How was your Khmer New
Year? A mere three days of national holiday does not seem to be
enough for most city-dwellers. Phnom Penh is quiet again today as
festivities continue in the provinces. Consequently, the upcoming
program of weekend gigs is looking a little depleted. Fortunately
there are a small crop of fantastic gigs to choose from on Saturday
night.
Sonic Detergent
play two sets of less-commonly-covered 'punk to pop' classics at
Sharky Bar. Lead
guitarist Tim King
told Leng Pleng
'...we're doing a
couple of new songs - Kelly Clarkson, David Bowie... we've played 11
or 12 gigs now, one of the things we're trying to do is play songs that are a
bit more up-to-date, mixed in with some old
ones. We know that even the older guys in the audience at Sharky's
are essentially young at heart – just look at their young
girlfriends!' The
band are comprised of four excellent musicians including lead singer
Joshua Chiang,
whose vocal range allows for more
challenging and interesting song choices.
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Sonic Detergent - picture: www.kenedgar.com |
Meanwhile,
over at Doors
Phnom Penh
on Saturday, a double-bill of rockabilly bands will
be
looking to get the dance floor swinging with some retro 1950's
sounds. Joe Wrigley & The Jumping Jacks
are joined by Woody Dares & The Western Toners
for a gig that will be significant for both bands. The Phnom
Penh-based Jumping
Jacks
are about to embark on their first gigs outside Cambodia, with a
South-East
Asian
tour
encompassing
dates
in Hong Kong and Vietnam. In
the mean time
Woody Dares
and his trio will be enjoying their last performance in Cambodia
before heading back home to France.
![]() |
Jumping Jacks by Ken Edgar |
Also on Saturday, expect
a late-night party vibe at the annual Memphis Pub
celebration of Khmer-rock. Bona
Thiem
and his band of skilled musicians will be playing 100% Cambodian
songs. If you haven't yet heard Bona's rendition of Yol Aularong's
1970's classic 'Jeas Cyclo', you are missing
out!
Finally, a couple of
great gig choices from the world of classical music and jazz. Meta
House hosts The
Classical Concert Series 4
on Sunday evening, when guitarist Salvatore
Fodera
will recite works by Luigi Legnani, AgustÃn
Barrios,
Miguel Llobet and John Dowland. On Wednesday, the semi-regular 'Jazz
Club' sessions continue at Doors
Phnom Penh
with a specially
expanded
iteration of Made
in France.
The Django Rheinhardt-inspired duo of guitarist Sebastien
Adnot
and vocalist Kae
'Sylvie' Lhassan
will be joined on clarinet by Phillipe
Javelle
and on drums by Greg
Lavender.
I'll leave you with a video filmed at Memphis
Pub last year,
featuring a particularly outrageous version of Chnam
Oum Dop Bpram Moi. I
wonder if the original studio guitarist ever considered
such lighting-fast
shredding and tapping when his band recorded the track with Ros
Sereysothea in 1973...
Until
next time, stay safe out there and... see you around the traps!
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