As
a live venue, Sharky Bar
enjoys
its own unique status and
standing in the Cambodian
music scene. Wholly
unpretentious, unapologetically rough-around-the-edges and with a
brazenly hedonistic drinking culture, the bar has been prevented
from sliding
into anachronistic irrelevance by the sheer
force-of-will of principal
owner and operator Michael 'Big
Mike' Hsu. Mike
knows, perhaps
better than anyone,
that the
demographics of the food,
beverage and entertainment market in Phnom Penh have changed beyond
recognition since the post-UNTAC days of the mid-1990's. In
those early days of Sharky Bar -
when
foreign jeeps fitted with M60 machine guns were still rolling around
the streets of the city -
the customers were almost
entirely military guys and
live bands were rare.
![]() |
The Shabbab rock Sharky Bar, 2015 – pic: Steve Porte |
Back
in 2002, Mike knew that big
changes were coming when he
saw two beautiful Italian women walking along the Phnom Penh
riverside – immaculately dressed in designer clothes, jewellery and
high heels. Such a sight was
unheard of back then but is part
of daily life today. Even
five years ago, says Mike, it would be impossible for
a bar or restaurant to charge $3 for a draft
beer or $8 for a cocktail.
Now, the
streets of Phnom Penh are lined with salubrious, boutique watering
holes and restaurants, packed
with 'millenials' ordering
highly-priced food and taking
'selfies'.
Sharky Bar does not
fit in to this picture:
“The
new people coming over [to Cambodia] are not interested in a
'blue-collar' music bar. They
are a different breed from
the expats of ten or fifteen years ago. You
don't have the NGOs coming over now... and
there is a decline in the
number of teachers willing to come over. The
strength of the US dollar has impacted the Euro, Australian dollar...
the rich people can still come but they want to go the high-end
restaurants. If
they like live music its acoustic in the background. If
they want to see a band they'll
go to Naga World, FCC, sometimes Sharky.”
![]() |
A decade ago, Sharky Bar celebrated their tenth anniversary – pic: Mike Hsu |
This
weekend, Sharky Bar, 'the longest running rock'n'roll bar
in Indochina' will celebrate its
20th
anniversary. During those two decades, countless bars have opened and
closed in Phnom Penh. In the last few years, several other
medium-scale, expat-oriented live
music venues have tried and
failed to retain a firm
and profitable foothold in that changing market. Big Mike and
his partners are still
standing. A conversation with
the New York City native reveals why Sharky
is still going strong, where others have failed. Mike
has a huge drive and determination to find
the next cool band, to create the next big
event, to enjoy the next
memorable night at Sharky Bar.
While he may not be ebullient
about the future prospects of the expat rock'n'roll scene in Phnom
Penh, Mike is never afraid to try something different and experiment
with his live music
schedule... sometimes even going
so far as to book a DJ!
![]() |
Tiger in 'The City' : New York, New York |
“I'm not an idiot,
I'm a businessman. My background is as a researcher and investment
banker. My job was to do research and study trends. As they say on
Wall Street, “don't fight the tape” - go with the trend, the
trend is your friend. I live and
breathe Sharkys when I am in town. I get up in the morning and think
what am I going to do today, in terms
of something creative. I start jotting down
notes and sending out
messages. Who do I
have to
call? You have to make things happen in
this town!'
Big
Mike,
thanks for talking to Leng Pleng
and best wishes for the
celebrations this weekend. We know you will have one helluva party!
For
full details of the Sharky Bar twentieth
anniversary schedule (and all
the other great gigs happening this week),
click on the weekly
gig guide below. The
ten-strong roster of artists is an impressively varied and
high-quality blend
of both expat and Cambodian talent.
Highlights include a DJ vs
live metal guitar mash-up (Thursday), the debut of a new iteration of
the hottest swing band in town (Friday), a dream
double-header of two psychedelic Cambodian rock bands (Saturday) and
a solo set by Cambodia's most
famous expat musician (Sunday).
Whatever
you're up to over the next few days... stay safe out there and... see
you around the traps!
JOE
WRIGLEY
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete