlok involved - you will not be disappointed.

Then Friday night the Cambodian Space Project crammed into the Alley Cat for their re-opening event, featuring some welcome renovations and a new Dallas mural, as a warm up for our official welcome home show at Equinox on Saturday night, which was an all-exploding, all-freewheeling take-no-prisoners carnival that featured drumkit damage, string breakage, vocal submersion, impromptu jamming, not enough dancing but lots of sweaty, enthusiastic punters, and a long series of encores. Sweet exhaustion.

And now we're back to Wednesday 22nd, the second of the Setsara Acoustic Sessions, with the same cast but more - some solo from Bong Thom, the welcome appearance of Melanie, my first listens to Claire, and Scott from the Teaner Terners, and the night sealed with Julien pulling out Rocking in the free world with Melanie and Ken. Can't wait for the next one. And also I'm off to check out the Paddy Rice open mic tonight.

See you about.

CSP back in town: 10 - 11 September 2010

2010-09-13T07:39:00.000+07:00

I had every intention of keeping the updates coming from the Cambodian Space Project's tour of France, but it didn't happen. The tour had a life of its own, the stories of which will continue to be told until the beards are grey and the children grown. Already it is difficult to distinguish between the myth and the reality. The fragmentary visual record that has graced Facebook hints at the revelatory experience for those who were there. We never stop flying: Paris-Nantes-Confolens-La Rochelle-Dinan-Rennes-Jugen Les Lacs-Nantes-Paris.

However, the band is now back in its Phnom Penh home. A lucky few caught our first return performance, hardly advertised, at La Camaguais on Street 5 on Friday 3rd - what was supposed to be a small-scale French line-up reunion but turned, unexpectedly but delightfully, into the whole magilla, still shaking off the road dust and jet lag. Then there was another soft start, Expresso Thmei at Lotus Blanc this last Friday, feeling strangely underpowered after the weeks of adrenalin-filled line-up changes.

Actually, my drum kit was busier than me over the weekend, loaned out for the Cambodian Cowboys' debut at Chinese House on Thursday, and then Lost Highway on Friday, before it ventured across the river to Maxine's for the next chapter of the CSP's multiple-stage return festival. Snow kept the numbers down to 50, to prevent the place lurching into the Tonle Sap, but it was a great crowd to play to nonetheless. We cranked through three sets, throwing out new songs and jams as we went, possibly one of tightest and best sounding gigs we've done. It's great to have ace-wielding Space Commander J back on the flight deck. Canadian Adam joined us with some very tasty percussion, and the rest of the usual cast of thousands made their presence felt.

There's a lot of live music going on in Phnom Penh in the coming weeks, and I hope to hear some of it and be able to report on something other than the CSP ... but probably not next weekend unfortunately. See you at Alley Cat on Friday, Equinox on Saturday, or near another stage somewhere soon.

Last check before takeoff/Khmer assault on France: 30 - 31 July 2010

2010-08-02T15:25:00.000+07:00

As I may have mentioned before, I just love playing for children. The Cambodian Space Project was lucky enough to be invited to play at the PSE school at Stung Meanchey again on Friday, this time for the last day of school. Two thousand singing, dancing children is about as good an audience as you're ever going to get, particularly when they know all the songs (better than we do, indeed). Srey Thy was inspired to call up Arrapiya and that got the whole crowd doing the whirlpool move, and singing louder than the band. Kids approached the stage and put paper garlands around Thy's neck. A young brave fellow got up on stage and danced with her. Another utterly exhilarating forty-five minutes in the life of the CSP.

La la la la ........

The evening saw a direct contrast in both directions - Green Night at Metahouse featured a poetry reading with a young American poet Aida with an atmospheric improvised backing from the Phnom Penh Hot Strings Jazz Club, and Khmer duo Srey Peu and Sinat performing some traditional material, Srey Peu singing and reading, and Sinat playing a series of the most extraordinary Khmer stringed instruments. The old blending with the new. The Hot Strings were down to a 4-piece, sans batterie, but still made a very appealing noise.

Then Saturday night saw the Cambodian Space Project burn down the barn at Equinox in our last gig before heading for France for 3 ½ weeks. We started early, in an attempt to get more of a Khmer crowd in … and it worked. The dance floor was full for most of the first set, complete with shrieking and laughing. The second set was quieter, leading off with a few Srey Thy showcases, then getting louder, as we are wont to do. Bong Sak took to the electronic drumkit and made it sing. Bun Hong was in scalding hot form. Gildas McSwashbuckle was bouncing, the Breton Bandit smoking. Bong Ken made a late but dramatic entrance and blew us away for the last set. And it was string-breaking night: by the time the third set was over, around 11 pm, I was down to a 4-string guitar. A great energy in the room; it was like a Dickens novel, with supporters from many different times and places coming along for the send-off. Photos coming ......

Stay tuned to tales from the road, Following the Applause in France!

Belgium 1, Russia 2: 21 - 24 July 2010

2010-07-26T15:16:00.000+07:00

This weekend began, as they occasionally do, with the celebrations for Belgian National Day. It was a rainy Wednesday, and at the top of Street 5, outside La Patate, a large wedding style tent was erected, with a large wedding style stage and an extraordinary number of large, larger and indeed largest speakers scattered around at mostly appropriate intervals.

The musical treat was the Phnom Penh Hot Strings Jazz Club, an outfit with as many line-ups as it has performances, who took the sheltering crowds through a Belgian-influences trip around the musical world, double-fronted by the violinical and harmonicatrical pyrotechnics of Mat and the laidback chatty Doc Speck on the 8-string ukelele and vocals, backed by a work hard/play hard rhythm section that leapt over crack and chasm alike in their pursuit of the perfect groove. It was blues and it was jazz and it was funky … all those things that really say "Belgium" to the man in the street. Apparently Doc Speck has been to Brussels quite a number of times … and in the end, despite the wires in the puddles, nobody was electrocuted.

We then leapfrog into Friday, when the newest place in town, Dream Up restaurant and bar, hosted three bands. The trio Shangri-La played an energetic and enthusiastic opening set of covers and originals with a Russian flavour, followed by Expresso Thmei doing that thing that they do, and finally Bayon Blues (yes, they're back in town) -- only I had to leave early and will have to wait to catch up on their bluesiness on a weekend to come.

I was back at Dream Up on Saturday night, late, and encountered Sergey and Tree sitting outside with acoustic guitars, surrounded by a generous handful of customers. In a move reminiscent of the well-remembered and now long-departed Revolution Bar I joined for a half dozen of my party pieces, and then settled in to listen to some strumming tunes. Very pleasant. I'll go ahead and recommend Dream Up as a place to drop into and check out.

This weekend: Cambodian Space Project's last concert before September -- Equinox, Saturday night -- Khmer-friendly start time: 7.30 pm.

On and on and on: 16 July 2010

2010-07-19T15:12:00.000+07:00

I can't add much more to Andy's take on Cambodian Space Project at Meta House on Friday night - with some nice pictures too.

Except that the band decamped to Fun Planet on St 19 and held an impromptu jam session until 2 am - not sure what the quality was like, but it only ended after I got down to 4 strings.

Photo update: Los Poporks and CSP at Lotus Blanc, 9 July 2010

2010-07-15T15:52:00.000+07:00

Big thanks to photographic contributors Blou Durand and Gaëtan Crespel.

Mekong Space Poporks and more: 9 - 11 July 2010

2010-07-12T16:02:00.001+07:00

It was as bit of a weekend for mixing it up and making it up. What with half the expat musical population out of town it was a matter of dragging together what we could. Friday night at Lotus Blanc featured two bands, in addition to the traditional Khmer music that played downstairs. The night kicked off with a stripped down jazz-heavy Los Poporks performing as a quartet, including Mr Dom on cornet. Very tasty. They then took off up to Chinese House to back harmonica player Doc Spann - any reports? Then followed the Cambodian Space Project featuring a special appearance from Davis Zunk on drums - he was there at the beginning of the CSP, and it was great to have his funky Nawlins thing rumbling away underneath. We were lucky to have a strongly Khmer audience, who got the dancing going, and kept it up enthusiastically.

Saturday night gave us one of those special happy events that happen from time to time just through wishing them up. A farewell party with some music at Equinox collided a birthday party at the same location, beginning with Phnom Penh newcomer TJ taking us through some propulsive Americana, followed by a set by Expresso Thmei, and then some unrehearsed but keen tunes sung and strummed by farewellee Adam with Mr Pink on the drums and TJ on harp. A few calls during the week had drawn together a collection of musicians from the for a jam, a band that during the afternoon was dubbed Los Cambodian Space Pirates (but was probably more accurately the Mekong Space Poporks) laying down some very cool grooves, a bit of funk here, a bit of fusion there, some blues and a couple of vocals. The only train wreck of the night was my overconfident leading of the band through The Long Division, which they had never heard, after a request from the floor. Still, we overcame that and played on until the inevitable noise reduction requests. A most successful experiment and a great crowd to watch it.

The Cambodian Space Project - sans accordion this time - was the pre-game entertainment for the World Cup final on Sunday night at La Croisette. We may or may not have delighted a group of Korean businessmen with our 60s Khmer pop, along with a collection of tourists, expats, interns and regular fans. The 10 pm start caused a bit of a hiccup, what with it being past bedtime for the Khmer band members, but before long we were bounding along at our usual gait playing songs about looking or not looking, talking or not talking, monkeys, whiskey and dancing. And another late, late night.

See you near a stage somewhere.

p.s. what was Doc Spann like? Anyone?

Guest report: Independence Day supergroup at Sharky - 4 July 2010

2010-07-06T15:35:00.000+07:00

There was disappointment all around last week when the news filtered through that the Curtis King Band would not be able to make their annual trek across from Vietnam to play for Sharky’s 4th of July party. This annual gig normally attracts a packed house that is thoroughly entertained by some great exponents of Americana music. Customarily it includes the famous Curtis and his band of core professional musicians, together with a long line of guests that is capped by the cavorting, writhing, and pasty form of the irrepressible Lee Roi Jones - whose dance across the bar resembles something akin to an albino python looking for love.

So when the news came that they would not be here, a great lull descended across the spectrum of the Sharky patronage.

Little did the patrons know they were about to be introduced to something new and special……. . This night will go down as yet another great step forward for the local, live music scene.

On stage was Chris (Mispent Yooth – guitar, vocals), Kenny (Lost Highway – guitar, vocals), Tommy (Lost Highway, drums, vocals), and Dave (Mispent Yooth – bass, vocals) and coming out from the stage was the epitome of great American music from the 60s and 70s. Kenny and Chris’s interpretation of the great American rock & roll guitar compositions from this period was a total pleasure for all patrons. Their trade in riffs and leads complemented each other like a track complements a train, like a great singer complements a great song. You could feel the years of passion these accomplished musicians had been through – the years of love and practice they had put into the songs.

Tommy’s rock & roll drumming brought the songs up to crescendos of impunity and back to a subtle nuanced satisfaction. Dave on bass bounced between jazz/blues-style bass riffs that carried the songs seamlessly from country dance to rock & roll fervour to classic blues. The gig was also punctuated with Ian from the Lazy Jazz Drunks punching out a totally professional vocals job and Ken (The Hellhounds) getting up on harmonica.

All in all it was a great night that meant the patrons had all but forgotten their feelings of misfortune in the days before.

Satisfied! - 3 July 2010

2010-07-06T15:06:00.000+07:00

When I first arrived in Cambodia nearly two years ago, I expected to find Phnom Penh full of young Khmers with guitars playing cool rock music. Needless to say, it wasn't like that; where there are young Khmer playing non-traditional music it's usually double-handed microphone grabbing, push-button synthesizers, and perhaps a little miming. But there was a taste of the real thing on Saturday night at Chinese House.

Sai (and friends) was a 6 piece combo of two singing guitarists, bass, drums/percussion, roneat (the zylophone looking one) and tro (the upright skinny one with the two strings and a bow) - a young band that didn't look like there was anyone over 22. While the general expat audience might have been turned off by the early start (7.30 pm on a Saturday?) and the repertoire a little top-heavy with similar-sounding radio-friendly ballads, it was great to be hearing Khmer voices over acoustic guitars and traditional sounds weaving in and out around the melodies. The crowd was about 90 per cent Khmer, and showed no sign of being unhappy with the absence of keyboard and drum machine: this has got to be a good thing in itself.

Once the star left the stage, the parts of the audience invited themselves onto the mic, and it quickly turned into an hour-long jam, and the old songs came out - everything from Arrapia to Dop Pram Moi (I'm 16), and at the very close some members of the Cambodian Space Project joined the ensemble for Knyom Mon Sok Jet Te (I'm unsatisfied) and Au-go-go. It was particularly great to see the traditional instrumentatlists jamming hard and tight to the rock'n'roll.

A glimpse of the future? Maybe someday the riverside will be full of Khmer bands playing Khmer music … without synthesizers or drum machines … to mixed audiences … full credit to Chinese House for hosting.

The Talbot Report: Are Friends Electric... and Eclectic? - 25 June 2010

2010-07-01T15:52:00.000+07:00

...and the answer is a resounding ‘yes!’ if last Fridays Friends-International bash was anything to go by. To celebrate 15 years of supporting street kids in Cambodia and around the world to get off the streets and back into stable lives the folks at Friends held a special event at Romdeng, a poolside celebration with book launch and cocktails and live music from Los Poporks, the intriguingly monikered Mayors of Simpleton and some digitally delivered dancefloor distractions between live stuff from DJ Frankie.

The book is fab (features artwork done by the Friends kids over the years), the cocktails were ace (apple and lime daiquiris have to be up there with the nectar of the gods...) and the music was... well, I have to paraphrase the late great Eddie Cochrane and say it was... ‘somethin’ else!’

Los Poporks opened and closed the live music segments, and they seemed to these ears to inhabit a parallel universe to the mighty Mekong Pirates, a bit funky/reggae/world-y but with more of a jazz slant, a mighty fine live act concocting a sticky stew of feral funk out of its myriad influences with a fluid flux of performers passing through as they did so. Good stuff.

In complete contrast, Mayors of Simpleton might as well have been from Venus as from Phnom Penh. They rocked a thousand times harder than Norman Bates’ dead mother, and were probably ten thousand times more terrifying... during what was introduced as ‘our fourth rehearsal’, I detected some T.Rex, Stooges, Psychedelic Furs and I absolutely swear Rolf Harris (Sunarise, but more the Alice Cooper take on Rolf’s classic...) and possibly some early Adam and the Ants... I just don’t know .. and to be honest I don’t really care, as long as this three piece (sax, guitar and drums) stick around longer to inflict their particular brand of mayhem on the good people of Phnom Penh, I will be deliriously happy, and judging by the audience reaction I won’t be the only one.

Excuse me folks, I’m off now to howl at the moon....

Laurence W. Talbot

(Thanks to our friends at Friends for the photos)

As the northern summer starts to bite into the local scene ... 23 - 26 June 2010

2010-06-28T16:00:00.000+07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, a new contender for best expat band in Cambodia ... but first a quick chroniciling of the week's CSP adventures.

Wednesday night at La Croisette, either side of 2 simultaneous football matches, the Cambodian Space Project did its thing, starting with a duo hampered by broken strings and including a flight across town for supplies, growing into a 5-piece Khmer rock'n'roll machine, that by 11.45, after a blistering second set, finally pulled to a close. Special thanks to those who attended the first, wandered off for the football, but then returned for the second. Such as new big fan Andy.

It was a quieter, more sedate Thursday night - Expresso Thmei at the opening of The 252, a new upmarket guesthouse on Street 252, where we played in front of a large swimming pool (which proved too tempting for one invitee) and a rather different than usual audience. And no broken strings. And also Andy.

On Friday afternoon, the PSE school at Stung Meanchey had an end of year musical celebration that featured some great (and also some admittedly not so great, but heartwarmings) singing and dancing by kids of all ages. The Cambodian Space Project was invited to headline, and it was one of the best experiences we have had, with 2,500 children dancing and singing along. An absolutely exhilarating time, electric energy, and a chance to do those rockstar things that you are always a little embarassed to do in front of a grownup crowd. The kids were both inspired and inspiring, and as my mate Ken said, a great view of the future of the nation.

And now - Saturday night. Los Poporks. Equinox. Fab.

I haven't seen these guys since they opened for the CSP back in January, but they've morphed into something really special. They played as a ten-piece - with two guitars, bass, drums, percussion, three singers, two trumpets, a flute, a keyboard, an occasional harmonica ... rambling across open fields of African beats, some deep soupy funk, some double-time French jazz, dipping into reggae and then jazz fusion ... and as a highpoint in the middle of the second set, a scandalous segue from the swinging-like-a-(expletive deleted) Take Five into a massive Whole Lotta Love without breaking stride. Just outstanding. The crowd stayed thick and bouncing through to the end, including two encores. The sad part is I understand they're breaking down into something smaller for the European summer - just when they had proved themselves necessary! Don't miss these guys the next time you have a chance.

Also, on a non-musical note, make a point to check out Cambodian painter Dina Chhan's new exhibition (also, unrelatedly, at Equinox).

See you around the traps.

‘I do like Mondays...’ - 21 June 2010

2010-06-25T13:28:00.000+07:00

Guest report from Laurence W. Talbot on the Memphis Fete de la Musique ... thanks and more please!

Monday night in Memphis (Phnom Penh not Tennessee!), and a packed house of sweaty patrons swayed, rocked, rolled and jigged to the musical feast for the ears and eyes that was ‘Fete de la Musique’ Memphis 2010. Hosts Bona and Mel were rushing around, ensuring that all the acts had a great sound and that all, audience and performers alike, were kept well refreshed for the evening’s entertainment. We even got to sing a raucous version of ‘happy birthday’ to Mel to help her celebrate being another year older as midnight rolled us into the next day…. But first let’s go back in time just a few hours….

First to grace the fantastic new stage in Memphis was ‘The Minstrel from Russia’. Introduced in effusive style by Rosanna, our compere for the evening. Sergey eased the eager crowd into the nights festivities with a set of immaculately fingerpicked guitar tunes, showcasing his consummate skills on the fretboard. He was followed by Skip, former frontman with UK 80’s new wave band Radio City, who clearly hasn’t lost any of his punk energy as he powered through a short sharp blast of a solo set of his own compositions that threatened to raise the roof clean off the bar. The musical mood changed with the arrival of Kheltica and their engaging hybrid of Celtic influences, but the energy levels remained the same and outbreaks of jigging and reeling greeted their spirited renditions of traditional Celtic folk tunes. After a short break to draw breath, the stage was then boarded by a shipful of Mekong Pirates, who sent the audience into happy delirium with their unique blend of Mekong-flavored funky snaky rhythms. Memphis main man Bona stepped up to add some tasty licks to several numbers, including a driving version of Cambodian rock classic Cyclo. Compere Rosanna showed her eclectic side with a rap number leading into an accapella version of Amazing Grace during the band changeover, then Section 5 maintained the energy levels with a set of classic rock covers matched by a great visual presence that kept the floor moving . They were followed by Srey Nuch and band – they struck me as being a Cambodian version of early Blondie, an authentic 60’s based girl group sound with a raw edge and a very formidable front person in the striking Srey Nuch… very impressive indeed. Memphis’ very own Rock Xpress took to the stage in the early hours to bring the evening to a rousing climax, Dani leading the charge with a selection of songs by Pink Floyd and Deep Purple, then Bona calling Skip back to the stage for some powerhouse blues a la Plant and Page and ending with a screamingly hard version of Born to be Wild that set the seal on another wonderful night of music in the Penh. Go to the Memphis Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=143658111966&v=photos&ref=ts) to see Ramona’s cool photos of Monday night in Memphis.

Laurence W. Talbot

Photos from Java/Pirates at Equinox ...

2010-06-20T18:13:00.000+07:00

Fabulous!

Almost as good as being there.

Fete de la Musique dans Phnom Penh: 16 June 2010

2010-06-17T15:50:00.000+07:00

The Centre Culturel Francais hosted a great night last night to celebrate Fete de la Musique. Unfortunately I arrived too late to see the Khmer performers, but I managed to catch most of the set by PP favourites the Mekong Pirates (but more of them later).

The headline band, Java, played a fascinating blend of hip hop, rock, traditional French ... and a taste of most other things you could think of. The lead singer prowled around the stage looking like a gallic Brian Johnson of AC/DC, crooning, bellowing, spluttering out rap, inciting the crowd to dance, to run to the left and to the right, to sit down ... and even went crowd surfing. All this backed by drums, bass ... and accordion. And it rocked. It reminded me how important energy is in performance, and how audiences respond in kind.

We were twisted and turned by the light show, by the shifts both stylistic and dynamic, made all the more powerful by the fact that it was drums, bass ... and accordion. And this point was made with greatest subtlety during the evening: "Accordion! Sexy! Accordion! Sexy!" Even the English speakers, who understood little else, got that one. Speaking of which - I was also reminded how much better music can sound when you don't know what the words are. The most banal and mediocre lyrics just don't matter when heard in another language.

Java came back from an encore dressed up - the singer in some kind of papal MC outfit, and the band in long red robes that made them look distinctly like judges of the ECCC. Just with different hair. But that was only the beginning. Both bands decamped to Equinox (newly fitted out with upstairs stage and sound system and noise baffling structures) where the Pirates set sail with what they do best: tight, cramped, fighting out of the corner under power of a reggaefunkshuffle with spiky horns popping and braying, the sole vocal mic passing from hand to hand to horn to horn. It was after midnight when Java took to the stage, launching into some progrock type funk that morphed into a rap, that morphed into ... well, you really had to be there. It was quite a night. Viva la musique.

A quick one before the kickoff: 11 June

2010-06-14T15:50:00.000+07:00

The Cambodian Space Project returned to Lotus Blanc on Friday night, boldly going on in opposition to the opening game of the World Cup, in the second of their big Friday nights. The night began with a bit of busking - playing acoustic out in the gateway, frightening the passersby with some of the new repertoire that has been creeping in over the past few weeks. Later the 7-piece line up pushed through two full sets of the tight, funky lean sound that is the current sound of choice (we await coming developments that may morph the sound one way or another ... travel broadens the mix) with some impressive and expressive dancing from those members of the audience who were compelled to move a bit.

The World Cup is certainly going to slow music matters down for the next few weeks, but the Leng Pleng gig guide still looked full over the weekend. My pick for the coming week is the Fete du Musique event at the Centre Culturel Francais Cambodge on Wednesday night. Might see you there.

Railway Station rocks, and other events: 3 - 6 June

2010-06-08T16:38:00.002+07:00

Way back last Thursday, so long ago I can hardly remember, the Hellhounds played their last for a while at Sharky Bar - a break forced by the temporary departure of the Swedish Ambassador for a good two months. This hardworking jack-of-all-axes will be sorely missed by the musical community of Phnom Penh. We gave him a good send off from Sharky and know that the Hellhounds will rise again.

Friday night, back at Sharky again, was another familiar instalment in the saga of the Lazy Jazz Drunks, including line up changes within an hour of taking the stage, and a general shortage of traffic police on the stand. Still, we saw - and heard - the highly entertaining bass debut of the Mythical Dude amid some thumping and valiant blues rock complete with false endings, a brief guest singer, and some weird and wonderful jamming on an extended Whole lotta love. Some pics are here: Sharky Blog

The big night of the week of course was Saturday, when the much unused Phnom Penh railway station was converted into a party venue, including a train trip off to a rice field, where the Phnom Penh Hot Strings delighted the delightable crowd, then returning to a great gathering of people who rocked out to the Cambodian Space Project on the platform. This is well documented here and here. A great night that was only hampered by the DJs coming on too early ; )

Then on Sunday the public debut of Espresso Thmei took place at Paddy Rice. And not such a bad crowd for a Sunday night either. The pocket-sized version of the CSP mixes in a number of brand new songs with the regular CSP repertoire, and, through the different and more acoustic setting, brings the lovely voice of Srey Thy well to the fore. And it's a pleasure to play. And Thy's newest biggest fan wrote it up as well.

see you around.

FTA back on the beat ... 28 - 29 May

2010-05-31T17:34:00.000+07:00

Friday night was a mixture of the new and the old. The Velkommen Inn hosted Bayon Blues, with the acoustic blues fireworks of Little Duke, the sensational Kristin on vocals, and the everywhere-at-once Bong Thom squeezing and bending away on the harmonica. Good old traditional blues, played damn well - a nice clean crisp sound. You can be forgiven for wondering if you're in Phnom Penh at all. Then it was a short step up the river to the Chinese House where the Mekong Pirates juggernaut were making their presence felt. A huge crowd helped set the night alight, but it turns out I missed some serious wildness at the end of the night by succumbing to the need to sleep and heading home early.

On Saturday night Chinese House again the venue of choice. The Bong Thom dot Com tenth anniversary party featured four bands: Bayon Blues, the Hellhounds, the Cambodian Space Project and the debut of Espresso Thmei (technically just the CSP pocket-size edition, showcasing Srey Thy's vocals with acoustic guitar and a little harmonica). The Hounds stuck to the straight and narrow with guest Canadian Dave on bass, and the CSP continued to refine its post-electric sound, with Bong Sak on a smaller but no less effective drumkit, and encouraging to the front the clarinet of Bun Hong.

So here's the call, people: please send in gig reports, let us all know where it's happening and who's doing it. It was great to see writeups from new contributors at the end of last month, keep them coming. See you next weekend somewhere.

Hot licks, wet picks and sunburned songs: 24 April 2010

2010-04-29T15:19:00.000+07:00

The searing near mid-day heat of Phnom Penh is not really the kind of environment where you would expect the spirit of rock’n’roll to thrive, but at last Saturday’s Mith Samlanh FunFair that sprit was well and truly live and kicking in the form of a short sharp set from former front man of 1980’s UK new wavesters Radio City, Skip Sutherland. A crowd of over a hundred Khmer and expats clapped and roared their sometimes baffled but enthusiastic appreciation at his solo return, just one man, one guitar, and his songs.

Skip rattled through a quickfire set of his own material and a couple of choice covers, resembling some wired cross between Joe Strummer and Elvis Costello and sweating so profusely that Mith Samlanh boss Didi rescued him from almost certain heatstroke by donating her baseball cap to the rapidly burning bard!

Skip’s own songs inhabit that glorious crossover land between classic 60’s and 70’s British rock and punk, with the Kinks, the Who, Clash and Costello being the obvious touchstones, echoed in the covers he also tackled – Costello’s Alison, with an extended dramatic pause in the middle, a misty-eyed take on Ray Davies’ finest three minutes, Waterloo Sunset and a storming punk-charged version of Van Morrison’s Brown-Eyed Girl to end, earning a huge ovation from the crowd. Undoubted highlight though was his solo version of Radio City single Love and a Picture, which he delivered with the same drive and energy (and I swear in the same key!) as the 1980 original. Snatching the briefest of chats with him afterward, he told me recent interest in the single on E-bay and from collectors of New Wave music was the spur to performing again, and that Japanese label 1977 records plan to reissue the single in the very near future. As to his future plans, he doesn’t rule out any further solo gigs, and is also working on another band project which he described as ‘angular art-punk melodic noise’….

I for one can’t wait…

Laurence W. Talbot

(you can listen to Radio City here - http://musicruinedmylife.blogspot.com/2009/12/radio-city-love-and-picture.html)

…and muchas gracias to Ani and Stine for the pics

Scoddy says: Thanks Laurence!

Remember, this is an open blog, keep sending your reviews in!

BUM N’ DRAZE KICKED OFF THE KHMER NEW YEAR’S LIVE ROCK! - Match report, 23 April 2010

2010-04-28T15:34:00.000+07:00

When things started to slide slowly ‘back to normal’ after the pre-Khmer new year crackdown of vices in Cambodia, including ban on loud music, Bum N’ drazE’s ‘Back To Abnormal’ 2010 toür hit Sharky big time in Phnom Penh on Friday 23 April!

Introducing their new brilliant axeman, guitar slinger Jet ‘Zetor’ Odrerir (USA), who knocked out the Sharky crowd with his killer solos, BnD’s April 2010 show did not seem to leave anybody cold or unastonished about the nastiest-sounding and longest-serving original material-playing expat hard rock band in post-war Cambodia.

The show kicked off with the drummer and throat-shredder Twilight Dzouns sporting the Jason (Friday the 13th) hockey mask, then spurting a remarkable amount of artificial blood from his mouth at the crowd Gene Simmons-style and staring at the audience with a lunatic look in his eyes, while Zetor and bassist P. Sonic started the immortal riffs of Ted Nugent’s ‘Cat Scratch Fever’ – and the noisiest party in town was underway immediately!

During their set BnD introduced some new material, but mostly band’s good old class-sicks before wrapping up the gig with the total destruction of two acoustic guitars and more blood from Dzouns’ drooling loudmouth: “This is what we think of acoustic folk music!”.

As one enthusiastic fan concluded after the show: “Bum N’ drazE are rock’n roll in the only meaningful sense of the word. Everyone else in Cambodia is just pretending!” and “BnD looked for Ace Frehley- or Andy McCoy-style lead guitarist, but in Zetor got more than they asked for, goddamn great shit, man!”. Well, take or leave it, but stay tuned for the next tour dates of BnD’s ‘Back To Abnormal’ 2010 and follow www.myspace.com/bumndraze!

Setlist 23.04.2010:

Cat Scratch Fever (Ted Nugent)

March Or Die (Don’t July) (Bum N’drazE)

Black Cadillac (Bum N’drazE)

Havana Affair (Ramones)

Sickville (Randall Planet-Twilight Dzouns-Bum N’drazE)

If Mekong Was Whiskey (Bum N’drazE)

Dirt (The Stooges)

********************************************

Copy supplied by bumndraze@hotmail.com - thanks guys

Television Ted reports - KlapYaHandz event: 24 April 2010

2010-04-26T15:49:00.000+07:00

This event was all about real Cambodian creativity from the new youth of Cambodia.

If you were lucky enough to be at the Phnom Penh Night Market on Saturday afternoon and night then you would have been privileged to see the continued emergence of a new Khmer sub-culture based on Hip-Hop. It was a great night of street art, improvised lyrics, DJs and dance. In the audience were 1000+ young Cambodians. It included the trendy and very sexy girls, sporting the latest in Khmer fashion - to the kids from the underprivileged side of things, sporting colours from the street. There was a definite buzz throughout the audience for all of the 7 hours with most members wide-eyed, expectant, enthusiastic and entertained. The audience was not only able to view this performance for free but was also provided with a flow of T-shirts, CDs and other prizes throughout the night.

The young, male-dominated crowd responded well and honestly to all aspects of the performances – whose improvised lyrics, backed by professional DJs, can claim to be on the cusp of current Cambodian musical creativity. Amongst the crowd was a group of street kids who formed a circle and flip-flopped between near-fighting to near-dancing – possible proof that the event was catering to the true street essences of Hip-Hop. The event also included children’s art and socially minded messages to the listeners.

The presentation and professional framework made available by KlapYaHandz was first-rate – large stage, good lighting, international artists, Cambodia’s most imminent Hip-Hop artists, professional DJs and (most importantly) a clear & booming sound system. It also included street art that framed the front part of the stage and that evolved as the night progressed.

In all, it was a well and truly enjoyable and professional event that had great success in provisioning the advancement of culture for Cambodian youth.

- thanks to Television Ted for providing this match report.

Too much I didn't see: 22 - 24 April

2010-04-26T15:45:00.001+07:00

The Cambodian Space Project commenced its progression towards the soft, smooth dinner music that it's always deep down wanted to be this weekend, with a performance at one of our favourite places, La Croissette. Technical issues were somewhat minimised, we welcomed the return of the clarinet of Bun Hong, and we played without either drums or bass. The results were ... mixed. While most of the tunes worked perfectly well, there were a couple that we found ourselves lost in the middle of, with no way out ... a moment or two of ankle-deep sludge in the second set. Not to leave on a downer, we revved it up again and played one last tight after-midnight set. Upward and onward!

Friday night myself and The Lovely Irene played a private party, and I rediscovered how much people like Simon & Garfunkel. And Saturday night I was at the theatre. Elsewhere, Bum'n'Draze (Fbook photos) and then Lost Highway (Fbook photos) played at Sharky, the Bayon Blues Ensemble (Fbook photos) debuted at the Velkommen Inn, and the KlapYaHandz hiphop event was held at the night market. Others will have to chronicle such events.

PSE Charity Party: 9 April

2010-04-17T12:32:00.000+07:00

It's got so quiet lately I completely missed one: the Cambodian Space Project played at the PSE Charity Party out in Stung Meanchey on Friday 9th. Huge. After a procession of performers from Rock Productions, traditional dancers, and a prize draw for The Krawma, the new stripped down version of the Space Project was unveiled. In the absence of the Space Commander, Mr Pink took up big red, and G-String took the bass. Bong Sak, Bong Thom, the Breton Bandit and The Lovely Irene filled their regular places, and we were joined from Siem Reap by Aya on melodica. Srey Thy was far from daunted by the huge and mostly Khmer crowd, who danced and danced. Apparently the quality of the sound depended upon where in the audience you were ... situation normal ... but it was a big sound nevertheless. And by golly there was dancing afterwards as well.

The next night PSE did it all again, featuring Cacath and Los Poporks - any reports?

Photos courtesy of Gaetan.

Updates on Siem Reap and Hong Kong ....

2010-04-09T16:01:00.000+07:00

Rather amused to find AsiaLifeGuide writing up the Cambodian Space Project's recent gigs in Siem Reap as an homage to Dengue Fever (as opposed to, say, Ros Sereysothea or Pan Ron) ... even more oddly, that we were more "blue grass". Some other kind of grass involved in the composition of the snippet, I imagine. Anyone who knows what they mean please let me know.

On a more positive note check this out for a review of the CSP's last night in Hong Kong - with some great pictures.

seeya about.

Geckos and then Kep: 2 - 3 April

2010-04-06T15:33:00.000+07:00

This quieter weekend began as late as Friday night, with the return to the stage of D'Sco: The Geckos of Love. We've been spending a lot of time as a mercenary rhythm section for several Phnom Penh bands all over the place, and it was time to get our Gecko on. Chinese House was the location, the crowd was belatedly good, and if my guitar had played ball and not got all noisy on me it would have been just completely swell. As it was we ripped through most of our old favourites, even including a special tribute to Lou Reed who almost played the Velkommen Inn the previous evening. Shame about that aircraft overbooking. And only one broken string! It was a fun night.

On Saturday night the Mekong Pirates stormed the Kukuluku bastille for a benefit for the Kep Ecole de Francaise, and put on a fine show with lots of dancing (well, eventually) with the depleted horn section being balanced by the augmented guitar line up - for one tune they even had 3 guitars at once, a veritable CSP manoeuver. I know it's my personal preference, but in the midst of all that reggae there's a very fine funk band struggling to get some oxygen. A couple of good sweaty sets were topped off with up to eight people pushing on with an extended group percussion jam.

Let's hope the music drought breaks with the New Year and the rains ....

First Cambodian-based band to play in Hong Kong (unless we're wrong about that) - 24 - 27 March

2010-04-02T15:55:00.000+07:00

I guess I should pull my finger out while I can still remember it all ... I've not been sure if Hong Kong has a place in a Cambodian-centred blog. In the end I've decided that the title gives me the answer: I shall follow the applause.

Especially when the weekend began late on a Wednesday afternoon with the news that Sharky Bar had had to cancel live music for the foreseeable future; and that the story only got worse over the next few days. Trying times, my friends ... the devil's music seems to be causing a moral ruckus.

So the secondary phalanx of the Cambodian Space Project took off for Hong Kong at about 6.30 Phnom Penh time, landed in Hong Kong at 10-ish then bundled itself (all 5 of the travelling party) into a taxi (complete with stretchy straps holding the boot down) to Wan Chai, where in a familiarly un-staged, vivid, Englishy kind of pub called The Wanch we inserted ourselves behind the advance party of vocals and guitar and played a big thumping long set fired by tall cold Carlsbergs, timezone changes and travel dust.

In the break between sets the crowd, who had (1) never seen anything like it and (2) loved it all the same, took their chance to get home on the highly efficient, cheap and pumpkining-at-midnight subway. This put an end to the gig, but not the party, as the night was still young. It was 16 degrees and drizzling, the smokers were shivering in the cold, and I stood in the street under the gentle rain and was reminded of Hobart town. Yes, the night was still young ....

The following night saw us top of the bill for SPACED at Rockschool, just up the street from The Wanch. Here we were treated to equipment, a drum kit on a riser, a mixer ... we responded with an extended set playing on and on until we were too tired to play any more. Prior to playing we had dashed around the city on foot and tram filming video in the astonishing company of filmmaker KM Lo .... paying homage to Wong Kar Woi with such madness as banana gangster-agogo-hkg.mp4 and agogo-hkg-intro.mp4 ... hearing an awful lot of bad cover bands banging on into the streets entertaining the Rugby 7s crowds.

Friday night we were just another band on the line-up at The Underground, also at Rockschool. Limited to 30 minutes, we stripped down to the basics - jettisoning the psychedelic in favour of the energetic fun pop, and we were so tight ... it was very cool. It was great to bring this music to an audience that didn't know it, to see how a crowd will react to the pop genius of Chnam Aun Dop Pram Moi and Happy New Year. At the conclusion of the evening we went in search of a restaurant that was allegedly on the second floor of a building somewhere ... our inquiries were fruitless until a particular gentleman said, "Restaurant? Sure. Let's go." He walked 20 feet and unlocked a steel rollerdoor, turned on the lights and headed for the kitchen, bidding us come in and sit. This is 2 a.m. Hong Kong hospitality. Mr Wong (for that was his name) quickly opened several bottles of Tsaing Tao, and whipped up large platters of fried pork and chicken and a huge vat of rice, and we ate like visiting emperors. Or visiting an emperor. Or something. We emptied ourselves into the night in the vicinity of 3.30 am vowing to return the following evening ...

The following evening, after a day of sleeping and a little shopping, we gathered on a 32nd floor rooftop, with all big city lights around us ... jamming acoustic, swapping songs, and managing to coax Srey Thy into improvising a song about the weekend experience, the chicken from Prey Veng flying all the way to Hong Kong. This and some other magic was captured by our videographer The Fabulous Marc. At around midnight we headed back in search of the mystery restaurant (which I was convinced was only a group hallucination, or a freak hole in the space-time continuum) and discovered that it did in fact exist. Super Restaurant Kitchen was open and ready for us to bundle in with instruments flying in all directions, with impromptu performances of our greatest hits to the bemusement of the customers, and indeed Mr Wong and his Thai waitress as well. Our great thanks for their fine hospitality.

The music continued after dinner on Great George Street, Wan Chai, where the few early morning pedestrians were treated to the rump of the Space Project busking some French ditties and my very ragged version of Ca Plane Pour Moi. We considered it a fitting end to this chapter in the Space Project archives, and we got the Space Commander to his plane the next day -- he is off to wander the globe for a few months and we will do our best to carry on in his absence.

Fear not! (or, on the other hand, Fear!) The Cambodian Space Project will rise again. Maybe sooner than you think.

p.s. D'Sco: The Geckos of Love return to the Chinese House tonight at 9!

Additional photos by The Lovely Irene

Seems to be mostly about endings: 18 - 20 March

2010-03-24T16:26:00.000+07:00

Another blistering performance of The Hellhounds was witnessed by a select crowd at Sharky Bar last Thursday, complete with wandering/wondering wayfarer Johnny Pilgrim standing in. A boisterous couple of sets with some new material, including a bounding Who do you love and a cheeky Women are smarter which morphed juicily into a half-remembered Iko Iko. This effort was followed up by a surprising number of the same songs (WDYL and Folsom Prison Blues, for example) when the very same stage was taken up by some of the very same personnel in my farewell performance with the Lazy Jazz Drunks. Ian the Punk and Tall Tom were in fine form as we jukeboxed (as noted by Mythical Dude and his compadre) our way through three sweaty sets, sometimes being a bit more jazzy than previously considered possible: we even stumbled through an impromptu Fly me to the moon. Helping out on a few tunes was Song, a drummer of great technical skill and demolition techniques. I slowed the tempo in the later stages to perform a short tribute to the late Alex Chilton, whose death I had heard of only that afternoon, then we ramped it up again for a big finish, drumsticks and sweat flying in all directions.

And finally, in a weekend of endings, Saturday night saw the final Phnom Penh performance of the current line up of the Cambodian Space Project, with the Space Commander taking off for Europe for a few months. We packed ourselves into one side of the bar at Equinox and made merry with a percussion heavy couple of hours that managed to evade the attention of the Too Loud police, although also somehow evaded the Sound Quality police as well. Technical knowhow had established a really good sound check sound that somehow evapourated in a prolonged screech of wireless microphones, a tangle of cables and a reliance on sonic bravado so well known to the long-suffering fans and members of the CSP. We look forward to future efforts with a greater concentration on PA mechanics and better selection of PA hiring firms. p.s. the sound was marginally better at the final performance of the weekend, at Tassilo's wedding at the Himawari, but the curfew was even earlier.

And so the Cambodian Space Project heads north east to the surreal island of Hong Kong ... from whence reports will emanate next week. Which is a good time to renew my call for reviews of the shows I don't get to, or even alternate reviews of the shows that I do. This blog oughtn't be restricted to just one view, please share your thoughts.

Seeya when I'm back in PP.

A belated one before the new weekend starts up: 9 - 13 March

2010-03-18T15:48:00.000+07:00

It all began a long time ago, when one of the most prominent pianists of the age Vladimir Ashkenazy came to play Chaktomuk Theatre, which probably accounted for the small but keen crowd that chose instead to attend last Tuesday's Fun Planet birthday party featuring the Cambodian Space Project. A smaller, gentler Space Project was on display, with a hastily-mixed collection of amplifiers, a brief rainstorm, and quite a number of curious Khmer observers who stayed until bedtime.

Then there was quite a gap for me, as I am attempting to reduce my playing in quantity in an effort to increase it (and the pleasure arising therefrom) in quality, so it was Friday before I was on stage again, with the CSP taking to the stage in Siem Reap. Thursday night a very stripped down version had fascinated the crowd at Silk Garden; Friday we clambered aboard a raised stage, battled with a PA and coloured lights, and pulled out two long sets of sweaty Khmer rock'n'roll at L'Abacus. See here .... the dancing was a bit subdued, I assume due to the bar being too far from the stage, but by the same token it was hard for me to see past the footlights. A highlight was the inclusion in the band of Aya on melodica.

The next night we followed up with an appearance at X-Bar, again playing under the stars, with a more extensive light show, a lower platform, a bigger and more involved audience. Our three sets were followed by a long series of jams with revolving personnel - D'Sco: The Geckos of Love put their two cents in as well - that were still going when we left at 4 am. See here ....

We also managed to fit in a couple of video and photo shoots which have also been FBook documented already. Our thanks to the coalition of bars and assorted Siem Reap folk who helped make it a great weekend, especially the photographer du jour The Fabulous Jean-Francois and documentarist and videographer MOVE NOW! Marc. And while I'm at it, a big dip of the hat to number one fan - and brutally honest critic where appropriate - The Baron Bruno.

The CSP is now poised to make its final public PP appearance (for a while) at Equinox on Saturday 20th before heading for 3 shows in Hong Kong. And then I can get back to writing about some other bands for a change, including D'Sco: The Geckos of Love, who are due for a revival, methinks.

Seeya near a stage.

A special mid-week blog ... due to the quiet weekend coming: 2 and 4 March

2010-03-05T15:57:00.003+07:00

It was a double birthday celebration, it was a documentary film night, it was a video shoot ... Chinese House hosted Call and Response, a film about human trafficking, followed by who else but the everywhere-at-once Cambodian Space Project. As I was one of the birthday celebrants, I made damn sure I was doing something fun: we set up with two drum kits and pushed through a long thumping rhythm-heavy set while squeezing the 9 piece band onto a stage surrounded by dancing and drinking. The Breton Bandit is continuing to find his feet, I am continuing to grow my hair, Ratta-Man is continuing to find new and unusual ways to appear and disappear at will, Bong Jay is continuing to lose his mind as the time begins to run short with so much still to do, The Lovely Irene continues to walk straight from work-mode into performance-mode, The Swedish Ambassador is still fairly Swedish and was also a celebrant, Bong Sak keeps it steady on the beat, McSwashbuckle makes the good times roll, Srey Thy just gets more glamorous ... somehow we have to get through this month and life will be quieter.

Last night The Hellhounds renewed their acquaintance with Sharky's, blue cheese burgers and Johnny Pilgrim with a lively couple of sets with a good crowd and a drummer who pushed the soundcheck back an hour due to his non-attendance. Lots of old favourites and a couple of new ones, up to and including some blasters like Who do you love, Shame Shame Shame, Dead Flowers, sounding better than ever. And no broken strings to report! The year of the tiger is boding well.

It's a quiet weekend coming, but next weekend the CSP are on the road to Siem Reap. Come for the fun, stay for the madness!

A lowkey blog about the weekend that I felt particularly crook but somehow kept going: 25 - 27 February

2010-03-01T15:05:00.000+07:00

The Hellhounds worldwide tour of Sharky's continued on Thursday night despite the absence of Bong Thom, and with the addition of last week's special guest Johnny Pilgrim. We ran a stripped back setlist, pushing the wildness quotient up a bit but really missing the mandolin. And I wasn't so well, which didn't help. Still, the blues went down pretty well, as ever. And Mythical Dude got through a whole set -- hell, nearly the whole night -- without breaking a string, but stumbled at the last hurdle. Which brings me to a fundamental question: if Jimmy Hellhound ever broke a string, would the world cease to be?

On Friday afternoon the Cambodian Space Project took itself on the road to Sihanoukville, to participate in Khmarnival, an AIDS education outreach event involving some fabulous dance, pantomime, circus acts and clowning by young former street kids. Pretty inspiring stuff. We came onto the stage after dark, following two mixed bands of the young and enthusiastic -- and what a stage. It was huge, like playing a stadium. Everyone was wandering around wondering what to do with all the space. Way up the back, miles away, and miles high on a drum riser, I felt like Ringo. A great view, but it was so dark I could barely see the crowd. We played until bedtime. And then stayed up for a cleansing beverage or two.

Saturday night we were all back in Phnom Penh, and a stripped down and perhaps more relaxed CSP played at The Alley Cat's last Saturday of the month buffet and prize drawing. Elsewhere in town the Lazy Jazz Drunks and Lost Highway played Sharky's, and then the LJD took a stab at an after midnight gig at Candy Bar. No reports in yet on those adventures.

It looks like a quiet weekend coming up, and perhaps my health can last for more than a day at a time. Preparing for a big finish for the CSP's current trajectory: Siem Reap on 11 - 13 March, Maxines on 20th, and 3 dates in Hong Kong to go out with a bang … before coming back for more in August.

See you about.

Pilgrims and Keppers: 18 - 20 February

2010-02-23T17:57:00.002+07:00

It was another thumping night on Thursday as The Hellhounds took to the stage at Sharky Bar, pumping through the weird, twisted and wonderful repertoire that keeps growing funkier. Mythical Dude managed to break some kind of record with broken strings, showing real dedication to his endless quest for justifying the employment of a personal string-changing roadie. We welcomed to the stage one Johnny Pilgrim who played some rattling rambling 1952 National guitar chug-chug excitement and took even the wheel to lead us through It's all over now - because the best performances are the unrehearsed ones.

On Saturday the Cambodian Space Project took its outreach programme to Kep. After a set at the local Ecole Francaise, where I played official photographer, we headed for Kukuluku on the water, and set up for a big night. Embarrassed by numbers, despite the absense of Bong Thom, we assembled with a three-guitar, two bass, accordion, drum and percussion line-up ... while the carnival. A couple of punching sets, with a mystery bass player showing up at the end of the first, looking something like Santa Claus' kid brother, and playing the crap out of the funky band favourite, Miss you. We also hurriedly rehearsed and brought to the stage a new song, Pan Ron's I'm unsatisfied, and the next morning the intrepid production crew headed out to shoot a music video for it.

Here's a couple of shots from later in the day, when the band got to stand around and look interesting. Perched atop a crab, for example .... photos courtesy of the fabulous Marc Eberle, space project documentarist.

Look out for the video soon.

This Thursday: Hellhounds at Sharky Bar

This Friday: CSP plays Khmarnival in Sihanoukville ... flamenco at Equinox on Friday night -- Jose de Lopera (guitar and vocals) and Mark Chattaway (mandolin) and maybe Eric on percussion

This Saturday: Stiff Little Punks at Sharky, supported by Lazy Jazz Drunks

See you near a stage soon

The Great Takeo Space Walk revisited

2010-02-19T20:33:00.000+07:00

For all you French speakers and lovers of Google Translate ...

http://www.lepetitjournal.com/content/view/53865/1841/

The Great Takeo Space Walk

Happy New Year of the Tiger: 11 - 14 February

2010-02-15T15:23:00.000+07:00

The long long weekend began with The Hellhounds on Thursday night at Sharky Bar. Another in a series of incremental changes to the sound, as the rhythm section gets to know the material and begins to take liberties, funking things up a bit and getting a bit of wildfire tearing through the list. We had a most vociferous and indulging crowd along, encouraging us to put that extra bit in (and I'm not just talking about the bluecheese and bacon burgers).

On Friday night the Lazy Jazz Drunks returned to the stage -- the first gig since the gunshot -- playing a birthday party at the Pickled Parrot. With the assistance of a prepared-beforehand setlist, and despite the insane new year traffic and the lack of a guitar strap for Tall Tom, and with the Swedish Ambassador on bass rather than keyboard, we burst into action with a good sound (applause at the soundcheck!) and a dancing crowd for a couple of decent sets until the PA speakers unexpectedly gave up about 20 minutes too early. Still, it was fun while it lasted.

But then things got really serious -- I hopped on a moto down to Tamarind on 240 Street, where the Mekong Pirates were crammed into a tiny space for a special send-off concert for Marion and Dom. Even unamplified the size of the group means the sound is big. They'd been playing for a while by the time I got there, and the place was rocking. Dancers were shaking and swaying in the narrow space between the band and the wall, drinkers were sneaking inbetween the dancers and the band to get to the bar, the crowd spilled out into the street. Funky Phnom Penh indeed!

Then the Cambodian Space Project hit the road on Saturday for the Lunar New Year, heading south down into Takeo Province to a small village to play a ricefield special. A huge wedding PA was brought in for the occasion, food and beer laid on and we were generally treated royally. Srey Thy was not so well, but soldiered on for a long set that in the absence of our usual three-strong guitar army found me playing six-string, and I proceeded to pull out some Chic-like funky rhythms over the dub reggaeish grooves. And in a new first, we added The Breton Bandit on piano accordion, and even had Godfather L, carried away by the excitement and the anonymity, making an unexpected return to the stage after 20 years of avoidance. But what happens in the ricefield stays in the ricefield.

D'Sco: The Geckos of Love, with bonus guest drummer Bong Sak, then tore up the night with a prolonged bluesrock bashing interspersed with growling sweetnesses to the general bewilderment of the crowd, the Swedish Ambassador pumping out some hot licks and tasty wah-wah.

On Sunday we stayed on the road, heading out to Chroy Chongvar to play a great big extravagant birthday party. A timely visit to the doctor had Srey Thy raring to go, even pushing the tempos along aggressively. Tired but rejuvenated by an enthusiastic and audience (there was even some very brave interpretive dance going on during Whisky Cambodia, good to see) we played long and hard and … actually, we just had a bloody good time. We dispersed into the night in three tuktuks, with The Breton Bandit squeezebox-serenading us across the Japanese Bridge, and the PA truck loaded to the sky with well-travelled gear, and came to land at a little place on 172 Street where I eventually left the crew to their own devices. Unfortunately, some of us have day jobs.

Here's looking forward to the Space Mission to Kep next weekend, and the return of The Lovely Irene.

Happy new year of the Tiger, let it be a bold and courageous one.

Rooftops of Phnom Penh; raised, appraised and launched from: 4 - 7 February

2010-02-08T15:56:00.001+07:00

The first in the Hellhounds' Spitting, Drooling and Snarling February Thursdays Tour of Sharky's kicked off the weekend with bonus new tunes, an involved audience and even some dancing over by the pool table. The new commitment to harmony vocal sounds is really starting to pay off, particularly with Mythical Dude's encouragement that we include Dead Flowers in the list - it sounded like we'd been playing it for years, rather than never before.

Friday night the Cambodian Space Project played al fresco on the rooftop at Studio 182, an evening characterised by the appearance of a small army of sound-technical personnel who dashed around underfoot plugging and unplugging things as the night draped itself around us. An extended soundcheck grew gradually into a sound ... not entirely sure it was a dramatic improvement - but my ears are not always to be trusted. A large, dancey crowd enjoyed a set and a half of crazy psychedelic Khmer space rock before the neighbours complained and we had to bring the party to a close. We started it up again on Saturday night under the headline Whisky Cambodia at La Croissette. Again, I was fortunate enough to be able to sit out a few numbers and enjoy the band from the front, with Bong Sak thumping the skins for us: somehow we were in the very rare state of having the same lineup on successive gigs.

But this lineup is about to change again, as the Cambodian Space Project is temporarily losing one of its khosmonauts: The Lovely Irene is preparing to sail on the evening tide, undertaking a project to further economic links between Cambodia and Western Europe, also to spy and search out trade secrets with other Space Projects to assist with improving the Khmer design, which is currently largely restricted to attaching a rocket to a tuktuk. The irreplaceable elegant lefthanded hat-wearing charm that brought such a bloom to the front line of the band will be missed by all of us. We wish her well, bid her safe passage and fair winds, with the unspoken trust that the fairest of these winds will be those that float her back to us. To mark her departure, crowds were assembled, two boats were lashed together, and the Cambodian Space Project clambered aboard to send her off in style on a Sunday cruise of the Tone Le Sap. A fiercely good time was had. Now, the next project is how to organise playing on a boat roof .... a launch pad for a most spectacular liftoff.

The friends, the road, the magic: 28 - 31 January

2010-02-01T16:19:00.001+07:00

It was the last Thursday in January, and the last date of the Blue Cheese and Bacon Burger Hellhounds 2010 Tour of Sharky Bar. And the playing was of a highest uber-ian quality, and the audience was keen and engaged, and the Mythical Dude was standing up, and Bong Thom was having out of body experiences, and the Swedish Ambassador was grooving it up, and Jimmy Hellhound was howling and cussing and there may or may not have been some cowbell, and there was certainly some awesome harmonising, like a bunch of old country folk sitting around on someone's porch with big clay bottles of homemade cider ... and they saw that it was good.

And lo they did book the Hellhounds for another month of Thursdays! This will be known as the Sharky's Scratch, Snort, and Drooling Blues Sessions, but will probably still involve blue cheese and bacon burgers at certain junctures.

Friday night was the annual Green Night at META House, an environmental awareness event, with a number of presentations on Copenhagen, Tonle Sap fisheries and solar lighting, and some musical interludes courtesy of singers from Cambodian Living Arts (a first for karaoke at META House) and the now-you-seen-them-now-you-see-them-again Cambodian Space Project. The CSP as usual played with too many people, too loud, for too long, had too much fun, and had to be dragged off the stage with shepherds crooks. So why are we all so happy?

Because Space Commander Bong Jay won a solar light. Because it was a great night. Because the neighbour didn't stop by to tell us to shut up. Because ...

Because the next morning we all got on a bus and headed down to Otres Beach, Sihanoukville, to play Saturday night on the beach between Mama Ying Yang and No Name while it was still possible to do so (i.e. prior to evictions). We got to soundchecking as the sun went down, looking out over the water, pulling out our collective hair over the difficulties of managing generators, wedding-size PA stacks, bus-sized amplifiers -- and this was a stripped-down, low-fat, streamlined machine of drums, bass and guitars with nothing too complicated going on.

We played a good solid sweaty hour-plus-long set (much of which no one can actually remember) to a beach full of dancers in various stages of enjoyment, from the fanatical to the merely engaged. Was there some fire twirling going on nearby?  Waves broke gently on the beach, relentless and soulful like the Swedish Ambassador's bass playing. Some beautiful Apsara dancing broke the chain of rock'n'roll, but then CSP played a rather crisis-ridden set (even less of which can be remembered) for about 45 minutes, which seemed to work by sheer force of personality rather than any musical chops, before we imploded under our own weight and had to disperse to the bar and to sleep. Some good tunes though, and we note an increasing tendency towards the epic and anthemic which may have to be closely monitored. The Our Biggest Fan award goes to The Baron Bruno, who later enthused about listening while indulging in the luxurious expanse of the Gulf of Siam under the full moon to the howling and the pounding ... we could all have been anywhere that night, but we were where we would have chosen. Blue benevolent ghosts were watching over us.

Sunday came, and with it a busload of orphans who frolicked on the beach and the sand and were treated to a double bill of D'Sco: The Geckos of Love (unrehearsed, unshaven, and exremely willing) and the Cambodian Space Project (ah, beach life ... from the bed to the bar to the sea to the stage to the bar ... repeat when necessary).  The gleeful performance of Srey Thy, the bouncing of Gildas McSwashbuckle, the effortless swaying of The Lovely Irene, the fierce guitar of the Space Commander, the all-encompassing Swedish Ambassador, the enthusiastic but flawed self ... from the rear of the stage the silhouettes were sharp against the shining sea, the music lifting off into the air like hello-aliens-here's-a-time-capsule-of-Otres-Beach, on a mission to the stars.  Coming soon, at the speed of sound, to a constellation near you.

Photo update: CSP at Maxine's

2010-01-29T15:27:00.002+07:00

Cambodian Space Project, all bluish and pinkish
on 26 January at

Maxine's over the river

Fab photos courtesy of and with glowing thanks to Nathan Horton

Midweek special - (Invasion of) Australia Day: 26 January

2010-01-27T15:39:00.001+07:00

Last night a great seething mass, mostly consisting of Australians of various varieties, descended on Maxine's in an attempt to (a) tip the establishment into the Tonle Sap and (b) celebrate (Invasion of) Australia Day 2010. Wave after successive wave of oh-no-it's-a-school-night punters frolicked through the door as the Cambodian Space Project pounded out its signature brand of spacey trippy heavy Khmer rock'n'roll. The doors even had to be closed at one stage to make sure only the most keen balcony destroyers got in.

In keeping with our tradition of never having the same line-up twice, the CSP welcomed the Swedish Ambassador to the fray, alternating between bass and percussion. As Bong Sak (aka Charlie Wat Phnom) was in the house I shared the drumming seat with him, also playing some bass, doing some untrained-so-don't-try-this-at-home MCing and even taking the opportunity to dance around in the pink suit as the band continued its frantic plunge towards an apparent oblivion, the three guitar attack of Space Commander Bong J, Gildas McSwashbuckle and The Lovely Irene (do you know how hard it is to play guitar left-handed??) pounding relentlessly on a bed of Eric's percussion. Or so it sometimes sounds. At least the mix was better this week, thanks to an early start on lugging the gear and some effort taken to get the vocal sound to rise above the throbbing sonic rush. Bong Thom, resplendent in hat and shorts, blew his harmonica so hard he busted his amp.

After three energetic sets, with a brief interlude comprising of a couple of my tunes slipped in for good luck, the Space Project collapsed in a couple of heaps and eventually dispersed into the night. Thanks to Snow for opening especially for the night, for treating the Project so well, and for filling up the gaps with 80s-era Oz Rock (I was going to say it never gets old, but on reflection perhaps it's best left for one day in the year to dance around to 1987 INXS).

This coming weekend: Hellhounds at Sharky on Thursday; CSP at META House Green Night on Friday; and the Space Project takes to the road to play on Otres Beach, Sihanoukville on Saturday.

Don't take any wooden money, folks.

A quiet weekend for once: 21 - 22 January

2010-01-25T15:29:00.000+07:00

The Hellhounds were glad to welcome the Swedish Ambassador back on bass playing & hat wearing duties on Thursday night at Sharky's. It was great to have my rhythm section buddy back filling in the holes that I leave behind in the grooves occasionally. We slipped into the old patterns as easily as we downed the bacon and blue cheese burgers beforehand. Now, if we can only get a couple more channels in the mixer, the vocals can gather together as well ... expect some new songs when you drop in this Thursday.

Friday night I dropped in at The Cavern and chanced across Shangri-la, a cross-cultural trio made up of Russian Dave and some very good young Khmer players, a drummer and a keyboard player/singer. They played a well-rehearsed, tidily arranged collection of songs, and seem to walk the fine balance between pleasing both expat and local audiences. I'd like to see more fire, but hopefully that can be added once they're up and running. Oh, and in the contemporary Phnom Penh music tradition, there was some great hat wearing. The Cavern are promoting live music Friday nights at present, and I am looking forward to seeing what turns up.

Subsequently on Friday I popped by at Memphis to catch up with the mysterious Repris de Justesse, about whom nobody seemed to have any information at all, and was most disappointed to find it was just another 70s covers crowd-pleaser touring band - perhaps that's harsh, but I allowed them a song and a half to fail to impress me and left. Bad timing, really: I had to get up the next morning and move house.

(Invasion of) Australia Day on Tuesday - Cambodian Space Project live at Snow's (Maxine's) across the river from sundown!

Photo update:

2010-01-20T15:44:00.000+07:00

Crazy headgear and funky eyewear: Check.

Gene Kupra meets Daelim school of drumming: Check

Too-cool-for-words rhythm guitar: Check

Guitar hero wearing orange, with bonus clarinet: Check

Self hiding from camera behind guitar hero: Check

Glamorous lead singer: Check

Crowd going wild: Check

Documentary proof of the Cambodian Space Project blasting off at Equinox 4th Birthday party, 15 January.

Photographs courtesy of Bruno "The Baron" Laurant - many thanks dude.

From burger-fuelled hounds to a cake for a pachyderm, via piracy: 14 - 17 January

2010-01-18T15:28:00.000+07:00

Another big weekend kicked off with the continuation of the Hellhounds' January Blue Cheese and Bacon Burger Thursdays Tour of Sharky Bar that continues to bring blues to the blue and troubles to the troubled. Canadian Dave once again sat in for the Swedish Ambassador, who was a little jet lagged and assigned to bar-propping-up duties, but did take over the drums for a few numbers in the second set. As usual the adrenalin-pumping relentless machine that is the Hellhounds chalked up a few wins and a few losses, but ended on a high, such that the Mythical Dude, he of the sweet notes and deep deep bass, was left begging for more tunes. I'm told he returned to Sharkys the next night to let his guitar gently weep and wail some more, in the presence of Lost Highway.

On Friday night Equinox held its fourth birthday party, kicking off the show with a singer/guitarist whose name I didn't catch, followed by the debut of a brand new band (some familiar faces, and some new) Cacash and Los Poporks: bass, drums and percussion, keyboard, trumpet, flute, guitar and Satchmo-meets-Serge Gainsbourg vocals. They gave us a kind of jazz/funk stew that ranged from French-ish Django-ish standards at high speed to a very funky reading of a Herbie Hancock tune, the title of which escaped me then and continues to elude me.

Hot on the heels of Los Poporks came the Cambodian Space Project. Unfortunately we started without soundchecking, and encountered the familiar problem of getting the vocal to soar above the psychedelia. Our in-house carney-barker, Aussie Ken, kept the patter up while we twiddled knobs, switched cables, spluttered and swore. Once we solved the volume issue (unfortunately shedding some cosmonauts along the way), however, the rocket took off with resounding force, and the crowd -- which was substantial, and had been blocking tuktuk passage along Golden Street for a few hours already -- only seemed to get larger and louder. Charlie Wat Phnom pushed the groove along , The Lovely Irene made her electric debut with a blue guitar with go-faster white stripes, and Srey Thy charmed the assembled throng once again.

The crowd -- and the band -- was even larger and even louder the following night when the Mekong Pirates played FCC, their final gig with this line-up as guitarist Marion is returning to France. Once again pushing physical boundaries of the stage, the Pirates kept playing and playing until half the audience was dancing. I love the swing and sway of the Phnom Penh Horns, the rhythmic interplay of the drums and percussion, the bouncing of Gildas McSwashbuckle, the Apsaric sway of Mom … we were also treated to a brass invasion of the dance floor, and some thumping funk headed by guest The Fabulous Ms Esther.

But still the weekend was not over. Sambo the elephant turned 50, and a party was held at Wat Phnom, somewhat to her bewilderment I expect. Even more to her bewilderment was the appearance of a six-piece acoustic version of the Cambodian Space Project, leading the singing of Happy Birthday before launching into a last-minute rewrite in the form of I'm 50 (and boy is it hard to sing "haksep chnam" twice fast without spitting). After the cake cutting, the CSP reassembled for some more tunes, surrounded by a crowd of mostly Khmer onlookers.

So now I've finally achieved one of my childhood dreams: to play drums for Khmer tunes at an elephant's birthday party wearing a pink t-shirt.

See you soon -- watch out for Cambodian Space Project special Australia Day show at Snowy's over the river.

Prey Veng photo share - Cambodia Space Project: 9 - 10 January

2010-01-13T18:43:00.000+07:00

The CSP Worldwide Tour of Prey Veng now visible on Fbook for you Fbookers.

Great pics taken by The Lovely Irene (except the few she's in, of course)

I don't usually do pre-show promos, but this time I will

2010-01-13T16:12:00.000+07:00

Here we are, out standing in our (rice) field.

for all the many other gigs in town this weekend: www.lengpleng.blogspot.com ladypenh.com

and Bong Thom dot Com/Things to do

From Hell(hounds) to Prey Veng ... and back: 7-10 January

2010-01-11T15:55:00.005+07:00

The Hellhounds are playing Thursday nights at Sharky's in January - guaranteeing an early start to the weekend for the next few weeks. With the added bonus that they have a full drum kit installed - this not only makes it less of a lugging activity for me to move in and move out, but gives me a little more colour to play with than the old snare-hihat combo.  The Mythical Dude had some jolly nice things to say about my added extras this week. Microphones were the issue of the week, but with a little moving about we were able to cook along very nicely. Aside: it seems Sharky's are getting serious about live music right now: Check out their plans for the rest of the month!

Friday night META House celebrated their third birthday with a packed out rooftop party featuring one of the more exotic line-ups that the Cambodian Space Project has been able to come up with so far. Featuring the debut of The Lovely Irene on left-handed guitar, Gildas McSwashbuckle on right-handed guitar, Eric on effortlessly tasteful percussion, plus the lilting strains of Khmer clarinet player Bun Hong (along with regulars Space Commander Bong J, Aussie Ken, monkosmonaut Ratha and the ever-charming Srey Thy) (oh, and self) we entertained long past our allotted timeslot ... particularly with the extremely special appearance of Charlie Wat Phnom on tight-as-a-gecko's-clacker drums.  Asia Life Guide has put up some great pics from the night.

And so the next morning, The Cambodian Space Project set off for our next venture, a mission to Srey Thy's village in Prey Veng to play a concert in a rice field - with the assistance of an $80 collection from the META House audience, we purchased, delivered and handed over a brand new generator for the village. In the last of the afternoon light we played for half an hour to a large but mostly bemused crowd; the feedback was that we weren't loud enough, so when we went back on to play in the dark, lit by a single fluourescent tube that was largely covered in mosquitos, we cranked it up and attempted to get the sound louder than the nearby wedding. I think we managed it .... then it was back to the house for acoustic guitars and djembes until late, stretching from Ros Sereysothea to Neil Young to something in Khmer that was awfully similar to She'll be coming 'round the mountain to Del Shannon to Tom Waits ... a lot of old fashioned hooting and hollering and some pretty sore fingers.  I hope to add some photos in the coming days.

Like this one:

And a new year gift for FTA readers ...

2010-01-01T14:36:00.001+07:00

Cambodian Space Project's first film clip: I'm 16 now available on YouTube, featuring footage shot on the Boxing Day Cruise only a few days ago.

Penhstock Blue Moon New Year: 31 December

2010-01-01T14:15:00.008+07:00

On the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, and marking the end of 2009, Sharky's outdid themselves with a sensational night. No less than six bands, made up of around 20 performers, playing from 9 pm through to 2 am. It was great not only to see several bands I've not been able to catch before, but also to be a part of such a friendly and enjoyable crowd.

The night kicked off with the inimitable Bum'n'Draze who, we were told, had that day achieved the distinction of having a box of their CDs stolen from the seat of a car. Be on the lookout for (a) pirated Bum'n'Draze albums at your local CD shop and (b) young Khmers turned on to their crazy Scandinavian subgrunge. As the fella said: we'd rather be heard than paid. And heard they were: with two guests along, a third Finn who played some cool trumpet (never heard Sabbath's Paranoid with horns before) and Gildas McSwashbuckle contributing some mean guitar. The throbbing madness was brought to a close with the destruction of a tv set. All in a day's work.

Following on, out of France and Kampot, came JP and the Nurses, a very cool little outfit playing some post punk pop including covers of Zombie, a deliciously mangled Sweet dreams are made of this, and even Gildas McSwashbuckle and I contributed some backing vocals for With or without you. Then with a minor change of line-up we enjoyed the Happy Cockroaches, playing a mostly French set with similar tight rhythms and a more continental punky feel. I especially enjoyed I will survive.

The Stiff Little Punks were in fine sweating form, again proving to be more than the sum of their parts. The highlight of their set was undoubtedly the closer: Holiday in Cambodia, of course.

The boogie blues rock of Lost Highway took over the stage next, and they brought in the new year with their usual brand of enthusiastic sound: loud guitar, honking harp, augmented by (unfortunately a bit lost in the mix) keyboard. A broken guitar string created an opportunity for Tall Thom to show off some licks, and Ian the Punk contributed some vocals.

The Hellhounds were last on the bill, and we had some pretty hard acts to follow. The crowd seemed to be on our side, though, and we cranked through some of our louder, faster stuff with Canadian Dave filling in on bass in the absence of the Swedish Ambassador. After a while the stage filled up with Lost Highway personnel and the jam was on: I recall Stormy Monday and Ian the Punk helping out on a boisterous Honky Tonk Women - the night's not over until someone's played HTW. And so went the jam until 2, when the curfew kicked in; the only downside of the night, as I'm sure the groove could have kept cruising for at least another hour. But maybe it's not such a bad idea to finish when it's still good.

There are already some great photos over at the Sharky's page; less impressionistic than these offerings.

Thanks to the Sharky's crew for putting on the show, for making it work so smoothly, and making it so much fun to be a part of. Penhstock continues with Lost Highway on 1 Jan and Plan B (from Australia) on 2 Jan.

Seeya near a stage somewhere in 2010.

The view from behind the drums

Some fab images from the Stiff Little Punks gig at Frog & Shamrock on Boxing Day courtesy of "The Baron" Bruno Laurant

2009-12-28T15:02:00.001+07:00

Christmas in Cambodia: 24 - 26 December

2009-12-28T12:33:00.001+07:00

The Cambodian Space Project flew its bamboo Starex rocket down to Kampot for a few days of recording at New Leaf Studio, located in the grounds of Bodhi Villa. Between bouts of eating, drinking and dodging dodgy backpackers, we put down some pretty cool material that will be unveiled in the near future. Then we all piled back into the rocket and sped up the highway to make an appointment to play at the Christmas Eve party for Little Hearts Orphanage - more info here. The Phnom Penh traffic pushed back the starting time a little, but we made a great noise and the kids loved it. I then fled back across the water to play fill-in drums for Russian Dave and Friends at a very quiet Chinese House.

On the evening of Christmas Day the CSP played La Croissette, with an expanded band featuring Jimmy Hellhound on sax and Ratta on congas. A fine Christmas crowd was treated to the first full length CSP appearance, and despite some technical issues early on with the vocals we got a great reception; including the motodops watching through the doors. Srey Thy put in a marvellous performance, charming the crowd and drawing in passersby - including an Indian couple from Dubai just in town for the day. The photos below are courtesy of audience member and music fan Bruno Laurant.

On Saturday the CSP played on the Alley Cat's Boxing Day Cruise, now as a quartet with Davis Zunk returning to Ho Chi Minh City. Afloat on the Tonle Sap and the Mekong, threading between the fishermen pulling in nets and the long thin working boats as the afternoon stretched into a soft tropical evening, we played a few sets mixing up the Khmer pop with some Neil Young covers and jams, and a short solo set of my choons. A most enjoyable Boxing Day.

UPDATE: Now check out our video of I'm 16 shot on the boat.

A little too much CKB and one too many loud bangs: 18 - 20 December

2009-12-20T23:25:00.000+07:00

Friday night I was without a gig, but as I was loaning my drum kit and a couple of amplifiers to Talking to a Stranger for their hosting of the Curtis King Band, in from Vietnam for the weekend, I took the chance to catch up on this well known outfit. And a rousing old show it was. They had a few friends joining in as well, making the stage quite crowded for the most part. Part high school band, part rock theatre, part pantomime, part oldies jukebox, part inexplicable circus show ... essentially hard define as anything other than what it is.

During the break a special performance of a few songs by the Cambodian Space Project changed the style briefly, and the night ended with something of a jam with Melanie Brew making one of her rare but treasured appearances.

The Lazy Jazz Drunks, on Saturday night at Rory's, attempted to pull together an unusual combination of instruments - vocals, guitar, drums and accordion - that almost succeeded in spite of itself. However, after the first set a delegation of angry neighbours showed up to complain about the noise, and the scene got all aggro ... culminating in a gunshot, probably a starter pistol but in any case enough of a cue for the band to quietly begin packing up. Methinks not so much live music at Rory's for some time.

I took advantage of the early finish to head up to Sharky's, where I was lucky enough to hear some blues featuring not-on-Phnom-Penh-stages-often-enough singer Kristin Rasmussen, and some scorching harp from Aussie Ken along with more of the same from the all-singing-all-dancing Curtis King Band.

The Hellhounds were on at Talking to a Stranger on Sunday evening, chewing through a couple of sets to a very respectable crowd, including a generous helping of dancing children, but missing the Swedish Ambassador, currently in hibernation in Sverige. We were pleased to welcome the bluesy folk guitar and songs of Seattle performer Paul Benoit (http://www.paulbenoitmusic.com) who played a few tunes to preview his gig on Wednesday (also with the Hellhounds supporting) with some drum and harmonica assistance. He'll be worth checking out - Talking to a Stranger, December 23rd from 8 pm.

Next week also look out for the Cambodian Space Project at La Croissette on Christmas night and on the river cruise on Boxing Day - contact the Alley Cat for tickets before the 24th.

Don't take any wooden money folks.

Cambodian Space Project attacks the stratosphere! - 17 December

2009-12-18T12:32:00.000+07:00

The Cambodian Space Project took to the stage at META House for a further sneak preview on Thursday night, following a screening of Julien's documentary Mekong Delta Blues. Building upon the spontaneous energy of the Alley Cat gig, this was a tighter and punchier performance, with Phnom Penh alumnus Davis taking bass duties, and with the addition of Rattat on digeridoo and percussion. The combo gave just a taste of its feast of 60s style Cambodian rock, with the beautiful Srey Thy charming the crowd and the band pulling out that extra helping of funk that had been hiding away during rehearsals. After a break caused by a grumpy neighbour, the band returned for an extended jam for those few brave souls who were still around.

Look out for the Cambodian Space Project over the next few weeks! Including a river cruise on Boxing Day - tickets from the Alley Cat.

Midweek madness - 9 December

2009-12-10T15:57:00.004+07:00

The Alley Cat celebrated its fourth birthday last night with a buffet, free margeritas, and some music performed by wunderkind Julien Poulson on guitar and the delightful vocals of the beautiful Srey Thy, grappling like troupers against troublesome equipment and distortion issues. The Swedish Ambassador and I did our Sly & Robbie/rhythm-section-for-hire thing, which I usually avoid on a school night, but in the spirit of the season, and the fact that we were asked and could be completely spontaneous about it, went along for the ride. Unfortunately Guitar Steve was unable to round out the instrumental quartet due to the normal Cambodian electrics problems.

Julien and Srey Thy kicked off with some old style Khmer songs, which flowed into a series of varied tunes that included a lot of material I didn't recognise, and some Neil Young, that got a few keen punters onto their feet to dance. Other highlights included an impromptu run through of about two fifths of Oh, Pretty Woman, and Srey Thy pleasing the crowd with I'm Sixteen. Look out for more from Srey Thy and Julien in the new year - and also Julien's documentary Mekong Delta Blues which is playing at Meta House on Thursday 17th.

UPDATE: See mythicaldude for pics: http://mythicaldude.typepad.com/mythicaldude/2009/12/alley-cat-4th-anniversary-bash.html

Plenty of action this weekend, but for me as a punter only. See you on the other side.

Mostly about a boat ride: 4 - 6 December

2009-12-07T08:12:00.001+07:00

Another busy weekend as we lurch towards Christmas, opening with the Lazy Jazz Drunks at Huxley's on Friday night in what may well be the last performance with the Swedish Ambassador before his winter hibernation. The unit proves to be getting at once looser and tighter - jazz influences are increasing in the form of the Ambassador's chord substitutions and my insistence on turning the end of a song into the beginnning of the next one. The crowd was a little thin, it being a first Friday and the damn joker draw continuing to capture the imagination of punters, but those that were there seemed to enjoy themselves; although, as Tall Tom pointed out at one point, not as much as the band. Still, we had a guest apprentice drummer, an impromptu Riders on the Storm, and a late finish.

Saturday was going to be a punter's night for me, but events conspired against this. A pick up band comprising of Aussie Ken, the Swedish Ambassador, Phil the Fiddler and myself clambered onto a Tonle Sap boat late in the afternoon to provide entertainment for the children of an orphanage called Little Hearts (on the far side of the river, about 2 km north of the Japanese Bridge). The kids had been taking part in PhnomPenhPhoto, assisting a couple of photographers to display their work at several locations around the city. For the first half hour the kids sat quietly and ate while we played a range of stuff that we thought we all might know - Cottonfields, Goodnight Irene, Dead Flowers - as we wandered in that boatish way southwards. By the time we were turning around to head north again, the dark was falling, and the kids were starting to take notice, and we had an inquisitive audience. With the help of some tunes like Stuck inside of Phnom Penh with the Memphis Blues Again (It's not the Mississippi, it's the Mekong) and the perennial Johnny B. Goode, pretty soon the deck was a sea of gleeful dancers. Aussie Ken had brought some hand percussion and a slew of old harmonicas, which only added to the fun. It was magic. Eventually a broken guitar string (the only one of the whole weekend) brought the band to a stop, but the night then turned into a 'try an instrument' session, as one after another the children took turns playing violin, drums, guitar and mandolin. Eventually the recorded dance music came on, and the dancing continued as energetically as ever, as we headed up the river to the orphanage. We poured off the boat and up the riverbank to their home, where there were some final remarks and thanks, then the volunteers returned to the boat and with a little instrument swapping we played as we all cruised back to town.

Check it out at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Little-Hearts/163479952110?v=info&ref=mf or http://www.littlehearts.be/ Special thanks to Bart and Jean-Francois for getting the event on, and to Guitar Steve for being the liaison from his sickbed.

And so the night turned into eating, drinking and more playing, with the Swedish Ambassador giving drumming lessons to booksellers on the riverside, and some last acoustic fun at a somewhat reluctant little Khmer place near the Night Market.

The night was not over, and there was still time to catch a handful of songs at The Tree on 118 St by the Stiff Little Punks, who I can strongly recommend if you like it loud and fast. They put on a fearsome show and I will be looking forward to catching more than half a set sometime soon.

The Hellhounds rode into Talkin' to a Stranger on Sunday for a couple of tight, energetic sets notable for some very tasty playing from Guitar Steve and the public debut of a new set of strings on the axe of Jimmy Hellhound. The new material keeps rolling in, look out for some more unfamiliar tunes in the coming weeks.

I heard mixed reports about the two bands that played at FCC over the weekend, and was disappointed at missing the Khmer band at the Bodega. Do we have any roving reporters that can bring me up to speed?

See you in the funny papers.

Aussie Ken reports: 27 November

2009-12-01T04:24:00.000+07:00

Chris, Mathius and Dave were getting feet on the dance floor again on Friday night when Misspent Yooth played Talkin’ to a Stranger. They entertained the radiant assemblage with a mix of bounce, rhythm and melody that had several people up dancing by the third tune. Once they had the e-violin turned up to the right volume the sounds coming out of the speakers were a wonderful mix of bouncy dance-y bass, tight jazzy rhythmic guitar, a colourful suite of violin melodies and topped with smooth vocals. The result was a clean, colourful and tight sound that had the NGO crowd on the dance floor as soon as the first end-of-week wine started kicking in.

At the other end of town was a much rawer, dirtier sound coming from the vicinity of Sharky's in the shape of Lost Highway. Despite being down by 2 members, they did a great job in a performance of several Americana signature tunes. During the week they lost their bass player due to a broken arm as a result of a moto accident and their new rhythm guitar from Italy who had to bail due to sicknesses in the family. Undeterred the band did a great job to entertain the assembled beer-drinkers and the fairer, younger sex.

The long guitar leads from Kenny were a treat for us Phnom Penh-ers who rarely get a chance to enjoy the dying art of the blues/electric/rock guitar performances. Kenny’s vocal style also blends in so well to the songs that it doesn’t strike you at first but the way he flips the timing between the guitar and vocals adds a unique and robust flavour to many of the tunes. Tommy on drums also sang many of the tunes with a country flavoursome reminiscent of the long, hot dusty highways from his homeland – it was really well put together. Tommy rarely and surprisingly lets his technique dominate the tunes but his ability to get the sticks flying should not be underestimated. Oscar on blues harp was superb – adding raw, growly notes and rhythmical overtones to the mix and a blues-rock or country feel as the song needed. I didn’t get to see them on the Saturday night but I sure they would have enjoyed a larger crowd as most of the boys in the audience skipped off to the joker draw not long before start time.

Chaos and Disorder: 28 November

2009-11-30T07:54:00.001+07:00

If you're going to have just one gig in a weekend, you'd better make sure it works. And my word we did our best. The Lazy Jazz Drunks assembled in a re-configured line-up on Saturday night at Rory's Pub on 178 St and did everything we could to keep ourselves afloat. Continuing our bass-less theme, and in response to the exhortation to "keep it down" we lost the keyboard as well, so the Swedish Ambassador sat behind the small drumkit and I moved to guitar, with Tall Tom and Ian The Punk sticking to guitar and vocals respectively, and Aussie Ken doubling on harmonica and stomach trouble. A particularly (unsurprisingly I guess) drunken Irishman opened the festivities by taking a microphone and making an a##hole of himself and reminding us how fragile some of our equipment actually is. As if we didn't need reminding. Because shortly it developed that my mixer was only working on one channel, so we flew in a replacement. Before too long the speakers gave up as well, so there was another trip to Aussie Ken's to retrieve backups.

To mix it up a little further, we had two power failures and two broken guitar strings, the second of which somehow screwing up the electrics in my acoustic leading me to abandon performance briefly in favour of the comforts and reliability of the bar.

But did we give up? The beer was flowing and so was the music. We sang, we played, we had a sh*t-hot guest or two (playing Chuck Berry, Neil Young), we pushed through about half our regular material and added everything from AC/DC to Abba, including half a dozen of my originals, some inspired gibberish vocals from Ian The Punk, at least three versions of Dirty Old Town (one unplugged in the darkness) with crowds coming and going around us, dancing, headstands, dropped glasses, bewildered passers-by, and managing by mistake to play the manager's favourite song in a nostalgic nod to the bar formerly known as Revolution.

Just another quiet Saturday night on the expat island ...

More LJD madness this Friday (4th) at Huxleys from 8, and the Hellhounds are back at Talking to a Stranger on Sunday evening (6th) from 6.

Don't take any wooden money.

Pink Suit weekend: 19 - 22 November

2009-11-23T07:54:00.000+07:00

The weekend kicked off early, with the Hellhounds taking the stage at Sharky's, pushing through two solid sets despite some illness in the ranks that threatened to derail proceedings earlier in the day. If you haven't caught up with the extended, rhythm section version of the Hellhounds yet ... well, you should. It's better each week.

Friday night saw the Lazy Jazz Drunks take over upstairs at Huxley's, overcoming some technical issues (such as the absence of a second guitarist, disintegrating drumsticks, and the need to go out and find extra mics) to raise the roof in the way that only the Drunks can. The Swedish Ambassador was doing his damnedest to put the Jazz back in the LJD, and after the crowd thinned out to go to Walkabout for the big draw things got looser, culminating in a prolonged stopping-all-stations jam on Whole Lotta Love with Ian throwing in lyrics from any song he could think of, and I think several that he couldn't think of. The Drunks will be at Rory's on Saturday 28th trying to be as quiet as possible, and back at Huxley's on the 5th.

For a complete change of pace, Saturday night's first birthday party for Chinese House was a much mellower affair. The occasion called for something special, and it became the debut of The Panthers, a new project that the Swedish Ambassador and I have dreamed up: the quieter, mellower side of D'Sco: The Geckos of Love, with an emphasis on standards and ballads, a chance for him to play keyboards and a chance for me to sing rather than play guitar and to wear a pink suit and hand out roses to beautiful women. Stick around, that sort of stuff happens all the time. So we captivated the crowd for an hour or so, taking the usual opening night nerves in our stride, before being joined by Ritchy on guitar and vocals (and switching to bass and drums) to provide some live music for a herd of swing dancers (is that the appropriate collective noun? perhaps a press of swing dancers, or a swirl of swing dancers) who put on a very enjoyable show (including an intriguing solo number Cupid's Arrow). The evening then degenerated into pre-recorded music ...

On Sunday D'Sco: The Geckos of Love were back to basics at Talking to a Stranger, relaxed with less equipment and just two guitars. We played the game where I play songs that Dan has never heard (and in some cases I've never played in public, or indeed at all) and he does his best to keep up, and usually does dazzlingly well. In the second set I played half an hour's worth of my own songs, at the strong encouragement of some gentlemen at the bar, feeding my interest in putting together a band to play original material next year, to test the theory that punters are interested in such a thing. A quiet night, but by no means unpleasant.

I gather there was a band at The Cavern on Saturday night which from reports sounds quite interesting. Anyone see them?

Seeya round the traps

Why I couldn't attend my 25 year anniversary high school reunion: 10 - 14 November

2009-11-16T16:02:00.001+07:00

The weekend began early - an informal drop-in jam/gathering organised on Tuesday night at Chinese House. And quite successfully, too. The cozy/sophisticated interior makes the bar a nice room to play in, not to mention the relaxed nature of the seating and the lovely acoustics. Players included David, Tree, Melanie, Jet, Ritchie, Mattheus, Paul and myself (including a healthy smattering of original material, particularly a recent batch from Melanie) interspersed later with a number of young Khmer chaps who played a mixture of Western ballads and Khmer pop songs. Looking forward to the next one.

Friday night was a blast - as D'Sco: The Geckos of Love we took keyboard and drums, augmented by Memphis Fred on sax, to new heights as the house band for AsiaLife's Blind Date night (the format based on the TV show Blind Date/Perfect Match/The Dating Game) at Talking to a Stranger, providing pre-show entertainment and then incidental music for the event itself. Photos can be found at AsiaLifeGuide's Blind Date 'Twas an absolute blast to play corny backgrounds and soppy tunes all night.

Also on Friday night - that i missed due to Blind Date - was Bum'n'Draze, who I am still yet to see, at Sharkys. Scheduling is a bastard sometimes. Not to mention Australian blues legend Phil Manning at FCC.

However, the extended Hellhounds took to the stage to support Manning's Saturday night show at FCC, smoking through two sets of blues and country. And no broken strings this time! Manning himself put on a great show, demonstrating his tag line (electric fingers on an acoustic guitar) to good effect. I particularly enjoyed the slide playing. He gave us a generous 3 sets, and said he was keen to return where his schedule will allow.

The coming weekend looks fun: Hellhounds at Sharky's on Thursday, Lazy Jazz Drunks at Huxley's on Friday, the debut of The Panthers at Chinese House on Saturday and the regular fortnightly Sunday session at Talking to a Stranger.

See you around the traps.

Solo, Salsa, and then Swinging: 6 - 8 November

2009-11-09T07:41:00.000+07:00

As Water Festival receded like a king tide, the Swedish Ambassador headed for the coast, and the Geckos of Love had a few days off. Consequently I had the rare opportunity to check out what other people were doing: but it seems everyone else was out of town as well. Friday night I found Patrick at the Velkommen Inn, wrestling a little with the equipment, but otherwise playing a confident and tuneful mix of songs to a decent and at times enthusiastic crowd. Saturday night I was encouraged/dragged to the institution that is FCC to witness what was billed as 6 authentic Cubans, which was not so much half a dozen fine cigars as four musicians and a drum machine playing Latin to an dancing-oriented audience. My first reaction was not so much Buena Vista Social Club as Miami Sound Machine but I decided that was a bit harsh. Not really my thing - tight and slick but with the passion painted onto the sound rather than arising from it - but people were enjoying it. And it was certainly a pleasurable experience walking home down the empty street next to the Palace with the sound humming in the air all the way through to St 19.

On Sunday night I was back behind the small kit with the extended Hellhounds, cooking through a couple of really good sets at Talking to a Stranger that had first the kids and then the assembled adults dancing about gleefully.

This coming weekend look out for Australian blues legend Phil Manning at Chow and FCC (Hellhounds supporting); the following weekend Lazy Jazz Drunks will be dismantling Huxleys on Friday, and the 1st anniversary celebrations at Chinese House on Saturday, which will include the debut of Phnom Penh's newest and possibly classiest duo The Panthers.

See you around the traps.

Winding up at Velkommen & selling SIMs: 30 October - 3 November

2009-11-05T10:22:00.004+07:00

Water Festival of course changed the musical landscape over the weekend. Friday and Saturday were relatively quiet nights, even more so for me as I had to sit out of the Hellhounds final Velkommen Inn gig on Friday due to a damaged wrist brought on by an ill-advised participation in a game of football with some kids, which just goes to show that exercise is bad for you. A few guest vocalists rounded out the Beer O'Clock Band's performance, and then the Hellhounds carried on with a guest drummer fresh off the plane from Australia for the first set, and then the Swedish Ambassador taking the thwacking duties and Dave of Misspent Yooth sitting in on bass.

Saturday night I was back in action, and was able to drum for the Lazy Jazz Drunks' public rehearsal at The Cavern, which then evolved into some impromptu jamming with Tom, Russian David and Khmer wunderkind TR.

Sunday and Monday D'Sco: The Geckos of Love shared a stage outside Riverhouse for Water Festival with some Khmer entertainers, promoting one of the local mobile phone companies. We added our particular shade of lusty, bluesy noise to the cocktail of uptempo dancing, slow balladeering and endless Khmer prattling about special deals by a guy who could speak underwater. The view from the stage was sometimes formidable, not really our regular audience.

Special thanks go to a group of young Aussies on Monday night who called up AC/DC, allowing me to pull out my guilty pleasure You shook me all night long, and then not only demanded an encore of Johnny B. Goode, but turned on a great bit of rock'n'roll dancing that delighted the crowd ... or perhaps astonished is a better word. In any case, a lovely bit of magic.

Tuesday turned into a bit of a washout, thanks to the rain, but we did play on at the afterparty until the beer ran out, playing Chuck Berry music and trying to find some songs that we had in common with the partiers (and coming up with Hotel California and Take me to your heart).

November is here, and it's going to be full. Catch you around the traps.

Hellhounds (Extended) versus Sharky's: 26 October

2009-10-27T06:58:00.002+07:00

The Hellhounds gig at Sharky's last night turned at almost the last minute into an Extended Hellhounds gig. A rousing soundcheck of an impromptu Honky Tonk Women set the pace for a lively night that was notable for only minor string breakage, an encouraging level of applause, an attack of photography (gotta get some of those posted soon) and closing with a request for a cajun number. We were only too happy to oblige. We even had some of the girls shuffling along with the sound.

The Sharky's blog now has photos up.

Rain, rugby and wolf whistles: 22 - 25 October

2009-10-26T15:51:00.001+07:00

The weekend began, as usual, with D’Sco: The Geckos of Love performing quietly but enjoyably at Sayon Silklounge (on St 19 about 50 metres north of St 240), a night made quieter than usual, incongruously, by the crashing thunderstorm which cleared the streets most effectively and made sure everyone stayed home.

Street 104 was busy on Friday night, as billowing clouds of rugby players in black-and-white-sharkskin patterned shirts gathered and dispersed, piling in and out of tuk-tuks and bars. These individuals, however, were not there for the music, and there was a broad acreage of carpet viewable at the Velkommen Inn where the Hellhounds held forth; although it must be said that there were a number of patrons who sat on the street to watch the rugger lads and formed a small audience.

Undeterred, we whipped through a couple of sets, with the 5-piece ensemble (the Swedish Ambassador and I adding rhythm section to the existing 3-piece core band) continuing to improve its swing and groove, and myself making fewer glaring drumming errors.

Saturday night, however, at The Cavern on St 104, was something of a different story. The evening began with a short practice session for the Lazy Jazz Drunks, who after the normal rehearsal style of a few ropy numbers were playing pretty tight and getting a very favourable reception from the small crowd gathering around the bar. Many of these were wearing matching t-shirts, some kind of business mafia apparently (I assume rugby was involved somehow) but there were familiar faces attached so they were forgiven, particularly when they were clapping and cheering.

After the rehearsal the Swedish Ambassador and I took to the stage for our regular tomfoolery, pulling out some Supertramp on request from the floor as well as a keyboard-driven version of The Long Division, and Stuck inside of Phnom Penh with the Memphis Blues again (otherwise known as It’s not the Mississippi, it’s the Mekong) again proving that there is at least one band in the capital playing original material. Singer/guitarist D who had joined us the previous week returned for a solo set that included a brief a capella-with-drums moment when the power adruptly took a short break.

I for one was somewhat disappointed that I was missing the Khmer rock’n’roll band at Chinese House (the menace of gigging too much is not getting to be audience enough – can anyone enlighten us? Was it good?) However, the magic was about to blossom again on 104 Street.

At some point during the last set, with D'Sco back on the stand, Sir J encouraged a young Khmer guy up to play with us -- picture a youthful Khmer Marc Bolan in a schmick all-black strip with perfect stage-hair – who took us through Knocking on heaven’s door, Don’t look back in anger and a song in Khmer, with an ease and grace suggesting he’d been performing since he could walk. Then he announced that he would rather play drums, so D’Sco clicked into rock’n’roll mode, thumping out an only occasionally played original Som Chop! and a medley that started with Polk Salad Annie, passed through Bang a Gong and ended with a chorus or two of Little Queenie (as far as I recall).

Less than 24 hours later, the extended Hellhounds broke into a shuffle for the Sunday session at Talking to a Stranger, which led of course to the first flashes of lightning in the south east. At the end of the first set, which had included some new tunes briefly rehearsed that morning (including Got my mojo working, which may or may not refer to a small Japanese car, and Walking the dog, which benefitted from some participatory wolf whistling from the crowd) the rain arrived, forcing a rather longer break than expected and succeeding in keeping audience numbers low. Still, being Phnom Penh musicians, we are well trained at having a good time whether people show up or not. We cooked nicely through the second set, chugging through as though we'd been playing together as a 5 piece for years, not weeks.

What else went on that I missed because I was busy?