Bangkok pt.1

So it has taken me a while to collect my thoughts and get around to posting, but here is the first installment of my adventures in South East Asia.
Bangkok is like NYC on steroids, roughly 10 million people from every ethnicity you can imagine, nonstop, neon and beautiful. Hanging with my sister was amazing and this city is crazy and all out gold!

The fist thing we did when I got into town was to get some great food on the streets and feed an elephant that was hanging out at a busy intersection. After that is was time for me to sleep, 18 hrs. is a long plane trip.
The next day it was off to meet some of Kim's friends at Crepes & Co. a great little French/ Thai restaurant were we ate..... well you can guess. Than we went walking through Bencha Siri Park were I saw a great game played with a rattan ball called Takraw, think volleyball meets soccer, no hands, but crazy kicks. After that we went to the Asain Hebal Association to get full Thai massages, it was amazing even without the happy ending. Later that night Kim and I braved the Patpong Night Market, in one of Bangkok's "red light" districts, and no I did not go see the "ping pong" shows but I did by some great gifts.

The following day Kim had to work so I decided to go explore the city. I had a great day. traveling along the Chao Phraya River by water taxi and visiting the breathtaking temples along it's banks. Starting with the Wat Phra Chetophon (The Reclining Buddha) and then on to Wat Aruan Ratcha Wararam (Temple of The Dawn), than onto one of the most incredible buildings I have ever been in The Grand Palace that houses Wat Phra Kaew (The Emerald Buddha) endless gold and brilliant colors. I had to rent pants to wear because it is the Kings Palace. Next I wondered through Bangkok in the rain trying to find Wat Suthat and Sao Ching Chao (The Giant Swing). Almost the minute after I found the temple it started to pour down and cooled off about 15 degrees it was great!! Once the rain stopped I headed off to the UN building to meet my sister after work. We than went to grab some food at a restaurant called In Love, great sushi and Thai food all while looking out over the river lit up by the night. And finally a tuk tuk ride home to pack for Vietnam.

The next morning we went to the UN for Kim to get some work done before our afternoon flight. As we headed downtown we realized that something strange was going on as road after road was closed and there seemed to be a growing police presence. We finally made it to the office just in time for them to tell us to leave that part of the city. The PAD (People's Alliance for Democracy) was on the move and the police were tired of it. We made it to the airport anyway and it was off to Ho Chi Minh City.

Life in Pyropolis...

So I went to Burning Flipside Pyropolis 2008. My first time since bringing a couple of bands there in 2000 (@ rec. plant.).

So this is basically Austin's version of the burning family of events.

First a little history:

Zazobra started in 1958 (Santa Fe, NM) and this is the first "modern festival" based around burning an effigy to rid a town of bad vibes or hatred. 

Than it mutated into Burning Man in 1986 (Black Rock Desert, NV). 

Started by a bunch of rockers who wanted to go out into the desert and play music real loud and burn shit.

Slowly the rave people and the lost rainbow gather's joined in and the whole idea just blew up....

But what is that idea?  

Is  it just a reason to get away and be somebody else for a little while.....

I think the simple answer is yes!

It may "stand" for something else, something more important, but in reality I think it is really just a rock and roll, trip out thing to to for a few days.

Now don't get me wrong I think it is an important thing for most people.

I believe most of us have a need to get out of our selves for awhile and pretend we are more in touch or feeling of ourselves and others.

This said I got to experience this with one of the coolest and in my opinion most important camps. Burning Glam!

These are a bunch of vintage people who understand that getting people to let go of their inhibitions by even just dressing strange for a little while is the heart of what these festivals are all about!!!!

Aside from a little cold front of silly drama I had a pretty great time.

My only major compaint is that the electro "rave" kids are still playing stupid ass house music.......My god do any of you realize how far techno has come in the last 10 years....Damn.

On this same note  I must give props to the Flideside local radio station and the DJ @ ish on  Sat. nite... "Miss America" hell ya!

Finland

After a few weeks back in Austin we headed back across the pond,
this time to Finland as part of the Kiasma Festival.
We performed at Espoo City Theatre on October 11th and 12th.
Our first day after our tech they booked us on a little bus tour where we saw a monument to composer Jean Sibelius and Temppeliaukio Kirkko (Rock Church) that was created out from a rocky outcrop that rose about 40 feet above street level, and had it's walls blasted out the from the inside.
Although we stayed and performed in Espoo, nights were spent with the Kiasma staff in Helsinki, eating good food and drinking, at a couple of bars owned by the The Brothers Karamazov and then going to a bar that used to be a haunt of Hanoi Rocks!!!
The final day we went down to the harbor to see the last day of the Long Boat Festival and catch the end of the outdoor farmers market for the season.
Shawn and I decided to good to Suomenlinna, the large fort in the harbor, on this very cold, and rainy day.
The island fort was eerily empty as the rain and wind swept across it. And we soon felt as if we were in the middle of some weird horror movie (werewolf I think).
Somehow we made it out back for one last good dinner and the sad end to a wonderful tour. This was truly one of the greatest experiences of my life!

Bumbershoot

So now back to the USA and back to being treated like rock stars and were else would be better than at a music festival. The Bumbershoot 2007 Festival in Seattle was quite a treat for us. In addition to all of the of the natural beauty that the Seattle region has to offer, we also got to perform in the world class facilities of the Seattle Repertory Theatre in the Bagley Wright Theatre. The weather was amazing the people were generous, we stayed at the Crown Plaza Hotel along with John Legend and a host of other performers at the festival. I saw some amazing music including Devotchka, Barrington Levy, Andrew Bird, Honeycut, Gogol Bordello, and my personal favorite Zap Mama. Seeing Zap Mama was like watching the perfect blend of Bjork and Funkadelic, I think it has been years since I have seen a performance of that caliber. The festival took place at THe Seattle Center which is a 10 square block of land down town under the Space Needle and right next to the Frank Gehry Music and Sci Fi museum. We also went to the Pikes Place Market were there was miles of fresh fish, flowers and hand crafts, a feast for the senses, and yes I did watch them throw some fish around. All in all it was amazing trip but I am happy to be back in Austin for 3 weeks before we go off to Helsinki.

Edinburgh: week 4

So this was the final week in Edinburgh. The week were you run around like crazy trying to see everything you possibly can and buy as many gifts for people as you can still afford.  Train trips to Sterling Castle one day , Blackness Castle/ Linlithgow Palace and finally out to North Berwick to go swimming in the North Sea. It was also the week to see the last couple of performances that you could catch before the festival is over (there are over 1,000 different performances over the month!!!).  So I went to see the Aska Japanese drum troupe, The Soweto Gospel Choir from South Africa, a Brazilian dance company and finally an incredible sound installation by Ray Lee [UK] called Siren. This week was a time to be happy to return to our loved ones, even if only for one day, and a time to be sad as we said goodbye to some truly amazing people.
Week 4 was also the week to do all the things that had become a part of our everyday lives..... one last trip to The Mussel Inn, another pint of Belhavens Best and one last all nighter with our international group of cronies.
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival was truly one of the most amazing trips of my life and I only hope I will get to return some day.
Now off to Seattle.

Edinburgh: week 3

So week three is the one were you feel like you are in a real groove but also start becoming aware of the fact that the stay is slowly wrapping up. So Ron, Jose and I took a bus out to Cramdon Village to see some coast line and cast a view out to the North Sea, I also decided to try a local dish called chicken highlander: chicken breast stuffed with haggis and wraped in bacon (what was I thinking?). On our day off this week some of the Aurora Nova staff organized a pot luck at the theater. It was so great to hang out and talk to performers from all over the world, at one point I think I counted six different languages being spoken at one time. The night was full of fun, food, and drink and ended in a long musical jam session. I went to see Alan Cummings in a new reworking of Bacchae as part of the International Theatre Festival. It was really fun to watch, great special effects and fun R&B chorus. Jason, Jose and I hiked Arthur's Seat to get the most amazing view of the surrounding area. We also saw the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where the Queen stays when she is in Scotland, and the new Parliament building which I think is quite nice looking, but is evidently very controversial with locals. 

Edinburgh: week 2

So after a week of some tech problems and small houses we are up and running!
Our German crew is great and are putting in some insane hours to keep our venue going. I have already seen some really amazing work here, a beautiful puppet show form Georgia, some cabaret about death from France and an amazing table instrument from Poland (4 compositions, 4 players, 1 incredible table).
I must say that it is very strange to be in a city this size that is completely over run by theater and art people. This truly in the biggest arts festival I have ever seen!
Shawn, Jason and I went to Edinbrugh Castle. Uber tourist, but great history and wide view of the area. I think I found a family name in the historical records that are kept there.
We recieved a great local review and The London Times is doing a piece on the show this week, still waiting to here from the BBC...
So far everyone has been really great to us, and it looks like James Kelman old friend of the Rude Mechs and world renowned author is going to come to the show next week.