Sharky Bar & Restaurant

Sharky Bar & Restaurant

Friday, October 28, 2011

Oktoberfest Weekend 21/22 October, 2011






More photo's here...
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Preface: The Oktoberfest tradition began back in 1810 to celebrate the October 12th marriage of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig to the Saxon-Hildburghausen Princess Therese. The citizens of Munich were invited to a five-day festival on the fields outside the city gates. It has been celebrated every year since !

Sharky Bar & Restaurant pulled out all the stops last weekend in 'time honoured tradition' to celebrate their inaugural Oktoberfest Weekend ! This featured not one, but two great bands, as well as the usual Bavarian fayre - great German Food, hearty German Drink and even our very own Sharky 'Beer' Frauleins !

To get the party going, Masterchef Big Al served up a great Oktoberfest Platter of German Farmers Sausage, Roast Pork, Sauerkraut, Zucchini Fritters, Home Made Rhye Bread (German style) and Potato Salad. Very reasonably priced at $5 and served with a cold Edwinger (half-litre) Bottle German Beer for an extra couple bucks! Fantastic value and 'sold out' on both nights ! Great stuff !

And if the 'food or the beer' didn't get you in the mood, or maybe even if the beautifully attired Sharky 'Beer' Frauliens didn't catch your eye - then it was left to 'The Phnom Penh Hippies Orchestra' to provide the musical backdrop for this great Oktoberfest Weekend.

And they didn't fail. The music although not quite Oompah - was of course the traditional Bavarian Polka that 'The Hippies' are renowned for - and the large Sharky crowd - well, they just loved it !

'Ten Hippies' this time round come Friday Night - and playing every possible instruments known to man - their overall sound was just fantastic ! (*Note: special mention to MC Ross for providing a perfect mix. )

Suffice to say, the eclectic collaboration of so many muscians, from so many countries, was a pleasure to see and quite a musical evening to behold.

'HavaNagilah', 'Schlittenfahrtnach St. Petersburg', 'Der Zug um 7.40 Uhr', 'Saragina Rumba', 'HevenuSchalomAlejchem' and 'Radio-Tele-Moskau' - were just a few of the timeless classics - played with the energy, vibe and showmanship - that one has come accustomed too from this great band !

There was even time for a 'take-on' Henry Mancini's 'Pink Panther Theme' - as well as an unexpected version of Carlos Santana's 'Oye Como Va' (with Matthias playing lead on his violin - quite superb !)

However, the fun part of the night belonged to 'Hippie Bunthong' and 'Sharky Beer Fraulein' (Sophea) - for their romantic Cambodian folklore duet !

Quite mesmirising - and not a dry-eye-in-the-place as they both sang 'one after the other' the lines of this traditional khmer song ! Truly, magical !

The dancing Sharky crowd by this time were loving every second of the Hippies performance - and after a non-stop 'three hour set' - the curtain closed on what was a great evening of bohemian-polka style type entertainment !

Absolutely Awesome !

The Phnom Penh Hippie Orchestra: Bunthong, Clarinet (Cambodia), Dave, Bass Guitar (New Zealand), Gabriel, Electric Piano (Italy), Giacomo, Accordion (Italy), Jonathan, Trombone (New Zealand), Sammnang, Violin (Cambodia), Steve, Mandolin (Scotland), Thomas, Drums (France), Tim, Guitar (England) and Matthias, Violin (Germany.)

Saturday Night 'The Hippies' returned but this time round, had transformed into a more formal Jazz/Funk type of ensemble called 'The Hot Strings Jazz Club.'

With Big Al's Oktoberfest German Platter selling like 'hot cakes' (literally) - and the Sharky 'Beer' Frauliens having mastered the art of clutching 'six or seven' mugs of beer to serve to thirsty customers - the stage was set for another night of Bavarian hospitality !

The band didn't disappoint. More ' smoking jackets and long type ciggarettos' than the previous night - but nevertheless the sultry, charm of the jazzy feel atmosphere generated by the black-shirted bandy, was not lost on the enthralled audience.

Swing, Tango, Funk, Jazz and even a little boogie - let the Sharky patrons in no doubt - that 'The Hot Strings Jazz Club' are a 'class act' in their own right !

Be it, Louis Armstrongs 'Hello Dolly', Frank Sinatras 'Strangers In The Night' or even Glenn Miller 'St. Louis Blues' - the bands renditions were simply just brilliant !

Gabby on electric piano was quite pulsating with his non-stop rhythms, while Thomas on drums and percussion was upbeat and enjoyable to watch.

With Matthias switching effortlessly from violin to harmonica up-front. His harp playing on the final three songs 'Go Funk Yourself', 'Straight No Chaiser' and 'Bye Bye Boogie' - were nothing short of sensational !

However, it was Bunthong on clarinet who stole the show. His interplay with Matthias was quite brilliant - as was his improvised solo's and overall muscianship. A class act from this up and coming young khmer star !

A near faultless performance from 'The Hot Strings Jazz Club' and a perfect climax to what was a great Oktoberfest weekend !

Unbelievable !

Hot Strings Jazz Club: Bunthong, Clarinet (Cambodia), Dave, Bass (New Zealand), Gabrielle, Electric Piano (Italy), Thomas, Drums (France), Tim, Guitar (England) and Matthias, Violin & Harmonica (Germany)

* plus guest appearance from a flutist (name unknown), but breath-taking all the same.

Footnote: Oktoberfest attracts over six million visitors to the Munich Beer Halls every year. During the 16 day festival, over 1.5 million gallons of beer, 200,000 pairs of pork sausages and 480,000 spit-roasted chickens are consumed.

Sharky Bar & Restuarant are more the happy to allow their customers the chance to 'join in and enjoy' the festival that is Oktoberfest !

We hope that you did ! See you next time !

Cheerz Dave The Punk (Sharky Bar Manager)

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