Jan 2008
Rock and Roll
01/30/08 Filed in: Rambling
After three weeks in Asia and Australia that included
15 flights, 10 shows and abrupt cultural and climate
shifts, we are ready to head home.
Above: End of concert in Sydney (photo R.Dorion)
Below: Concert in Bangkok
Above: End of concert in Sydney (photo R.Dorion)
Below: Concert in Bangkok
Beijing is no Bangkok
01/24/08 Filed in: Rambling
On the "it's a small world" tour we spend on average 48 hours in each country. This never feels like enough time, until we got to Beijing, where suddenly I could not get out fast enough. We arrived in the PRC around 10PM and were held up by arguing customs officials who seemed to be unwilling to let the 14 of us into the country with our 51 items of luggage and gear. When we finally made it out of the airport and to the hotel, the bus was prohibited from pulling up in front of the hotel, meaning we would need to lug everything across curbs and snowbanks. Another argument broke out between our bus driver and a hotel worker and we finally unloaded the bus in front of the hotel. Then they did not have our rooms ready & seemed to be saying we might need to move to another hotel. Needless to say another argument occurred. Anyways, by the time we got to our rooms and dropped our bags it was midnight. Little did I realize this would be the easy part of our China Experience.
We began the show day by being told that our shuttle would be late because of "problems at the venue". But it turns out that the shuttle bus had just broken down and was replaced. Once we made it to the venue; a smelly convention hall with a rocket outside but no heat inside, I knew our day would be rough. I will not bore you with the details of having only one translator for the entire operation, who was also the promoter, stage manager and caterer. Because the biggest problem proved to be the electrical system in Beijing- which is ungrounded and seems totally unregulated. Over the course of the day we blew three transformers and this even before the start of the show. Actually the show was almost cancelled when the Chinese lighting team blew out all the electricity to our video system minutes before the doors were to open. Despite that awful smell of burning ozone from the blown transformer we scrambled to get video back up and running, while 2,000 people were standing in lines freezing outside the doors. The whole day was totally sketchy but the show happened and was good. But I could not get out of Beijing fast enough the next morning- even with the 5:30AM lobby call. We are now in sunny Australia for the rest of the tour- hallelujah!
Side note: The air pollution levels on an average day in Beijing are nearly five times above the World Health Organization standards for safety. The pollution that results from China's inefficient dependence on coal powered electric is visceral in Beijing.
Arrival in Bangkok
01/19/08 Filed in: Rambling
This was the scene at
the Bangkok Airport as we loaded our gear and
equipment into the cargo trucks. Show tonight and
tomorrow a day off to explore Thailand.
.
.
36 Hours in Singapore
01/16/08 Filed in: Rambling
Before Christmas the New
York Times Travel section had an article
entitled 36
Hours in Singapore and this is our next stop for just
about that length of time. While I doubt we will get
to see much of Singapore tonight after landing, I am
looking forward to 90 degree weather and tomorrow's
outdoor concert.
We had a great 48 hours in Tokyo and even managed to meet up with our friend Steve Nalepa (see past entires on DeKam vs Nalepa in Houston) who was in Tokyo to work on a new album with Matt, one of his DJ collaborators.
Last night in Tokyo (after our concert at the famous Budokan theater) we all went for dinner at the restaurant made famous by the sword fight between Uma Thurman and the Crazy 8s in the movie Kill Bill- it was cool.
We had a great 48 hours in Tokyo and even managed to meet up with our friend Steve Nalepa (see past entires on DeKam vs Nalepa in Houston) who was in Tokyo to work on a new album with Matt, one of his DJ collaborators.
Last night in Tokyo (after our concert at the famous Budokan theater) we all went for dinner at the restaurant made famous by the sword fight between Uma Thurman and the Crazy 8s in the movie Kill Bill- it was cool.
여보세요 from Korea
01/12/08 Filed in: Rambling
You Are Here highlights
01/10/08 Filed in: Ideas
There are short
highlights from the YouAreHere conference
now online at Vimeo.
YouAreHere was held at the Aurora Picture Show in Houston, Texas on November 30 and December 1, 2007. I curated this program (in collaboration with the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts at The University of Houston) which featured contemporary artists and curators exploring the interplay between art and geography, activism and cultural studies.
Presentations included Matt McCormick (Rodeo Films), Nato Thompson (Creative Time), The Institute for Applied Autonomy, and Matthew Coolidge (Center for Land Use Interpretation).
Start with the introduction to Matthew Coolidge's presentation "Points of Disinterest in the Gulf Coast Region", in which he contextualized the work of the CLUI. You will be able to access the other presentations from here.
YouAreHere was held at the Aurora Picture Show in Houston, Texas on November 30 and December 1, 2007. I curated this program (in collaboration with the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts at The University of Houston) which featured contemporary artists and curators exploring the interplay between art and geography, activism and cultural studies.
Presentations included Matt McCormick (Rodeo Films), Nato Thompson (Creative Time), The Institute for Applied Autonomy, and Matthew Coolidge (Center for Land Use Interpretation).
Start with the introduction to Matthew Coolidge's presentation "Points of Disinterest in the Gulf Coast Region", in which he contextualized the work of the CLUI. You will be able to access the other presentations from here.
If I controlled the internet
01/04/08 Filed in: Ideas
One of the best things
to happen in 2007 was that the folks from TED put
their conference talks online. These short video
clips are inspirational, way-out-there, stimulating,
challenging and simply amazing. This clip of the
storyteller & poet Rives is my favorite.
This week I have spent alot of time digitizing the video tapes from YouAreHere, the Houston-based conference that I organized back in December. I have been selecting short highlights from each presentation to post to Vimeo, for those who missed the conference or for those who simply don't want it to end. These video highlights will be posted soon, until then spend some time with more of the TED talks.
This week I have spent alot of time digitizing the video tapes from YouAreHere, the Houston-based conference that I organized back in December. I have been selecting short highlights from each presentation to post to Vimeo, for those who missed the conference or for those who simply don't want it to end. These video highlights will be posted soon, until then spend some time with more of the TED talks.