Why I couldn't attend my 25 year anniversary high school reunion: 10 - 14 November

The weekend began early - an informal drop-in jam/gathering organised on Tuesday night at Chinese House.  And quite successfully, too.  The cozy/sophisticated interior makes the bar a nice room to play in, not to mention the relaxed nature of the seating and the lovely acoustics.  Players included David, Tree, Melanie, Jet, Ritchie, Mattheus, Paul and myself (including a healthy smattering of original material, particularly a recent batch from Melanie) interspersed later with a number of young Khmer chaps who played a mixture of Western ballads and Khmer pop songs.   Looking forward to the next one.

Friday night was a blast - as D'Sco: The Geckos of Love we took keyboard and drums, augmented by  Memphis Fred on sax, to new heights as the house band for AsiaLife's Blind Date night (the format based on the TV show Blind Date/Perfect Match/The Dating Game) at Talking to a Stranger, providing pre-show entertainment and then incidental music for the event itself.   Photos can be found at AsiaLifeGuide's Blind Date     'Twas an absolute blast to play corny backgrounds and soppy tunes all night. 

Also on Friday night - that i missed due to Blind Date - was Bum'n'Draze, who I am still yet to see, at Sharkys.  Scheduling is a bastard sometimes.   Not to mention Australian blues legend Phil Manning at FCC.

However, the extended Hellhounds took to the stage to support Manning's Saturday night show at FCC, smoking through two sets of blues and country.  And no broken strings this time!  Manning himself put on a great show, demonstrating his tag line (electric fingers on an acoustic guitar) to good effect.  I particularly enjoyed the slide playing.  He gave us a generous 3 sets, and said he was keen to return where his schedule will allow.

The coming weekend looks fun:  Hellhounds at Sharky's on Thursday, Lazy Jazz Drunks at Huxley's on Friday, the debut of The Panthers at Chinese House on Saturday and the regular fortnightly Sunday session at Talking to a Stranger.  

See you around the traps.