Last check before takeoff/Khmer assault on France: 30 - 31 July 2010

As I may have mentioned before, I just love playing for children. The Cambodian Space Project was lucky enough to be invited to play at the PSE school at Stung Meanchey again on Friday, this time for the last day of school. Two thousand singing, dancing children is about as good an audience as you're ever going to get, particularly when they know all the songs (better than we do, indeed). Srey Thy was inspired to call up Arrapiya and that got the whole crowd doing the whirlpool move, and singing louder than the band. Kids approached the stage and put paper garlands around Thy's neck.  A young brave fellow got up on stage and danced with her.  Another utterly exhilarating forty-five minutes in the life of the CSP.

La la la la ........

The evening saw a direct contrast in both directions - Green Night at Metahouse featured a poetry reading with a young American poet Aida with an atmospheric improvised backing from the Phnom Penh Hot Strings Jazz Club, and Khmer duo Srey Peu and Sinat performing some traditional material, Srey Peu singing and reading, and Sinat playing a series of the most extraordinary Khmer stringed instruments. The old blending with the new.  The Hot Strings were down to a 4-piece, sans batterie, but still made a very appealing noise. 

Then Saturday night saw the Cambodian Space Project burn down the barn at Equinox in our last gig before heading for France for 3 ½ weeks. We started early, in an attempt to get more of a Khmer crowd in … and it worked. The dance floor was full for most of the first set, complete with shrieking and laughing. The second set was quieter, leading off with a few Srey Thy showcases, then getting louder, as we are wont to do. Bong Sak took to the electronic drumkit and made it sing.  Bun Hong was in scalding hot form.  Gildas McSwashbuckle was bouncing, the Breton Bandit smoking.  Bong Ken made a late but dramatic entrance and blew us away for the last set.  And it was string-breaking night: by the time the third set was over, around 11 pm, I was down to a 4-string guitar. A great energy in the room; it was like a Dickens novel, with supporters from many different times and places coming along for the send-off.  Photos coming ......

Stay tuned to tales from the road, Following the Applause in France!

Railway Station rocks, and other events: 3 - 6 June

Way back last Thursday, so long ago I can hardly remember, the Hellhounds played their last for a while at Sharky Bar - a break forced by the temporary departure of the Swedish Ambassador for a good two months.  This hardworking jack-of-all-axes will be sorely missed by the musical community of Phnom Penh.  We gave him a good send off from Sharky and know that the Hellhounds will rise again.

Friday night, back at Sharky again, was another familiar instalment in the saga of the Lazy Jazz Drunks, including line up changes within an hour of taking the stage, and a general shortage of traffic police on the stand.  Still, we saw - and heard - the highly entertaining bass debut of the Mythical Dude amid some thumping and valiant blues rock complete with false endings, a brief guest singer, and some weird and wonderful jamming on an extended Whole lotta love.   Some pics are here:  Sharky Blog

The big night of the week of course was Saturday, when the much unused Phnom Penh railway station was converted into a party venue, including a train trip off to a rice field, where the Phnom Penh Hot Strings delighted the delightable crowd, then returning to a great gathering of people who rocked out to the Cambodian Space Project on the platform.  This is well documented here and here.  A great night that was only hampered by the DJs coming on too early  ; )

Then on Sunday the public debut of Espresso Thmei took place at Paddy Rice.  And not such a bad crowd for a Sunday night either.  The pocket-sized version of the CSP mixes in a number of brand new songs with the regular CSP repertoire, and, through the different and more acoustic setting, brings the lovely voice of Srey Thy well to the fore.  And it's a pleasure to play.  And Thy's newest biggest fan wrote it up as well.

see you around.