= Live Music 
= DJs 
= Open Mic 
= Live Music & DJ * = International
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| ‘city of flowers’ - just like home - pic: http://swallowtravel.com |
How
was your Pchum Ben holiday? One of the best things about
living in Phnom Penh is… getting away from Phnom Penh. We love the
vibrant and crazy city that was once known as ‘The Pearl of Asia’
but we do not love the daily commute through gridlocked traffic, the
(sometimes) unbearable heat and the garbage building up on every
street corner. It is good to take a break from the city once in a
while.
I
was fortunate enough to steal a few days away in Da Lat, Vietnam.
Visiting the mountain resort town was like taking a trip to Northern
Europe. The temperature sits between around 16 and 22 degrees. The
air is noticeably fresh and free from dust or pollution. The city is
teeming with flower beds and greenery. One can understand why the
French colonialists designated Da Lat as one of their ‘Hill
Stations’ – a resort with a clement climate for convalescing,
recovery and relaxation – and why Vietnamese King Bao Dai chose Da
Lat as the location for his Summer Palace.
It
has been years since I have enjoyed breathing clean, cool,
countryside air. The fresh, dewy mornings in the leafy environs of
Dalat Train Villa were wonderfully reminiscent of waking up in
a holiday house in the English Pennines – complete with cobbled
stone walkways, pine trees and hydrangeas. Nighttimes (when a
modestly warm coat might be necessary) were spent playing music at
the V-Café and The Escape Bar. Classic Western
rock’n’roll is the staple diet at these two venues, served up by
talented resident singer-guitarist Reyman Robles, venue owner
and multi-instrumentalist Curtis King and a rotating cast of
visiting musicians. During my visit, I was lucky enough to hear
septuagenarian folk-singer Rich Fuller. Rich is an amazing guy
who seems to have visited every corner of the globe – and learned a
song in every country he has been to. Originally from Baltimore,
U.S.A., Rich Fuller is a fluent Vietnamese speaker and has lovingly
translated many of the songs of legendary Vietnamese composer Trịnh
Công Sơn into the English language. Check out the video above.
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| Hillbilly Soul: Wanderlusters at O’Brien’s pic: http://tnhvietnam.xemzi.com |
Da
Lat does not have quite the numbers of foreign tourists or expats to
support a Western music scene on the same scale as Phnom Penh or Ho
Chi Minh City. HCMC boasts a healthy number of live music venues with
plenty of gigs to be found on any given night of the week. I asked a
quorum of expat musicians to recommend the best places to hear live
music. Davis Zunk has a Tuesday night residency at O’Brien’s
bar with his ‘Hillbilly Soul’ trio The Wanderlusters.
The band has a meticulously well-rehearsed repertoire of classic
bluegrass and country-style songs played on guitar, bass, banjo and
mandolin, with plenty of three-part harmonies. Davis let me know that
Saigon Ranger is the hot new place to play at the moment. This
opinion was echoed by Gabriel Kaouros, who plays dub-reggae
and rock with his new band Mekong Delta Force (Gabriel used to
play bass with the now-disbanded The Love Below). Saigon-based jazz
singer Kerry Patterson agreed that Ranger have a great
stage set-up for bands and a high quality sound system.
Kerry is a regular performer at the elegant La Fenetre Soleil – where she is often accompanied on the grand piano by superb pianists such as Rickie McIntosh. Gabriel described the venue as ‘a really beautiful space’. For larger gigs, he named Cargo as the number one place to play in Saigon: ‘they bring international acts but also have local events. Most of my bands have played there at some point or another and it's nice to play on a big stage like that with a good sound guy.’
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| La Fenetre Soleil has regular gigs and a Sunday jam session –
pic: https://www.facebook.com/lafenetre.soleil.3 |
Kerry is a regular performer at the elegant La Fenetre Soleil – where she is often accompanied on the grand piano by superb pianists such as Rickie McIntosh. Gabriel described the venue as ‘a really beautiful space’. For larger gigs, he named Cargo as the number one place to play in Saigon: ‘they bring international acts but also have local events. Most of my bands have played there at some point or another and it's nice to play on a big stage like that with a good sound guy.’
There
are many options for hearing low-key acoustic sets in Saigon. Davis
let me know that The Boathouse ‘is cool for mellow riverside
music’. Other acoustic venues include Universal Bar and
DeciBel Lounge. Kerry also mentioned that Lubu
restaurant (in District 2) has Flamenco music on Thursday nights, and
BMV Pubgrill (on Quoc Huong Sreet, District 2) has live
acoustic music on Friday nights. RFC Bar and Acoustic are
two of the best-known venues in Saigon with a more
Vietnamese-orientated, pop-rock band schedule. No round-up of live
venues in Ho Chi Minh City would be complete without mentioning
Saxnart Club – owned by the internationally recognised
Vietnamese saxophonist Tran Manh Tuan – the place to visit
for first-class live jazz music.
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| Chilling out at the Outcast – pic: https://www.facebook.com/saigonoutcast |
Saigon
Outcast is a very cool venue on the outskirts of town, with a lot
of outdoor space for stalls and different activities. Outcast
stages many cool, alternative and arts-orientated events. According
to Mr Kaouros, The Observatory ‘is probably the best
place in town for good DJs and some live electronic acts’.
Gabriel also let me know that ‘two of the members from Tofu band
(one of the best and oldest original local bands) have bought out
Yoko bar and they will be reopening it and having a lot of live music
there’.
Sounds
like the scene is swinging in Saigon! Thanks to Gabriel, Kerry and
Davis for all the info! Check out Timothy’s weekly gig guide below
for all the latest happenings on the Cambodian music scene.
Whatever you're up to over the next few
days... stay safe out there and... see you around the traps!
Joe Wrigley
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