Category: Night & Day

WED 17 | If you thought punk was over… well, you were right, for the most part. This Wednesday, however, Show Box is bringing it back with a one-off event specially for all the hardcore hibernators out there. Punk legends King Ly Chee have travelled all the way from Hong Kong to Phnom Penh just to remind us what true hardcore sounds like. With nine albums, 15 years of experience and a huge fan base behind them, anyone who’s into head-banging alternative music should get along. If that’s not reason enough, local favourites Sliten6ix will reemerge from a year-long hiatus specifically to support King Ly Chee. With a good experience here and a little luck, they might even spread the word on the rest of their Asian tour and Phnom Penh will get to see more of it in the future. Hey, we’re allowed to dream.

WHO: King Ly Chee & Sliten6ix
WHAT: Live punk
WHERE: Show Box, #11 St. 330
WHEN: 8pm, June 17
WHY: You can’t grow a scene without punters.

THU 04 | “See, observe and transform.” This is textile and print artist Marine Ky’s mantra when it comes to printmaking, and it’s not something she takes lightly. The meticulous attention to detail in her work stems from “working and concentrating oneself on the same section, again and again.” Perhaps that explains why her latest exhibition, Optical Screens & The Earth, showcases pieces spanning over a decade. For this reason, it’s even more weird and wonderful that the impermanency of printmaking – a process that both creates and destroys – is what Ky most beautiful. Her prints are without a doubt visually striking and fastidiously crafted, reflecting a level of patience foreign to many of us. Appreciate them to their fullest with the knowledge that you didn’t have to hang around the whole 15 years of their creation.

WHO: Marine Ky
WHAT: Printmaking Exhibition
WHERE: Meta House, #37 Sothearos Blvd.
WHEN: 6pm, June 4
WHY: 15 years of work suggests this isn’t a slapdash job.

FRI 05 | This Friday, Alley Bar welcomes Aussie-born composer Euan Gray and “Phil” (who we can only assume is awesome, as he has apparently earned himself a Madonna-like first-name-only status already. Well done, Phil). Having previously collaborated on the Songkites project (Nikki Nikki, Jimmy Kiss), they will once again reunite, merging their unique styles and experience into an upbeat fusion of pop and jazz.

WHO: Euan Gray & Phil
WHAT: Pop/jazz night
WHERE: The Alley Bar,
WHEN: 8pm, June 5
WHY: Jazz that won’t leave you yawning.

FRI 05 | If it’s been a while since you’ve let down your hair, make it happen this Friday when Wat A Gwaan bring their favourite underground selections to the D-Club dance floor. Expect everything from deep roots and reggae to dubstep and jungle D&B. It’s going to be heavy, messy and steamy in there, so make sure you keep hydrated with free beer from 10:30-11:30pm.

WHO: Wat A Gwaan
WHAT: Jungle/Dub/Dnb/Ragga
WHERE: D-Club, #3 St. 278
WHEN: 10pm, June 5
WHY: Go jungle without leaving the city.

SAT 06 | Think reggae and immediately memories of gnarly dreadlocks, hazy rooms and suspicious aromas start flooding in. Vibratone are set to challenge the stereotype this Saturday with not a matted lock in sight among its six members who’ll be laying down their grooves in the decorous FCC. Equipped with some seriously soul-grabbing original reggae and roots numbers, their music stands alone as some of the most powerful, authentic reggae currently emerging from the Kingdom.

WHO: Vibratone
WHAT: Live reggae/roots
WHERE: The FCC, #363 Sisowath Quay
WHEN: 8:30pm, June 6
WHY: Raw reggae riddims.

SAT 06 | Joe Wrigley and his guitar have travelled the world in search of musicians with whom he could share his love of rockabilly music. Stumbling across British drummer Andy Potter and South-African bassist Andre Swart, his prayers were answered, thus, Joe Wrigley & The Jumping Jacks were formed. They echo the stripped-down sound of Johnny Cash’s Tennessee Two and The Blue Moon Boys and, with a bassist and drummer who both stand at 6.5 feet tall, they offer both a visually and aurally transfixing set to witness.

WHO: Joe Wrigley & The Jumping Jacks
WHAT: Rockabilly/roots trio
WHERE: Sharky Bar, #126 St. 130
WHEN: 9pm, June 6
WHY: It’s an entertaining spectacle all-round.

SAT 06 | If you owned a club, who would you want spinning the decks at its 3rd Anniversary party? You brother’s mate? The guy who always seems to get a fairly good dance floor happening at that club you sometimes go to? All logical and relatively feasible options. Except if you’re the crew at Nova club, who thought, “What would Dr. Dre do?” Well, he’d get his official DJ to play, of course. So that’s exactly what they did. This Saturday, DJ Jam – DJ for Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Warren G – will be dishing the beats for what’s bound to be a monumental occasion for all involved. After meeting Snoop in 1989 and collaborating with Dre a few months later, Jam was approached individually by both of the infamous rappers to be their tour DJ. If you really need more reason to see him, check out what he had to tell us on page 6.

WHO: DJ Jam
WHAT: Nova’s 3rd Anniversary
WHERE: Nova Club, #19 St. 214
WHEN: 9pm, June 6
WHY: If you can’t trust in Snoop and Dre, what else is there?

TUE 09 | Many may remember attending packed out events at Opera Café a few years back when it was a hot little spot for live entertainment during the evenings. Recuperating for the last few years as a lunch/dinner venue only, New Opera Café has reawakened as much more than just a daylight feeding hole. New Opera Café returns as an after-dark live music venue on Tuesday night with Hot Club de Phnom Penh, a lively jazz manouche band that’s likely to have you tapping your feet. And while that would normally be enough to work up a sweat right now, the venue has you covered with their blasting A/C system that is in itself a reason to make this place a regular nightly retreat.

WHO: Hot Club jazz band
WHAT: Opening of New Opera Café
WHERE: New Opera Café, #188 St. 13
WHEN: 8:30pm, June 9
WHY: We missed them (also, air-conditioning)!

THU 28 | Journalists Nicolas Axelrod and Denise Hruby’s long-awaited photo book will be officially launched at Meta House this Thursday. Transitioning Cambodia is the first photo book to showcase Cambodia’s rapidly transitioning society and landscape. The compelling pictures and text juxtapose Phnom Penh’s developing city (with a growing wealthy minority) against its resulting land evictions and displaced communities. The presentation by the book’s creators is bound to be equal parts eye-opening and disquieting. For a taste of what to expect, read our cover story on page 6.

WHO: Nicolas Axelrod & Denise Hruby
WHAT: Book launch
WHERE: Meta House, #37 Sothearos Blvd.
WHEN: 8pm, May 28
WHY: An essential look at the lives affected by local industrial growth.

FRI 29 | The Alley Bar is on the ball with their latest injection of fun-filled shenanigans. This time they’re going all out with a three-day festival celebrating the city’s street art, design, music, photography and clothing. Teaming up with notorious curators of fun, 40 Thieves and The Creem, Alley Bar and the laneway will transform into a gallery, stage, DJ booth, and performance space, featuring an exhaustive musical line-up: 40 Thieves SoundSystem,  DJs Alan Ritchie, DJ Bree and Dr. WahWah, Papa Dub, Drop Dead Disco, Hot Club Prive PP and Radioactive Anne. Street artist Chifumi will also present his iconic work, with Monkey Arts Cooperative and Art Cult adding to the wonderful mess of colour and creativity. 40 Thieves Apparel will additionally sell their streetwear at a pop up clothes shop. With all of that going on, it’s no wonder they’ll need three days to pack it all in.

WHO: Local artists, DJs & musicians
WHAT: Three-day festival
WHERE: Alley Bar, #82 St. 244
WHEN: 6pm, May 28-May 30
WHY: It’s three whole days of creativity and fun.