life in Cambodia after Angelina Jolie

the very first photograph i took of Cambodia was the Olympic Stadium. you'd think it'd be the Royal Palace or the National Museum because i lived right across them. but, Howard Roark would be happy to hear, it was this severe structure, which i photographed during a work-related site check for an upcoming concert.the concert was of Ronan Keating, live in Phnom Penh last May 9th, promoted as the first major international act to perform in Cambodia. (albeit Michael Learns to Rock came out here last year.) as you might suspect, it was my first concert here, and a pretty big deal in the country. sure, farmers working the rice fields in far-flung provinces have absolutely no idea who Ronan Keating is, but in the city, everyone went to dip into this most exciting affair.everyone came out to wave their orange glow sticks and stand on their chairs and mouth the words to If Tomorrow Never Comes - apparently the biggest hit of Ronan Keating here it even has a Khmer version. again with the work-related, i also went backstage with winners of VIP passes, who got to meet Ronan Keating, autographs and posing in pictures and all.an exasperating ordeal: i had worked my ass off all summer to make Ronan Keating the most unforgettable thing to happen to Phnom Penh this year. (you'd know it if you called my phone, with its Ronan Keating ring back tone, plus i can now recite all the UK top ten hits of this guy.)still, it melts my heart that my work seems to have proferred pure, unadulterated joy to people who, resigned to the notion that no big music celebrity ever plays in Cambodia, really do think the world of meeting Ronan Keating in person in this lifetime.