Weekly Gig Guide - Week Commencing Thursday the 9th January 2014

“Thy entrances the audience with her wailing vocals, bluesy and gritty, sexed up and deep. We are rolling deep in the streets. The crowd is too cool for school. Everybody is an actor, film director, muso or journo. They all pimp their profiles relentlessly. The fashionistas are in full force. Models dance about as the Space Project cranks up the beat. Everyone hits on each other. The networking is shameless and unabated. My kind of crowd.”

This week we walk a mile in the shoes of Antonio ‘Frisco Tony’ Pineda – celebrated Beat Poet, Author and Actor. Tony was one of the founders of the Straight Theatre in Haight Ashbury during the San Francisco renaissance. In Phnom Penh he is a familiar face on the music and arts scene. A former ballet dancer, Tony lithely weaves around the traps like the Great White Hipster Shark of Cambodia, searching for hep cats and tuned-in chicks. As soon as he hits the party Tony locks on to his prey – tapping them up with tales of his times with legendary beat poets Jim Morrison and Michael McClure. Before moving on to his next target, Tony makes doubly sure to extract all the latest gossip and scandal - keeping this veteran scenester one step ahead of the game. Read what happened when Leng Pleng asked Tony to describe one eventful Friday night in Phnom Penh - from his own unique perspective.

Tony will be busy meeting and greeting his way around the Chaktomuk Theatre this Saturday, when John Pirozzi’s long-awaited documentary feature Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten receives its gala premiere. The film, a decade in the making, tells the story of the ‘Golden Age’ of Khmer-rock music in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Various dignitaries, celebrities, music and movie moguls will be in attendance at the invitation-only screening.

We are pleased to report that following the premiere there will be an open and free concert celebration from 9pm in the grounds of the Chaktomuk Theatre, where the fantastic Chhom Nimol of Dengue Fever will share the stage with a group of original Khmer-rock legends. Leng Pleng were lucky enough to see a preview performance of this band at our recent Bondarnh Leng Pleng party hosted by Sharky Bar. Receiving a mysterious SMS stating that some ‘very important musicians’ would be coming along, we could hardly have imagined that said musicians would include H.E. Touch Seang Tana of the Drakkar Band, Hong Samay of the Bayon Band and legendary Khmer guitarist Mr To. These and many more Khmer music heavyweights will be playing on Saturday, including the lead guitarist of The Apsara Band – credited with instigating the whole Khmer-rock revolution of the 1960’s. Wow!

Hong Samay

Jack has also heard rumors of special guests joining The Cambodian Space Project at Oscars 51 this Friday. With all these legends in town, it’s hard to say who, what, when or how… but you can expect a great show as the band prepare to jet off to Europe for a winter tour.

Doors Phnom Penh offer a great concert on Friday evening with a Double Whammy of quality musical entertainment. Firstly Euan Gray’s Songkites will be showing off their prodigious songwriting and performing skills. Many of the members of this Phnom Penh-based music workshop are seriously-talented young Cambodians. The evening is headlined by Rhiannon ‘The Voice’ Johnson, returning to Doors with her beautiful soul-jazz vocals and expert backing group.

Slur Bar continue to offer an admirably varied and frequent program of live bands ranging from Khmer language music to Blues-rock, from acoustic singer-songwriters to hardcore metal bands. This Saturday the venue offers the chance to see two great bands in one night when they host Sangvar Day and Adobo Conspiracy. Sangvar Day are uncompromising French hard-rockers who write their own songs. According to singer Robin, their influences include Rage Against The Machine and Incubus “…but if you ask the others they’ll probably say something completely different and we’ll all end up in a fight.”

The spirit and the energy of Adobo Conspiracy are concentrated in lead singer Funmi Riñoza, a Filipina with magnetic personality who stalks the stage delivering alternative rock classics. She is also known for her inspired costume choices, which will only add to the influx of passers-by that enter Slur Bar when the live music starts ringing out.

In signing off, Jack is very pleased to raise a glass to Anthony, Marco and all the staff at Equinox. The venue celebrate their 8^th Anniversary this weekend with gigs from the Diego DiMarques Trio and Marsyas. As General Manager and dedicated sound technician, Anthony works incredibly hard to deliver the goods at Equinox time after time – and he documents it all for posterity. Check out some past gigs online at ‘Radio Free Equinox’.

For this week’s audio-visual stimulation, have a look at the latest video release from Klap Ya Handz. Their track ‘Snaeha Khong Pel Reatrey’, featuring the very groovy singer Srey Leak, is a track from the forthcoming Cambodian movie ‘Gems on the Run’.

Stay safe and see you around the traps,

JACK DIAMOND

Latest Gigs

Thursday  9-Jan-2014

• 9:00 PM ~ X-Pat Sound System at Meta House
• 9:00 PM ~ Ritchy Boisson , Luis Arambarri and Jazz Trio-Leon Kondo at The Groove

Friday  10-Jan-2014

• 8:00 PM ~ Beige Rainbow at The Show Box
• 8:30 PM ~ MWAUKA at The Cabaret Restaurant
• 8:30 PM ~ Euan Gray , Stephane Routier , Rhiannon Johnson and Songkites at The Doors
• 9:00 PM ~ DJ KNSTK at Meta House
• 9:00 PM ~ The Cambodian Space Project at Oscars 51
• 9:00 PM ~ Philippe Javelle and Ritchy Boisson at The Groove
• 9:00 PM ~ Lady and the Tramp at The Village
• 9:00 PM ~ Diego Dimarques Trio at Equinox
• 9:30 PM ~ Sonic Detergent at The Slur Bar
• 10:00 PM ~ DJ Strange Fruit and DJ Wah-Wah at Dusk till Dawn
• 11:00 PM ~ DJ Gang and DJ Rob at Pontoon

Saturday  11-Jan-2014

• 8:00 PM ~ Kheltica at The Village
• 8:30 PM ~ Jahzad at The FCC - The Mansion
• 9:00 PM ~ Philippe Javelle and Ritchy Boisson at The Groove
• 9:00 PM ~ Chhom Nimol * and Drakkar Band at Chaktomuk Theater
• 9:00 PM ~ Marsyas at Equinox
• 9:00 PM ~ DJ Tonle Dub , DJ Mercy and Tba at Meta House
• 9:30 PM ~ Sangvar Day The and Adobo Conspiracy at The Slur Bar
• 10:00 PM ~ DJ Wez-T and DJ Alan Ritchie at Dusk till Dawn
• 11:00 PM ~ DJ Flo Tralala , DJ Illest and DJ Alan Ritchie at Pontoon

Sunday  12-Jan-2014

• 5:00 PM ~ Laura Mam at The Village

Monday  13-Jan-2014

• 9:30 PM ~ Miss Sarawan at The Slur Bar

Tuesday  14-Jan-2014

• 7:30 PM ~ Sundance Open Mic with Smokin' Kenny Smith at The Sundance Inn & Saloon

Wednesday  15-Jan-2014

• 5:30 PM ~ DJ Wez-T , DJ Funkelastiks , DJ Alan Ritchie and DJ Bart Ricardo at Koh Rong Samloem in Sihanouk Ville
• 8:00 PM ~ DJ Star and DJ Tam at The RiverHouse Lounge
• 9:00 PM ~ Dennis Shaw Aka D-Rakkas at The RiverHouse Lounge
• 9:30 PM ~ Khmera at The Slur Bar

Coming Up

• Jahzad at Equinox
• Vibratone at Equinox
• Diego Dimarques Trio at Equinox
• Jaworski 7 at Equinox
• Sonic Detergent at Equinox
• The Wanderlusters * at Equinox
• Pop Music Quiz Night at Equinox
• Sapbai Hanukkah Klezmer Band at Meta House
• Reggae & Dub at Meta House
• Swagger at Meta House
• Electric Universe at Meta House
• Belgian Beats at Meta House
• Akhia Cyxtiel at The Village
• Euan Gray at The Doors
• Kok Thlok at The Slur Bar
• DJ Cut Killer at Pontoon
• DJ F.U.D and DJ JO at Meta House
• DJane Sao Sopheak and DJane Sao Sopheak at Meta House
• Dr. Wah Wah and DJ Nico at Meta House
• DJ BBoy Peanut and DJ Gigahurtz at Star Palace Night Club
• DJ Tam at The RiverHouse Lounge
• DJ Bree, DJ Stroke and DJ Alan Ritchie at Code
• The Cuban Brothers * at Code