I got kind of distracted and suddenly I’m a week behind in updates. Way back last week I went to the Electric Eclectic Limelight Jukebox Jam at Paddy Rice, hosted by Melanie, where a variety of performers signed up and took part in a subdued setting – the venue is a difficult one for performers as there are a lot of hard surfaces leading to not particularly great acoustics, and rather too many televisions for a place putting on live music. Melanie was assisted by Paul and Gem, and I threw in a couple myself for a small but enthusiastic audience.
On Friday night the Cambodian Space Project went aquatic, playing for a birthday party on a boat on the Tonle Sap, then Saturday night played Paddy Rice for a large and liquid crowd. I made it for the second set, having with the Swedish Ambassador re-launched D’Sco: The Geckos of Love as Pswingology, playing for the swing dancing group Phnom Penh Pswings’ night at Chinese House, as part of their big swing weekend. Noteworthy was the return of the medley sickness, that manifested itself in a 12 minute 12-bar marathon that almost caused soft tissue damage in those dancers who insisted on trying to keep up.
The highlight of the weekend, though, was the CSP’s trip to Khlaeng Poar Tboung, the village in Kampong Speu that is home to our fabulous drummer Bong Sak. I don’t think I can put it better than Andy Brouwer did … and re the Paddy Rice gig, and ongoing sound problems – yes, we are working on it.
And then suddenly another week was underway, back at the Phnom Penh Acoustic Sessions at Setsara on Wednesday night. This was a particularly special night because we were able to veer away from the white-guys-singing-in-English (lovely though we all are)(and not ignoring the gorgeous French contributions we get) format by having a series of fantastic Khmer performers, including local music veterans and staff from the Top Banana. I confidently predict we will one night have the next Sinn Sisamouth emerging from the crowd of motodops waiting patiently outside. The mix of people taking part is inspiring in a city that still is largely segregated in terms of performance. But perhaps I’m just going to the wrong places.
And finally I come to last night, Rory’s birthday party at Maxine’s (aka Snow’s), where a great crowd came out to dance in the newly expanded space (more dancefloor) and, thanks to a new piece of equipment, actually hear Srey Thy’s voice over the chaos. There are still a few kinks to work out, but progress is being made. Rory and his mates also gave us a little song; thanks guys for a great night. And there was a very funky new blue guitar on display.
See you about - enjoy Pchum Ben. If you're staying in town, come see something different .... The Green Mist at Equinox on Saturday night.
Showing posts with label D'Sco: The Geckos of Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label D'Sco: The Geckos of Love. Show all posts
Monday, October 4, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Geckos and then Kep: 2 - 3 April
This quieter weekend began as late as Friday night, with the return to the stage of D'Sco: The Geckos of Love. We've been spending a lot of time as a mercenary rhythm section for several Phnom Penh bands all over the place, and it was time to get our Gecko on. Chinese House was the location, the crowd was belatedly good, and if my guitar had played ball and not got all noisy on me it would have been just completely swell. As it was we ripped through most of our old favourites, even including a special tribute to Lou Reed who almost played the Velkommen Inn the previous evening. Shame about that aircraft overbooking. And only one broken string! It was a fun night.
On Saturday night the Mekong Pirates stormed the Kukuluku bastille for a benefit for the Kep Ecole de Francaise, and put on a fine show with lots of dancing (well, eventually) with the depleted horn section being balanced by the augmented guitar line up - for one tune they even had 3 guitars at once, a veritable CSP manoeuver. I know it's my personal preference, but in the midst of all that reggae there's a very fine funk band struggling to get some oxygen. A couple of good sweaty sets were topped off with up to eight people pushing on with an extended group percussion jam.
Let's hope the music drought breaks with the New Year and the rains ....
On Saturday night the Mekong Pirates stormed the Kukuluku bastille for a benefit for the Kep Ecole de Francaise, and put on a fine show with lots of dancing (well, eventually) with the depleted horn section being balanced by the augmented guitar line up - for one tune they even had 3 guitars at once, a veritable CSP manoeuver. I know it's my personal preference, but in the midst of all that reggae there's a very fine funk band struggling to get some oxygen. A couple of good sweaty sets were topped off with up to eight people pushing on with an extended group percussion jam.
Let's hope the music drought breaks with the New Year and the rains ....
Thursday, March 18, 2010
A belated one before the new weekend starts up: 9 - 13 March
It all began a long time ago, when one of the most prominent pianists of the age Vladimir Ashkenazy came to play Chaktomuk Theatre, which probably accounted for the small but keen crowd that chose instead to attend last Tuesday's Fun Planet birthday party featuring the Cambodian Space Project. A smaller, gentler Space Project was on display, with a hastily-mixed collection of amplifiers, a brief rainstorm, and quite a number of curious Khmer observers who stayed until bedtime.
Then there was quite a gap for me, as I am attempting to reduce my playing in quantity in an effort to increase it (and the pleasure arising therefrom) in quality, so it was Friday before I was on stage again, with the CSP taking to the stage in Siem Reap. Thursday night a very stripped down version had fascinated the crowd at Silk Garden; Friday we clambered aboard a raised stage, battled with a PA and coloured lights, and pulled out two long sets of sweaty Khmer rock'n'roll at L'Abacus. See here .... the dancing was a bit subdued, I assume due to the bar being too far from the stage, but by the same token it was hard for me to see past the footlights. A highlight was the inclusion in the band of Aya on melodica.
The next night we followed up with an appearance at X-Bar, again playing under the stars, with a more extensive light show, a lower platform, a bigger and more involved audience. Our three sets were followed by a long series of jams with revolving personnel - D'Sco: The Geckos of Love put their two cents in as well - that were still going when we left at 4 am. See here ....
We also managed to fit in a couple of video and photo shoots which have also been FBook documented already. Our thanks to the coalition of bars and assorted Siem Reap folk who helped make it a great weekend, especially the photographer du jour The Fabulous Jean-Francois and documentarist and videographer MOVE NOW! Marc. And while I'm at it, a big dip of the hat to number one fan - and brutally honest critic where appropriate - The Baron Bruno.
The CSP is now poised to make its final public PP appearance (for a while) at Equinox on Saturday 20th before heading for 3 shows in Hong Kong. And then I can get back to writing about some other bands for a change, including D'Sco: The Geckos of Love, who are due for a revival, methinks.
Seeya near a stage.
Then there was quite a gap for me, as I am attempting to reduce my playing in quantity in an effort to increase it (and the pleasure arising therefrom) in quality, so it was Friday before I was on stage again, with the CSP taking to the stage in Siem Reap. Thursday night a very stripped down version had fascinated the crowd at Silk Garden; Friday we clambered aboard a raised stage, battled with a PA and coloured lights, and pulled out two long sets of sweaty Khmer rock'n'roll at L'Abacus. See here .... the dancing was a bit subdued, I assume due to the bar being too far from the stage, but by the same token it was hard for me to see past the footlights. A highlight was the inclusion in the band of Aya on melodica.
The next night we followed up with an appearance at X-Bar, again playing under the stars, with a more extensive light show, a lower platform, a bigger and more involved audience. Our three sets were followed by a long series of jams with revolving personnel - D'Sco: The Geckos of Love put their two cents in as well - that were still going when we left at 4 am. See here ....
We also managed to fit in a couple of video and photo shoots which have also been FBook documented already. Our thanks to the coalition of bars and assorted Siem Reap folk who helped make it a great weekend, especially the photographer du jour The Fabulous Jean-Francois and documentarist and videographer MOVE NOW! Marc. And while I'm at it, a big dip of the hat to number one fan - and brutally honest critic where appropriate - The Baron Bruno.
The CSP is now poised to make its final public PP appearance (for a while) at Equinox on Saturday 20th before heading for 3 shows in Hong Kong. And then I can get back to writing about some other bands for a change, including D'Sco: The Geckos of Love, who are due for a revival, methinks.
Seeya near a stage.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Happy New Year of the Tiger: 11 - 14 February
The long long weekend began with The Hellhounds on Thursday night at Sharky Bar. Another in a series of incremental changes to the sound, as the rhythm section gets to know the material and begins to take liberties, funking things up a bit and getting a bit of wildfire tearing through the list. We had a most vociferous and indulging crowd along, encouraging us to put that extra bit in (and I'm not just talking about the bluecheese and bacon burgers).
On Friday night the Lazy Jazz Drunks returned to the stage -- the first gig since the gunshot -- playing a birthday party at the Pickled Parrot. With the assistance of a prepared-beforehand setlist, and despite the insane new year traffic and the lack of a guitar strap for Tall Tom, and with the Swedish Ambassador on bass rather than keyboard, we burst into action with a good sound (applause at the soundcheck!) and a dancing crowd for a couple of decent sets until the PA speakers unexpectedly gave up about 20 minutes too early. Still, it was fun while it lasted.
But then things got really serious -- I hopped on a moto down to Tamarind on 240 Street, where the Mekong Pirates were crammed into a tiny space for a special send-off concert for Marion and Dom. Even unamplified the size of the group means the sound is big. They'd been playing for a while by the time I got there, and the place was rocking. Dancers were shaking and swaying in the narrow space between the band and the wall, drinkers were sneaking inbetween the dancers and the band to get to the bar, the crowd spilled out into the street. Funky Phnom Penh indeed!
Then the Cambodian Space Project hit the road on Saturday for the Lunar New Year, heading south down into Takeo Province to a small village to play a ricefield special. A huge wedding PA was brought in for the occasion, food and beer laid on and we were generally treated royally. Srey Thy was not so well, but soldiered on for a long set that in the absence of our usual three-strong guitar army found me playing six-string, and I proceeded to pull out some Chic-like funky rhythms over the dub reggaeish grooves. And in a new first, we added The Breton Bandit on piano accordion, and even had Godfather L, carried away by the excitement and the anonymity, making an unexpected return to the stage after 20 years of avoidance. But what happens in the ricefield stays in the ricefield.
D'Sco: The Geckos of Love, with bonus guest drummer Bong Sak, then tore up the night with a prolonged bluesrock bashing interspersed with growling sweetnesses to the general bewilderment of the crowd, the Swedish Ambassador pumping out some hot licks and tasty wah-wah.
On Sunday we stayed on the road, heading out to Chroy Chongvar to play a great big extravagant birthday party. A timely visit to the doctor had Srey Thy raring to go, even pushing the tempos along aggressively. Tired but rejuvenated by an enthusiastic and audience (there was even some very brave interpretive dance going on during Whisky Cambodia, good to see) we played long and hard and … actually, we just had a bloody good time. We dispersed into the night in three tuktuks, with The Breton Bandit squeezebox-serenading us across the Japanese Bridge, and the PA truck loaded to the sky with well-travelled gear, and came to land at a little place on 172 Street where I eventually left the crew to their own devices. Unfortunately, some of us have day jobs.
Here's looking forward to the Space Mission to Kep next weekend, and the return of The Lovely Irene.
Happy new year of the Tiger, let it be a bold and courageous one.
On Friday night the Lazy Jazz Drunks returned to the stage -- the first gig since the gunshot -- playing a birthday party at the Pickled Parrot. With the assistance of a prepared-beforehand setlist, and despite the insane new year traffic and the lack of a guitar strap for Tall Tom, and with the Swedish Ambassador on bass rather than keyboard, we burst into action with a good sound (applause at the soundcheck!) and a dancing crowd for a couple of decent sets until the PA speakers unexpectedly gave up about 20 minutes too early. Still, it was fun while it lasted.
But then things got really serious -- I hopped on a moto down to Tamarind on 240 Street, where the Mekong Pirates were crammed into a tiny space for a special send-off concert for Marion and Dom. Even unamplified the size of the group means the sound is big. They'd been playing for a while by the time I got there, and the place was rocking. Dancers were shaking and swaying in the narrow space between the band and the wall, drinkers were sneaking inbetween the dancers and the band to get to the bar, the crowd spilled out into the street. Funky Phnom Penh indeed!
Then the Cambodian Space Project hit the road on Saturday for the Lunar New Year, heading south down into Takeo Province to a small village to play a ricefield special. A huge wedding PA was brought in for the occasion, food and beer laid on and we were generally treated royally. Srey Thy was not so well, but soldiered on for a long set that in the absence of our usual three-strong guitar army found me playing six-string, and I proceeded to pull out some Chic-like funky rhythms over the dub reggaeish grooves. And in a new first, we added The Breton Bandit on piano accordion, and even had Godfather L, carried away by the excitement and the anonymity, making an unexpected return to the stage after 20 years of avoidance. But what happens in the ricefield stays in the ricefield.
D'Sco: The Geckos of Love, with bonus guest drummer Bong Sak, then tore up the night with a prolonged bluesrock bashing interspersed with growling sweetnesses to the general bewilderment of the crowd, the Swedish Ambassador pumping out some hot licks and tasty wah-wah.
On Sunday we stayed on the road, heading out to Chroy Chongvar to play a great big extravagant birthday party. A timely visit to the doctor had Srey Thy raring to go, even pushing the tempos along aggressively. Tired but rejuvenated by an enthusiastic and audience (there was even some very brave interpretive dance going on during Whisky Cambodia, good to see) we played long and hard and … actually, we just had a bloody good time. We dispersed into the night in three tuktuks, with The Breton Bandit squeezebox-serenading us across the Japanese Bridge, and the PA truck loaded to the sky with well-travelled gear, and came to land at a little place on 172 Street where I eventually left the crew to their own devices. Unfortunately, some of us have day jobs.
Here's looking forward to the Space Mission to Kep next weekend, and the return of The Lovely Irene.
Happy new year of the Tiger, let it be a bold and courageous one.
Monday, February 1, 2010
The friends, the road, the magic: 28 - 31 January
It was the last Thursday in January, and the last date of the Blue Cheese and Bacon Burger Hellhounds 2010 Tour of Sharky Bar. And the playing was of a highest uber-ian quality, and the audience was keen and engaged, and the Mythical Dude was standing up, and Bong Thom was having out of body experiences, and the Swedish Ambassador was grooving it up, and Jimmy Hellhound was howling and cussing and there may or may not have been some cowbell, and there was certainly some awesome harmonising, like a bunch of old country folk sitting around on someone's porch with big clay bottles of homemade cider ... and they saw that it was good.
And lo they did book the Hellhounds for another month of Thursdays! This will be known as the Sharky's Scratch, Snort, and Drooling Blues Sessions, but will probably still involve blue cheese and bacon burgers at certain junctures.
Friday night was the annual Green Night at META House, an environmental awareness event, with a number of presentations on Copenhagen, Tonle Sap fisheries and solar lighting, and some musical interludes courtesy of singers from Cambodian Living Arts (a first for karaoke at META House) and the now-you-seen-them-now-you-see-them-again Cambodian Space Project. The CSP as usual played with too many people, too loud, for too long, had too much fun, and had to be dragged off the stage with shepherds crooks. So why are we all so happy?
Because Space Commander Bong Jay won a solar light. Because it was a great night. Because the neighbour didn't stop by to tell us to shut up. Because ...
Because the next morning we all got on a bus and headed down to Otres Beach, Sihanoukville, to play Saturday night on the beach between Mama Ying Yang and No Name while it was still possible to do so (i.e. prior to evictions). We got to soundchecking as the sun went down, looking out over the water, pulling out our collective hair over the difficulties of managing generators, wedding-size PA stacks, bus-sized amplifiers -- and this was a stripped-down, low-fat, streamlined machine of drums, bass and guitars with nothing too complicated going on.
We played a good solid sweaty hour-plus-long set (much of which no one can actually remember) to a beach full of dancers in various stages of enjoyment, from the fanatical to the merely engaged. Was there some fire twirling going on nearby? Waves broke gently on the beach, relentless and soulful like the Swedish Ambassador's bass playing. Some beautiful Apsara dancing broke the chain of rock'n'roll, but then CSP played a rather crisis-ridden set (even less of which can be remembered) for about 45 minutes, which seemed to work by sheer force of personality rather than any musical chops, before we imploded under our own weight and had to disperse to the bar and to sleep. Some good tunes though, and we note an increasing tendency towards the epic and anthemic which may have to be closely monitored. The Our Biggest Fan award goes to The Baron Bruno, who later enthused about listening while indulging in the luxurious expanse of the Gulf of Siam under the full moon to the howling and the pounding ... we could all have been anywhere that night, but we were where we would have chosen. Blue benevolent ghosts were watching over us.
Sunday came, and with it a busload of orphans who frolicked on the beach and the sand and were treated to a double bill of D'Sco: The Geckos of Love (unrehearsed, unshaven, and exremely willing) and the Cambodian Space Project (ah, beach life ... from the bed to the bar to the sea to the stage to the bar ... repeat when necessary). The gleeful performance of Srey Thy, the bouncing of Gildas McSwashbuckle, the effortless swaying of The Lovely Irene, the fierce guitar of the Space Commander, the all-encompassing Swedish Ambassador, the enthusiastic but flawed self ... from the rear of the stage the silhouettes were sharp against the shining sea, the music lifting off into the air like hello-aliens-here's-a-time-capsule-of-Otres-Beach, on a mission to the stars. Coming soon, at the speed of sound, to a constellation near you.
And lo they did book the Hellhounds for another month of Thursdays! This will be known as the Sharky's Scratch, Snort, and Drooling Blues Sessions, but will probably still involve blue cheese and bacon burgers at certain junctures.
Friday night was the annual Green Night at META House, an environmental awareness event, with a number of presentations on Copenhagen, Tonle Sap fisheries and solar lighting, and some musical interludes courtesy of singers from Cambodian Living Arts (a first for karaoke at META House) and the now-you-seen-them-now-you-see-them-again Cambodian Space Project. The CSP as usual played with too many people, too loud, for too long, had too much fun, and had to be dragged off the stage with shepherds crooks. So why are we all so happy?
Because Space Commander Bong Jay won a solar light. Because it was a great night. Because the neighbour didn't stop by to tell us to shut up. Because ...
Because the next morning we all got on a bus and headed down to Otres Beach, Sihanoukville, to play Saturday night on the beach between Mama Ying Yang and No Name while it was still possible to do so (i.e. prior to evictions). We got to soundchecking as the sun went down, looking out over the water, pulling out our collective hair over the difficulties of managing generators, wedding-size PA stacks, bus-sized amplifiers -- and this was a stripped-down, low-fat, streamlined machine of drums, bass and guitars with nothing too complicated going on.
We played a good solid sweaty hour-plus-long set (much of which no one can actually remember) to a beach full of dancers in various stages of enjoyment, from the fanatical to the merely engaged. Was there some fire twirling going on nearby? Waves broke gently on the beach, relentless and soulful like the Swedish Ambassador's bass playing. Some beautiful Apsara dancing broke the chain of rock'n'roll, but then CSP played a rather crisis-ridden set (even less of which can be remembered) for about 45 minutes, which seemed to work by sheer force of personality rather than any musical chops, before we imploded under our own weight and had to disperse to the bar and to sleep. Some good tunes though, and we note an increasing tendency towards the epic and anthemic which may have to be closely monitored. The Our Biggest Fan award goes to The Baron Bruno, who later enthused about listening while indulging in the luxurious expanse of the Gulf of Siam under the full moon to the howling and the pounding ... we could all have been anywhere that night, but we were where we would have chosen. Blue benevolent ghosts were watching over us.
Sunday came, and with it a busload of orphans who frolicked on the beach and the sand and were treated to a double bill of D'Sco: The Geckos of Love (unrehearsed, unshaven, and exremely willing) and the Cambodian Space Project (ah, beach life ... from the bed to the bar to the sea to the stage to the bar ... repeat when necessary). The gleeful performance of Srey Thy, the bouncing of Gildas McSwashbuckle, the effortless swaying of The Lovely Irene, the fierce guitar of the Space Commander, the all-encompassing Swedish Ambassador, the enthusiastic but flawed self ... from the rear of the stage the silhouettes were sharp against the shining sea, the music lifting off into the air like hello-aliens-here's-a-time-capsule-of-Otres-Beach, on a mission to the stars. Coming soon, at the speed of sound, to a constellation near you.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Pink Suit weekend: 19 - 22 November
The weekend kicked off early, with the Hellhounds taking the stage at Sharky's, pushing through two solid sets despite some illness in the ranks that threatened to derail proceedings earlier in the day. If you haven't caught up with the extended, rhythm section version of the Hellhounds yet ... well, you should. It's better each week.
Friday night saw the Lazy Jazz Drunks take over upstairs at Huxley's, overcoming some technical issues (such as the absence of a second guitarist, disintegrating drumsticks, and the need to go out and find extra mics) to raise the roof in the way that only the Drunks can. The Swedish Ambassador was doing his damnedest to put the Jazz back in the LJD, and after the crowd thinned out to go to Walkabout for the big draw things got looser, culminating in a prolonged stopping-all-stations jam on Whole Lotta Love with Ian throwing in lyrics from any song he could think of, and I think several that he couldn't think of. The Drunks will be at Rory's on Saturday 28th trying to be as quiet as possible, and back at Huxley's on the 5th.
For a complete change of pace, Saturday night's first birthday party for Chinese House was a much mellower affair. The occasion called for something special, and it became the debut of The Panthers, a new project that the Swedish Ambassador and I have dreamed up: the quieter, mellower side of D'Sco: The Geckos of Love, with an emphasis on standards and ballads, a chance for him to play keyboards and a chance for me to sing rather than play guitar and to wear a pink suit and hand out roses to beautiful women. Stick around, that sort of stuff happens all the time. So we captivated the crowd for an hour or so, taking the usual opening night nerves in our stride, before being joined by Ritchy on guitar and vocals (and switching to bass and drums) to provide some live music for a herd of swing dancers (is that the appropriate collective noun? perhaps a press of swing dancers, or a swirl of swing dancers) who put on a very enjoyable show (including an intriguing solo number Cupid's Arrow). The evening then degenerated into pre-recorded music ...
On Sunday D'Sco: The Geckos of Love were back to basics at Talking to a Stranger, relaxed with less equipment and just two guitars. We played the game where I play songs that Dan has never heard (and in some cases I've never played in public, or indeed at all) and he does his best to keep up, and usually does dazzlingly well. In the second set I played half an hour's worth of my own songs, at the strong encouragement of some gentlemen at the bar, feeding my interest in putting together a band to play original material next year, to test the theory that punters are interested in such a thing. A quiet night, but by no means unpleasant.
I gather there was a band at The Cavern on Saturday night which from reports sounds quite interesting. Anyone see them?
Seeya round the traps
Friday night saw the Lazy Jazz Drunks take over upstairs at Huxley's, overcoming some technical issues (such as the absence of a second guitarist, disintegrating drumsticks, and the need to go out and find extra mics) to raise the roof in the way that only the Drunks can. The Swedish Ambassador was doing his damnedest to put the Jazz back in the LJD, and after the crowd thinned out to go to Walkabout for the big draw things got looser, culminating in a prolonged stopping-all-stations jam on Whole Lotta Love with Ian throwing in lyrics from any song he could think of, and I think several that he couldn't think of. The Drunks will be at Rory's on Saturday 28th trying to be as quiet as possible, and back at Huxley's on the 5th.
For a complete change of pace, Saturday night's first birthday party for Chinese House was a much mellower affair. The occasion called for something special, and it became the debut of The Panthers, a new project that the Swedish Ambassador and I have dreamed up: the quieter, mellower side of D'Sco: The Geckos of Love, with an emphasis on standards and ballads, a chance for him to play keyboards and a chance for me to sing rather than play guitar and to wear a pink suit and hand out roses to beautiful women. Stick around, that sort of stuff happens all the time. So we captivated the crowd for an hour or so, taking the usual opening night nerves in our stride, before being joined by Ritchy on guitar and vocals (and switching to bass and drums) to provide some live music for a herd of swing dancers (is that the appropriate collective noun? perhaps a press of swing dancers, or a swirl of swing dancers) who put on a very enjoyable show (including an intriguing solo number Cupid's Arrow). The evening then degenerated into pre-recorded music ...
On Sunday D'Sco: The Geckos of Love were back to basics at Talking to a Stranger, relaxed with less equipment and just two guitars. We played the game where I play songs that Dan has never heard (and in some cases I've never played in public, or indeed at all) and he does his best to keep up, and usually does dazzlingly well. In the second set I played half an hour's worth of my own songs, at the strong encouragement of some gentlemen at the bar, feeding my interest in putting together a band to play original material next year, to test the theory that punters are interested in such a thing. A quiet night, but by no means unpleasant.
I gather there was a band at The Cavern on Saturday night which from reports sounds quite interesting. Anyone see them?
Seeya round the traps
Monday, November 16, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Winding up at Velkommen & selling SIMs: 30 October - 3 November
Water Festival of course changed the musical landscape over the weekend. Friday and Saturday were relatively quiet nights, even more so for me as I had to sit out of the Hellhounds final Velkommen Inn gig on Friday due to a damaged wrist brought on by an ill-advised participation in a game of football with some kids, which just goes to show that exercise is bad for you. A few guest vocalists rounded out the Beer O'Clock Band's performance, and then the Hellhounds carried on with a guest drummer fresh off the plane from Australia for the first set, and then the Swedish Ambassador taking the thwacking duties and Dave of Misspent Yooth sitting in on bass.
Saturday night I was back in action, and was able to drum for the Lazy Jazz Drunks' public rehearsal at The Cavern, which then evolved into some impromptu jamming with Tom, Russian David and Khmer wunderkind TR.
Sunday and Monday D'Sco: The Geckos of Love shared a stage outside Riverhouse for Water Festival with some Khmer entertainers, promoting one of the local mobile phone companies. We added our particular shade of lusty, bluesy noise to the cocktail of uptempo dancing, slow balladeering and endless Khmer prattling about special deals by a guy who could speak underwater. The view from the stage was sometimes formidable, not really our regular audience.
Special thanks go to a group of young Aussies on Monday night who called up AC/DC, allowing me to pull out my guilty pleasure You shook me all night long, and then not only demanded an encore of Johnny B. Goode, but turned on a great bit of rock'n'roll dancing that delighted the crowd ... or perhaps astonished is a better word. In any case, a lovely bit of magic.
Tuesday turned into a bit of a washout, thanks to the rain, but we did play on at the afterparty until the beer ran out, playing Chuck Berry music and trying to find some songs that we had in common with the partiers (and coming up with Hotel California and Take me to your heart).
November is here, and it's going to be full. Catch you around the traps.
Saturday night I was back in action, and was able to drum for the Lazy Jazz Drunks' public rehearsal at The Cavern, which then evolved into some impromptu jamming with Tom, Russian David and Khmer wunderkind TR.
Sunday and Monday D'Sco: The Geckos of Love shared a stage outside Riverhouse for Water Festival with some Khmer entertainers, promoting one of the local mobile phone companies. We added our particular shade of lusty, bluesy noise to the cocktail of uptempo dancing, slow balladeering and endless Khmer prattling about special deals by a guy who could speak underwater. The view from the stage was sometimes formidable, not really our regular audience.
Special thanks go to a group of young Aussies on Monday night who called up AC/DC, allowing me to pull out my guilty pleasure You shook me all night long, and then not only demanded an encore of Johnny B. Goode, but turned on a great bit of rock'n'roll dancing that delighted the crowd ... or perhaps astonished is a better word. In any case, a lovely bit of magic.
Tuesday turned into a bit of a washout, thanks to the rain, but we did play on at the afterparty until the beer ran out, playing Chuck Berry music and trying to find some songs that we had in common with the partiers (and coming up with Hotel California and Take me to your heart).
November is here, and it's going to be full. Catch you around the traps.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Rain, rugby and wolf whistles: 22 - 25 October
The weekend began, as usual, with D’Sco: The Geckos of Love performing quietly but enjoyably at Sayon Silklounge (on St 19 about 50 metres north of St 240), a night made quieter than usual, incongruously, by the crashing thunderstorm which cleared the streets most effectively and made sure everyone stayed home.
Street 104 was busy on Friday night, as billowing clouds of rugby players in black-and-white-sharkskin patterned shirts gathered and dispersed, piling in and out of tuk-tuks and bars. These individuals, however, were not there for the music, and there was a broad acreage of carpet viewable at the Velkommen Inn where the Hellhounds held forth; although it must be said that there were a number of patrons who sat on the street to watch the rugger lads and formed a small audience.
Undeterred, we whipped through a couple of sets, with the 5-piece ensemble (the Swedish Ambassador and I adding rhythm section to the existing 3-piece core band) continuing to improve its swing and groove, and myself making fewer glaring drumming errors.
Saturday night, however, at The Cavern on St 104, was something of a different story. The evening began with a short practice session for the Lazy Jazz Drunks, who after the normal rehearsal style of a few ropy numbers were playing pretty tight and getting a very favourable reception from the small crowd gathering around the bar. Many of these were wearing matching t-shirts, some kind of business mafia apparently (I assume rugby was involved somehow) but there were familiar faces attached so they were forgiven, particularly when they were clapping and cheering.
After the rehearsal the Swedish Ambassador and I took to the stage for our regular tomfoolery, pulling out some Supertramp on request from the floor as well as a keyboard-driven version of The Long Division, and Stuck inside of Phnom Penh with the Memphis Blues again (otherwise known as It’s not the Mississippi, it’s the Mekong) again proving that there is at least one band in the capital playing original material. Singer/guitarist D who had joined us the previous week returned for a solo set that included a brief a capella-with-drums moment when the power adruptly took a short break.
I for one was somewhat disappointed that I was missing the Khmer rock’n’roll band at Chinese House (the menace of gigging too much is not getting to be audience enough – can anyone enlighten us? Was it good?) However, the magic was about to blossom again on 104 Street.
At some point during the last set, with D'Sco back on the stand, Sir J encouraged a young Khmer guy up to play with us -- picture a youthful Khmer Marc Bolan in a schmick all-black strip with perfect stage-hair – who took us through Knocking on heaven’s door, Don’t look back in anger and a song in Khmer, with an ease and grace suggesting he’d been performing since he could walk. Then he announced that he would rather play drums, so D’Sco clicked into rock’n’roll mode, thumping out an only occasionally played original Som Chop! and a medley that started with Polk Salad Annie, passed through Bang a Gong and ended with a chorus or two of Little Queenie (as far as I recall).
Less than 24 hours later, the extended Hellhounds broke into a shuffle for the Sunday session at Talking to a Stranger, which led of course to the first flashes of lightning in the south east. At the end of the first set, which had included some new tunes briefly rehearsed that morning (including Got my mojo working, which may or may not refer to a small Japanese car, and Walking the dog, which benefitted from some participatory wolf whistling from the crowd) the rain arrived, forcing a rather longer break than expected and succeeding in keeping audience numbers low. Still, being Phnom Penh musicians, we are well trained at having a good time whether people show up or not. We cooked nicely through the second set, chugging through as though we'd been playing together as a 5 piece for years, not weeks.
What else went on that I missed because I was busy?
Street 104 was busy on Friday night, as billowing clouds of rugby players in black-and-white-sharkskin patterned shirts gathered and dispersed, piling in and out of tuk-tuks and bars. These individuals, however, were not there for the music, and there was a broad acreage of carpet viewable at the Velkommen Inn where the Hellhounds held forth; although it must be said that there were a number of patrons who sat on the street to watch the rugger lads and formed a small audience.
Undeterred, we whipped through a couple of sets, with the 5-piece ensemble (the Swedish Ambassador and I adding rhythm section to the existing 3-piece core band) continuing to improve its swing and groove, and myself making fewer glaring drumming errors.
Saturday night, however, at The Cavern on St 104, was something of a different story. The evening began with a short practice session for the Lazy Jazz Drunks, who after the normal rehearsal style of a few ropy numbers were playing pretty tight and getting a very favourable reception from the small crowd gathering around the bar. Many of these were wearing matching t-shirts, some kind of business mafia apparently (I assume rugby was involved somehow) but there were familiar faces attached so they were forgiven, particularly when they were clapping and cheering.
After the rehearsal the Swedish Ambassador and I took to the stage for our regular tomfoolery, pulling out some Supertramp on request from the floor as well as a keyboard-driven version of The Long Division, and Stuck inside of Phnom Penh with the Memphis Blues again (otherwise known as It’s not the Mississippi, it’s the Mekong) again proving that there is at least one band in the capital playing original material. Singer/guitarist D who had joined us the previous week returned for a solo set that included a brief a capella-with-drums moment when the power adruptly took a short break.
I for one was somewhat disappointed that I was missing the Khmer rock’n’roll band at Chinese House (the menace of gigging too much is not getting to be audience enough – can anyone enlighten us? Was it good?) However, the magic was about to blossom again on 104 Street.
At some point during the last set, with D'Sco back on the stand, Sir J encouraged a young Khmer guy up to play with us -- picture a youthful Khmer Marc Bolan in a schmick all-black strip with perfect stage-hair – who took us through Knocking on heaven’s door, Don’t look back in anger and a song in Khmer, with an ease and grace suggesting he’d been performing since he could walk. Then he announced that he would rather play drums, so D’Sco clicked into rock’n’roll mode, thumping out an only occasionally played original Som Chop! and a medley that started with Polk Salad Annie, passed through Bang a Gong and ended with a chorus or two of Little Queenie (as far as I recall).
Less than 24 hours later, the extended Hellhounds broke into a shuffle for the Sunday session at Talking to a Stranger, which led of course to the first flashes of lightning in the south east. At the end of the first set, which had included some new tunes briefly rehearsed that morning (including Got my mojo working, which may or may not refer to a small Japanese car, and Walking the dog, which benefitted from some participatory wolf whistling from the crowd) the rain arrived, forcing a rather longer break than expected and succeeding in keeping audience numbers low. Still, being Phnom Penh musicians, we are well trained at having a good time whether people show up or not. We cooked nicely through the second set, chugging through as though we'd been playing together as a 5 piece for years, not weeks.
What else went on that I missed because I was busy?
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