For one day in the
year, people all over the world suddenly remember that their third
cousin's aunt's grandfather was half-Irish. St Patrick's Day is a
great excuse to drink a few glasses of stout and listen to some
questionable renditions of Irish folk songs. And why not in Cambodia?
After all, the Sihanoukville-brewed 'Black Panther' is basically the
same as Guinness, right? The 17th March has not yet been
made an official public holiday in Cambodia, but that will not
prevent the Irish diaspora in Phnom Penh from heading down to a
couple of Celtic music flavoured events this evening. Kheltica
will be bringing their full
line-up (complete with an actual Irishman lead
singer) to FCC – The
Mansion tonight. The large
ensemble includes fiddles, flutes, bass, drums and many
other instruments.
Meanwhile, at Paddy Rice,
the O'Rigleys
acoustic
quartet will perform appropriately Irish material on fiddle,
mandolin, guitar and cajon.
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Kheltica: they play Celtic music. pic - www.kenedgar.com |
The Soundtrek
Project have, once again,
extended their visas and decided to stay a little longer in 'The
Kingdom of Wonder'. As word
reaches the Leng
Pleng
newsdesk
of one final 'last gig' for this group
of Parisian students, one
cannot help but remember the Irish drinking song 'One More Drink For
The Four of Us'. The
residents of Battambang will surely not be complaining as Soundtrek
bring their lively brass
band performance into
street number two-and-a-half, right outside Lotus
Bar & Gallery, on
Friday.
Two
excellent early-evening musical choices are available in Phnom Penh
on Friday. Conrad Keely will be reprising his solo acoustic
show at Farm to Table, while
Danzo Ke'aloha will
perform an experimental live
set at Show Box.
Conrad is riding the momentum of his recent debut
solo album release and some memorable Cambodian performances at
Meta House, The
Exchange and Golden
Street. At Show Box,
Danzo will be unveiling 'a unique infusion of 80's
new wave, psychedelic & synth pop, performed with an arsenal of
vintage electronic instruments, layered with dreamy guitars &
ethereal vocal work' –
sounds like a very interesting evening!
![]() |
Oscar bringing the house down - pic: Jim Heston
|
Oscar's
Pub is a new venue on Street
104, an expansion of the great-but-tiny late night live music staple
Oscar Bar. Oscar
will be opening his new venture in the space formerly occupied by the
'Colonial Bar'. Oscar's Pub
will be launched in true
rocking style by bands
Bob Passion & The
Schkoots (Friday night)
and The Kampot Playboys
(Saturday night). Details of
the space are scant but any new stage for live bands to play in Phnom
Penh is a good thing.
Proving
that great music in Phnom Penh is not limited to weekends, Clay
George will be performing for an event at Tama/D22
on the very top of the Phnom
Penh tower this Tuesday night. On the same evening, Japan
Guitar Shop – near Russian
Market - will hold their monthly open mic jam session.
Each weekday evening at Sofitel, Chaktomuk
Band
will perform at Le Bar.
This sextet of Cambodian musicians is well worth checking out.
The elegant band comprises of piano, violin, bass, drums, flute and
voices. Some of the best musicians in the country perform classical
instrumental pieces alongside Western pop tunes and Cambodian songs.
Leng Pleng will leave you with this cool video of Chhom Nimol and the Don't Think I've Forgotten Band performing some timeless Cambodian rock'n'roll during their tour of North America last year. 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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