Your Big Fat Guide to the Weekend Ahead

Friday

What’s On Show?

Love urban art? KBach Arts launches their brand new exhibition at Exchange Square today with this early-doors opening party. Check out choice pieces from the gallery’s collection amid live painting, music, and food and drink at the Hard Rock Café. (4.30-6pm, Hard Rock Cafe Exchange Square. Free entry).

What’s On Screen?

The French Institute shows the heartwarming In the Courtyard tonight at 7pm, telling the story of a shy failed musician who takes a job as a janitor in a crumbling Paris building and develops a friendship with a lonely resident (7pm @ Institut Français du Cambodge, St 184. Tickets $2 for non-members. French with English Subtitles)

Over at the Bophana Centre, there’s a special lineup of short documentaries exploring ethnic minorities in Cambodia, followed by a Khmer-language discussion (5pm-8.30pm, Bophana Cineclub, St 200. Free entry. Khmer, no subtitles).

What’s On Stage?

The rowdy Irish boys (and Jack) of The Goldilocks Zone return to LF Social Club for a big old alt-rock singalong (9pm, LF Social Club, St 308. Free entry). Next door at LF Garden, you can chill with a $1 beer and $5 pizza as the lovely Lisa Conception serenades you with soulful covers (8pm, LF Garden, St 308. Free entry).

At Alchemcy, Euan Gray leads a jazz trio (8pm, St 123. Free entry). Nepalese psychedelic-rock outfit Samsara play a set of originals and Nepalese / Bollywood rock covers at Cloud (8pm, St 9), there’s blues guitar courtesy of Gonzalo at Red Bar (8.30pm, St 308. Free entry.), folk and soul from Ernie Buck at Botanico (7pm, St 29).

What’s On Late?

The glamorous Sora Skybar and Kingdom Beer host a Tokyo-themed night on the roof tonight, with $3 Japanese-inspired cocktails, somewhat less Japanese craft beers and tunes from DJ Melyna (8pm-1am, Sora Skybar, Rosewood Hotel, Vattanac Tower, St 106. Free entry).

The big one tonight is shaping up to be Cubik’s latest instalment, featuring Top 100-rated DJ Jasper James. Usually found playing hefty venues like London’s Fabric or the party circuit in Ibiza and LA, Jasper James is bringing his world-class sound to Heart of Darkness, supported by DJ StrangeFruit, DJ Sequence and more. (10pm-very late, Heart of Darkness, St 51. $6 before 12 / $8 after / Free Jägermeister miniature for first 100 entries)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_bCO0Nv39s

Saturday

What’s On Show?

Sci-fi buff? Fascinated by the idea of different dimensions? Things are getting trippy tonight at Bong the Gallery’s Spectrum of the Multiverse – an exhibition of paintings by Douglas Victor Rahotan (7pm, Bong the Gallery, Sothearos Boulevard)

What’s On Screen?

Early risers can catch the energetic animated feature Aya of Yop City, telling the tale of an ambitious young woman in the Ivory Coast as she strives to become.a doctor in the late 1970s (10am @ Institut Français du Cambodge, St 184. $2 non-members. French with English subtitles)

If you haven’t seen the critically acclaimed, multiple-award-winning A Cambodian Spring yet, now’s your chance: it gives a powerful picture of the forced evictions and land grabs in the Boeung Kak (lakeside) area of Phnom Penh that very nearly triggered a revolution in 2013. [Full disclosure: I can’t even get through the trailer without welling up. It’s stirring stuff] (12pm @ The Flicks, St 95. Khmer with English subtitles. Cover charge $4.50)

Also at the Flicks this afternoon is compelling documentary The Brink, which charts the frightening rise of banker-turned-right-wing-hack-turned-political-strategist Steve Bannon as he stomps around the world, aiding and abetting far-right populist movements. The word ‘AAARRGH’ comes to mind. (2.15pm, included in $4 all-day Flicks ticket. In English).

What’s On Stage?

Scott “Scoddy” Bywater launches his new EP, Quietly Blue, with an acoustic set at Bona’s Pub tonight. Codes for digital downloads of the album are also on sale for $2 (9pm, Bona’s Pub, St 130)

LF Garden hosts another Irish band tonight: folk-rock newcomers The Riel Capital, (8pm, LF Garden, St 308. Free entry). The 6-piece Havana Kings lead Alchemy’s Latin Night (8pm, Alchemy, St 123. Free entry). Australian veteran singer-songwriter Peter Doyle plays at Good Times Bar (10pm, St 19. Free entry), Gonzalo & Poca infuse the Blues with Spanish guitar at Botanico (7pm, St 29. Free entry), and perky pop-cover aficionados Boxchords play the Bassac Lane street party set (9pm, Bassac Lane / St 308. Free entry).

Or for something truly unusual, head to Follies Bayou, Bouchon’s New Orleans themed night, complete with Cajun menu and music, cocktails based on Bayou Rum – and a 1920s dress code. (8.30-11.30pm, Bouchon Wine Bar, St 174. Free entry.)

What Else?

If the resistible rise of Steve Bannon has pushed up the old rage-o-meter, turn that frown (and possibly your opponent) upside down at a Combat Sambo class. At this martial arts training session you’ll learn the correct way to fall, strike, take down and pin someone to the ground (7.15am @ Aikido-Judo Association, Olympic Stadium).

And finally… what’s the only thing better than a pool party on a hot Phnom Penh afternoon? That’s right: a PRIDE-THEMED pool party with a live DJ and cabaret show, $1 jello shots, a prize for the best/most colourfully dressed guest… and a percentage of sales going to Rainbow Community Kampuchea, supporting LGBTQ rights in the Kingdom. Don’t forget the glitter! (11am-midnight, Mad Monkey Hostel, St 302).

Sunday

What’s On the Menu?

The amazing new Kbach Artspace hosts Blues, Beats and Brunch this afternoon, with food by the excellent Cambodia Catering Company and music from Gerard Evans – and a backdrop of artworks by Cambodia’s top creative talent. Fancy sticking around after your food? There’s a free screening of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on offer, too. (12-3pm, Kbach Arts, The Factory).

Need to cool down with something sweet? Pop into ARTillery’s ice cream tasting event to discover how the luxurious LyLy ice creams and sorbets are made, and to try a few flavours for yourself (2pm-3.30pm, ARTillery, St 240 1/2)

What’s On Screen?

Feeling a little delicate this morning? Soothe the hangover with a double dose of nostalgia at the Flicks.  The indie cinema is showing Toy Story 1 at 11am, followed by Dumbo at 12.30 (The Flicks, St 95. English only. All-day ticket $4).

In a similar vein, for big kids or those with *actual* children, The Secret Life of Pets 2 plays at Legend Cinemas at various times throughout the day.  (1.45pm & 5.50pm, Legend City Mall /  11.45am Tuol Kork / 12pm and 5.15pm (3D) at Exchange Square. In English with Khmer subtitles.)

What Else?

Pick up some gorgeous handcrafted items at Siem Reap brand Trunkh’s one-day pop-up shop at Hub Street Cocktails. There’s also a raffle to raise funds for the Animal Mama Veterinary Hospital (11am-4pm, Hub Street Cocktails, St 21).

That’s all from us this week, folks! Have a blast and we’ll see you on the other side.