Art Opening

Throwing one of long time good customers a bone here. (Maui) Dave Richards had an opening last night displaying watercolor paintings at the Art Cafe on Street 108. Coming from an art background myself, I don't have the eclectic comments and other crap that Ärt Critics" speak of when they review shows, but I can say it was a great showing and a fun event. Nice variety of subjects done in the Dave Richards style and some fun pieces depicting some Phnom Penh life. See it for yourself.

The show will continue through the end of the month, but you can only view when the Art Cafe is open which is Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Dave has done quite a few pieces for locals around town, me included. You can also catch a big mural of his at Lone Star Saloon on Street 172. Most nights you can catch Dave at the 8 Ball table in Sharky!


Doc, a sophisticated art critic right, and Dave with friends below.

Fourth of July 2009

4th of July Phnom Penh Style.... First time in a while that the 4th fell on a Saturday. Sharky has always provided the only show in town on the actual 4th date, but this year the US Embassy which celebrates on the following weekend was going head to head with us and Lone Star put on an early feed as well.

Al took the Fat Boy crew over to the Embassy and in conjunction with Dan Meats put on a great BBQ. I only wish I had Hurley and the Cantina Crew next to us to swap food and Margaritas with!!!

Meanwhile back at Sharky, Mike, Ross and I (and the girls in the Kitchen) put together the annual 4th BBQ. Normally when Al puts on his Sunday BBQ you need to be here on time. Not this time... I got stuck at the grill as we sold plates up until 8PM. Good spread of Burgers, Sausages, Ribs, Dogs and BBQ chicken. The Curtis King Band got to load up on some good eats after a brief afternoon rehearsal. Curtis and Simon top left.

Curtis rolled in from a gig in Hanoi just in time. The Band was tight and had Curtis not made it, the show would have gone on. Real pros! As the EDC switched the grid around 11:45PM, we lost power. Well the drummer kept the beat going and horns blared and the power came back on and the band chimed in with out missing a beat. Awesome!

Ruat, Curtis and Saran displaying the Patriotic colors of the day.

In the mix were some original songs, Stones, CCR, and Led Zepplin covers. DJ Turbo from Love FM was also in the house.

Cameo apperances from Barrack Obama and Uncle Sam. Mr. Lee demonstrating the real laziness of a day off.

Ross, and Sophorn and Friends, while Sean works his magic with the Fat Boys Staff in hopes of getting a free sandwich at a later date.





The Band mixing it up. Christine belting out the Blues.


Tony and Alin waiting of a meal. The Drummers always in the background....well front and center here! Pauv taking a much needed break.

Sangkor below is just what Uncle Sam needs to bolster its recruiting! That beer wouldn't hurt either!

Great turnout and great to see faces in the crowd that we haven't seen in a while. Thanks to all for coming.

July is still action packed. Route 66 returns on the 17th and 18th and on the 25th Dr. JP and the Nurses will be on stage. And more summer fun in August as well.

Dave, Dad and all you others in the west....see what your missing!


Jim

4th of July Reminder

Saturday July 4th just a reminder, the Curtis King Band will be performing from 9PM on wards.


We will also be putting on our annual 4th BBQ starting at 5PM. $7.75 Burger, Dogs, Chicken and Ribs and more, with free flow of Angkor Draft until 9PM.

In Just an Hour

Monday about 3:15pm the skies opened up and it poured for an hour solid. Just a view of the havoc the heavy rains have on the city.


To the right is a picture looking south on Street 13 (towards Psar Kandal) from 130. Surprisingly the Rav 4 didn't stall out. Many motos however did. I was on my way into Sharky on Street 130 and opted to turn around and head north to 110 to navigate some shallower waters and down Street 19 to 130. On both 19 and 130 I still had to travel down the center of the road. I managed not having to stop (which results in putting your feet in the sewage water), and kept my feet up. If you do have to get your feet wet, make sure you bleach them off soon. The flood relief project is supposed to alleviate this problem, however places that never flooded seem to have lost their run off options while construction is taking place.

Seen below is the aftermath traffic issues as people get off work and look for shallow routes home. A view from Sharky towards the riverfront an a view of Street 19 backing up at Street 130 from Sharky balcony.


As with all the pictures on the blog, you just click on the image for a larger view.

Weekend Highlights

Route 66 rolled into town and really entertained this weekend. On Friday Jean Philippe, Nulen and drummer from the Taxi Boys performed a short opener.

Route 66 brought along a new bass player and they put on great show. Familiar hits included Honky Tonk Woman, Black Magic Woman, Suzie Q, Hey Joe, and Cocaine. During a rendition of Voodoo Chile, The EDC "chopped them down with the edge of their hand". A few minute power outage as they switched over the grids cut the song short.







A great crowd and some happy faces!



Dancing to the band towards the end of the last set.












The Bass player giving some pointers. Teaching music was never so much fun! Even Ross got some pointers.



Apsara dancing in the Cage. The Germans were back and demonstrating their Issan moves to Jintra. The harmonica player in the band, however wouldn't be out done.





















The Pool tables were active. Nary, Atou and Da demonstrating their skills.

Our pool girl Rom wishing she was back at the tables and not pouring beer.












Mom and Amai oblivious to Ian's antics....

And a few antics of my own.
















July should be action packed. We will keep you posted.

At this point, its the BBQ and Curtis King Band, Saturday the 4, Hope to get Route 66 back again the weekend of the 17th, and on the 25th Dr. JP and the Nurses.

A few Updates

Just a reminder, Route 66 will be in again on Friday and Saturday June 27th and 28th. Get in early and grab a meal and the fun starts at 9PM. Always a pleasure having them come up from the beach to entertain us with some great classic rock and roll.

Also Friday is $1.00 House Specials from 10PM until 2AM. Saturday, is Mexican Madness with $1.00 Tequila Shots & $1.50 Margaritas. Wash ém down with some great Mexican food. Best in South East Asia! Beef, Bean, Chicken Burritos; Beef, Chicken, Pork, and Fish Tacos and; Quesadillas and More! Odale hue!


Also, every weeknight and all night on Thursday, Ladies Night. Drink, and Laab, Fried Rice, and Fried Noodles Specials for the girls! I could have sworn last Tuesday was Ladies night. The town is a little slow these days and counting heads in the crowd there were 50 girls and 25 guys! Two guys then walked out the door and 2 more girls came in. How good is that. Ross and Dave kept quite a few of them shaking in the Cage with dance tunes ranging from Old Skool to the latest hits of today.

4PM until 7PM Daily, Sharky's has draught beer for only a buck. Come on in and shoot a game of pool in the only venue in town with 4 pool tables!


Another Reminder!!! Curtis King Band will be in again on the 4th of July. Al will be doing the Embassy gig moving the best Sandwiches in town! The Bar BQ for July will coincide with the 4th festivities on Saturday. Ross and I will be running the grill cooking up the usual 4th of July favorites. Fun begins at 5PM.
$7.75 for the Bar BQ and free flow of Angkor Draught until 9PM. And as always Ross puts together a great welcome Bloody Mary.

The Germans

What can I say....the Germans have pretty good taste. The showed the world during WWII that they could make a fashion statement with their various uniforms. In fact our well known resident German, Marco is in the garment industry.

Fast forward to June 2009 and you can see that they still maintain the tradition.

We hope they continue to wear their shirts proudly and get those stickers all over their construction project.

That yard of beer seemed to stay in one place during the evening, but you sure couldn't by looking at this bunch. I think that yard made quite a few undetected rounds.

Fraulines Amai and Puon below, casually checking out the antics from the comfort of the stage.

We thought Marco had provided us with some good German music but it looks like we are going have to beef up our library a little. How much Scorpions can one handle? Fortunately the Thai entourage came in as we were able to get some Loso, Black Box, and a little Jintra in the mix.