this will possibly be the last update for a couple of weeks as i am not sure which sites i can access when in china (1st-16th july).
following my phone theft in hanoi i pretty much stayed in the local area, working on a new piece for the performance at atk using recordings from argentina, australia, cambodia and vietnam. i did meet with luong hue trinh once more -we attended a pretty awful contemporary dance show at the youth theatre, and then went for some pho cuon (i think that's how you spelll it) and some other kind of noodle that is almost like tofu, deep fried and delicious! a lovely evening - thanks trinh.
and the next day i met with trang nguyen and her friend for lunch - more gorgeous noodles and beef -again no idea what this dish is called. maybe you guys can help me out here! trang is working with the onion cellar guys who arranged the concerts in hanoi and saigon for me.
so the concert began with me giving a short description of what is i do, and then i began to play, using sound exciters to play sounds from the back of the room as well as a little speaker device i bought in the market in hanoi.this little wonder takes micro sd cards and charges via usb -very handy for moving sounds around a room, and all for less than £10! the response to the show was great,especially as i think 99% of the audience had never been to this kind of show before...and then trinh took me to a little place run by vietnamese once again for some pork and tongue noodle soup.
the next day i caught a flight to saigon, visited the same are emma and i stayed in but found a place for $9 a night which was perfect. the lady running the place warned me of the thieves and prostitutes many times - what kind of a person does she think i am?? in the evening khuong (one of the onion cellar - the other being hung, but he's in london right now..) came to the hotel to take me to meet giang, who i was to perform alongside, at his family's restaurant. i can't even begin to discuss the food here as there was so much and it was all good!
another day of work and then an evening out with khuong once again to visit the venue, la fenetre soleil. we attended a music quiz where two french guys played the intros to songs and the crowd have to shout out the band/artist playing. as you can imagine, it got pretty rowdy, but it was good fun. i even got two right!
and then it was the day of the concert. we arrived around 7 and giang and i set up and briefly soundchecked, and all the while people were coming in, sitting down, chatting, eating... i started to wonder if they would actually stop and listenng to the show. and then it was upon me, khuong introducing me and asking people to be quiet, close the eyes and listen. and it went really well.the beginning wasn't noticed too much, but playing some loud rain sounds and moving the speaker and playing the venue's bell seemed to make people notice and concentrate more. i was definitely the calm before the storm, with giang starting with some abstracted beats and then filling the room with fuzz and feedback- a great set! and once again, we head out to a place no tourist would be likely to go and have some local delicacies like 1000 year old egg on deep fried rice - awesome!
at this point i'd like to thank hung, khuong, dougie at atk, trang, sebastien gesell for playing some great music at atk, giang, john at the word for his article that introduced me to the onion cellar guys, and especially trinh - you all made my last days in vietnam really special.
the day after the show i took the bus (at 9am) back across the border to phnom penh.arriving in the middle of the central market, i was taken by tuk tuk to the hometown hotel, where i am now. great big room with a fridge and aircon (which i have stopped using - maybe i'm used to the heat at last!). i visited the meta house, where i perform tonight, and met with nico who organised the show as well as antonio, a poet who i will be working with tonight... and today has been a lazy-ish day of wandering around, admin and preparations for the concert - wish me luck!
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