Guest report: Independence Day supergroup at Sharky - 4 July 2010

There was disappointment all around last week when the news filtered through that the Curtis King Band would not be able to make their annual trek across from Vietnam to play for Sharky’s 4th of July party. This annual gig normally attracts a packed house that is thoroughly entertained by some great exponents of Americana music. Customarily it includes the famous Curtis and his band of core professional musicians, together with a long line of guests that is capped by the cavorting, writhing, and pasty form of the irrepressible Lee Roi Jones - whose dance across the bar resembles something akin to an albino python looking for love.

So when the news came that they would not be here, a great lull descended across the spectrum of the Sharky patronage.

Little did the patrons know they were about to be introduced to something new and special……. . This night will go down as yet another great step forward for the local, live music scene.

On stage was Chris (Mispent Yooth – guitar, vocals), Kenny (Lost Highway – guitar, vocals), Tommy (Lost Highway, drums, vocals), and Dave (Mispent Yooth – bass, vocals) and coming out from the stage was the epitome of great American music from the 60s and 70s. Kenny and Chris’s interpretation of the great American rock & roll guitar compositions from this period was a total pleasure for all patrons. Their trade in riffs and leads complemented each other like a track complements a train, like a great singer complements a great song. You could feel the years of passion these accomplished musicians had been through – the years of love and practice they had put into the songs.

Tommy’s rock & roll drumming brought the songs up to crescendos of impunity and back to a subtle nuanced satisfaction. Dave on bass bounced between jazz/blues-style bass riffs that carried the songs seamlessly from country dance to rock & roll fervour to classic blues. The gig was also punctuated with Ian from the Lazy Jazz Drunks punching out a totally professional vocals job and Ken (The Hellhounds) getting up on harmonica.

All in all it was a great night that meant the patrons had all but forgotten their feelings of misfortune in the days before.

A lowkey blog about the weekend that I felt particularly crook but somehow kept going: 25 - 27 February

The Hellhounds worldwide tour of Sharky's continued on Thursday night despite the absence of Bong Thom, and with the addition of last week's special guest Johnny Pilgrim. We ran a stripped back setlist, pushing the wildness quotient up a bit but really missing the mandolin. And I wasn't so well, which didn't help. Still, the blues went down pretty well, as ever. And Mythical Dude got through a whole set -- hell, nearly the whole night -- without breaking a string, but stumbled at the last hurdle.  Which brings me to a fundamental question:  if Jimmy Hellhound ever broke a string, would the world cease to be?


On Friday afternoon the Cambodian Space Project took itself on the road to Sihanoukville, to participate in Khmarnival, an AIDS education outreach event involving some fabulous dance, pantomime, circus acts and clowning by young former street kids. Pretty inspiring stuff. We came onto the stage after dark, following two mixed bands of the young and enthusiastic -- and what a stage. It was huge, like playing a stadium. Everyone was wandering around wondering what to do with all the space. Way up the back, miles away, and miles high on a drum riser, I felt like Ringo. A great view, but it was so dark I could barely see the crowd. We played until bedtime. And then stayed up for a cleansing beverage or two.

Saturday night we were all back in Phnom Penh, and a stripped down and perhaps more relaxed CSP played at The Alley Cat's last Saturday of the month buffet and prize drawing. Elsewhere in town the Lazy Jazz Drunks and Lost Highway played Sharky's, and then the LJD took a stab at an after midnight gig at Candy Bar. No reports in yet on those adventures.

It looks like a quiet weekend coming up, and perhaps my health can last for more than a day at a time. Preparing for a big finish for the CSP's current trajectory: Siem Reap on 11 - 13 March, Maxines on 20th, and 3 dates in Hong Kong to go out with a bang … before coming back for more in August.

See you about.

Penhstock Blue Moon New Year: 31 December

On the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, and marking the end of 2009, Sharky's outdid themselves with a sensational night.  No less than six bands, made up of around 20 performers, playing from 9 pm through to 2 am.  It was great not only to see several bands I've not been able to catch before, but also to be a part of such a friendly and enjoyable crowd. 

The night kicked off with the inimitable Bum'n'Draze who, we were told, had that day achieved the distinction of having a box of their CDs stolen from the seat of a car.  Be on the lookout for (a) pirated Bum'n'Draze albums at your local CD shop and (b) young Khmers turned on to their crazy Scandinavian subgrunge.  As the fella said: we'd rather be heard than paid.  And heard they were:  with two guests along, a third Finn who played some cool trumpet (never heard Sabbath's Paranoid with horns before) and Gildas McSwashbuckle contributing some mean guitar.  The throbbing madness was brought to a close with the destruction of a tv set.  All in a day's work.

Following on, out of France and Kampot, came JP and the Nurses, a very cool little outfit playing some post punk pop including covers of Zombie, a deliciously mangled Sweet dreams are made of this, and even Gildas McSwashbuckle and I contributed some backing vocals for With or without you.   Then with a minor change of line-up we enjoyed the Happy Cockroaches, playing a mostly French set with similar tight rhythms and a more continental punky feel.  I especially enjoyed I will survive. 

The Stiff Little Punks were in fine sweating form, again proving to be more than the sum of their parts.  The highlight of their set was undoubtedly the closer:  Holiday in Cambodia, of course. 

The boogie blues rock of Lost Highway took over the stage next, and they brought in the new year with their usual brand of enthusiastic sound: loud guitar, honking harp, augmented by (unfortunately   a bit lost in the mix) keyboard.  A broken guitar string created an opportunity for Tall Thom to show off some licks, and Ian the Punk contributed some vocals.

The Hellhounds were last on the bill, and we had some pretty hard acts to follow.  The crowd seemed to be on our side, though, and we cranked through some of our louder, faster stuff with Canadian Dave filling in on bass in the absence of the Swedish Ambassador.  After a while the stage filled up with Lost Highway personnel and the jam was on: I recall Stormy Monday and Ian the Punk helping out on a boisterous Honky Tonk Women - the night's not over until someone's played HTW.  And so went the jam until 2, when the curfew kicked in; the only downside of the night, as I'm sure the groove could have kept cruising for at least another hour.  But maybe it's not such a bad idea to finish when it's still good.  


There are already some great photos over at the Sharky's page; less impressionistic than these offerings.  


Thanks to the Sharky's crew for putting on the show, for making it work so smoothly, and making it so much fun to be a part of.   Penhstock continues with Lost Highway on 1 Jan and Plan B (from Australia) on 2 Jan.   


Seeya near a stage somewhere in 2010.

The view from behind the drums

Aussie Ken reports: 27 November

Chris, Mathius and Dave were getting feet on the dance floor again on Friday night when Misspent Yooth played Talkin’ to a Stranger. They entertained the radiant assemblage with a mix of bounce, rhythm and melody that had several people up dancing by the third tune. Once they had the e-violin turned up to the right volume the sounds coming out of the speakers were a wonderful mix of bouncy dance-y bass, tight jazzy rhythmic guitar, a colourful suite of violin melodies and topped with smooth vocals. The result was a clean, colourful and tight sound that had the NGO crowd on the dance floor as soon as the first end-of-week wine started kicking in.

At the other end of town was a much rawer, dirtier sound coming from the vicinity of Sharky's in the shape of Lost Highway. Despite being down by 2 members, they did a great job in a performance of several Americana signature tunes. During the week they lost their bass player due to a broken arm as a result of a moto accident and their new rhythm guitar from Italy who had to bail due to sicknesses in the family. Undeterred the band did a great job to entertain the assembled beer-drinkers and the fairer, younger sex.

The long guitar leads from Kenny were a treat for us Phnom Penh-ers who rarely get a chance to enjoy the dying art of the blues/electric/rock guitar performances. Kenny’s vocal style also blends in so well to the songs that it doesn’t strike you at first but the way he flips the timing between the guitar and vocals adds a unique and robust flavour to many of the tunes. Tommy on drums also sang many of the tunes with a country flavoursome reminiscent of the long, hot dusty highways from his homeland – it was really well put together. Tommy rarely and surprisingly lets his technique dominate the tunes but his ability to get the sticks flying should not be underestimated. Oscar on blues harp was superb – adding raw, growly notes and rhythmical overtones to the mix and a blues-rock or country feel as the song needed. I didn’t get to see them on the Saturday night but I sure they would have enjoyed a larger crowd as most of the boys in the audience skipped off to the joker draw not long before start time.