a weekend with good friends - part II

A funny thing happened on my way to the Forum...
(okay, I was headed to Harry's, lol)

So, there I was, minding my own business, headed down to Harry's to watch the last two sets of a new band (to me) called Bee-Groove. They were a funk-style band that was fronted by the wife of my friend & coworker Fabien who is the head of Engineering at the facility I work at. Her name is Lixia and they hail both from Paris, home of great funk bands! ....well, maybe it is(?) lol

She formed-up this band with some of the local pros and have developed quite a reputation as a fun show to catch - so I planned on seeing them at long last.

However, my best-laid plans were halted at the edge of the plaza entrance by some recent and not-so recent acquaintances, Miguel, Javier and his brother who was in town for the holiday weekend from Chihuahua.

They basically collared me before I could even enter Harry's and we were off...!

(obviously I was not struggling)

After a quick stop at the convenience store en-route to pick up two bottles of 'the Captain' and cokes, we headed over to what was a party already in full swing. It was hosted by a fellow who is widely-known as 'El Quixote" as he makes his living impersonating the famed literary character, armor included. His metal breastplate has a slight modernization in that it includes a three inch slot cut into it with a 'gracias' written in sharpie just below it, (yes, exactly - it's for tips!).

The form of entertainment was called 'trios' and it consists of three talented and very rehearsed fellows playing traditional romantic songs, singing in harmony, while the entire room sings along.

As we entered the room and made our way to a table reserved in the corner, the leader of the trio announced, what I think was, the title that Javier held, along with leading the crowd in a 'three cheers' to him. He replied with a nonchalant wave to everyone and quickly sat down.

I thought, "who is this guy anyway...?"

After the three finished their hour-long set, we were treated to a short slide show of a famous since-passed fellow musician, whom I found out later that the party was actually held in honor of.

here's a not-so-professional video I shot of the event.
it's just a quick pan, but it gives an idea of what it was like:

After that, ladies were brought up to the front to sing their personal favorites, which instead of turning into a karaoke-esque fiasco, turned out to be something quite elegant and one lady's rendition of a bolero called "El Pastor" left no one present with a dry eye, much in the way Tania Libertad was famous for.

Btw, go to YouTube and search for that song; there are several beautiful recordings.

here's one of Tania; it will put you into the mood of the event:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8Jm4ITptjM

(btw, the video portion is not so great but the audio is worth it!)

It was a beautiful way to spend an evening, however it was far from over.

Front-row treatment t the hottest spot in town

We left the party with the bulk of the attendees and as we literally stumbled along the cobblestone streets of Queretaro, I was informed that we were headed to another place called 'La Mulata' which was a club here in town that I had yet to see, but always wanted to. The name translated is that of a dark-skinned woman, which denotes sexiness, I imagine.

Arriving at the entrance, we were met with the usual bulldog-like reception of bouncers demanding 'entrada', which in this case was 50 pesos (around $5) each. Javier, who as I said, I knew as a local politician with a few connections, met the head bouncer and after chatting with him all of ten seconds, we were not only in for free, but were led into the place, which was as spacious as a warehouse and completely packed with at least 700 people, perhaps 1000(?).

After walking nearly a full two minutes, winding our way through the darkened aisle ways lit with the occasional flash of the overhead lasers and camera flashes, we were led to a table that was right in front of, and at the center of. the massive stage. We were in arguably THE best table in the place!

The once passing thought was now a full-blown nagging feeling as I thought, "just who the heck is this guy anyway...?!!"

And so the night continued, the party raged and the band came onto the stage to re-claim it from the DJ plying his usual wares of trendy hip hop, etc, that is common now the world over.

To call this place a nightclub, however, would certainly be a misrepresentation, as it was one of the largest indoor areas I've seen since I arrived here, more comparable to a High School Gymnasium. This is an important point for what happens later in the evening - well, morning...

A Cat with a way-kewl axe

So in travels I usually try to chat with the band and compare notes, especially with the bass players that I meet. This fellow caught my attention when he pulled-out a 'Factor' bass, which is a really cutting-edge looking machine by Philip Kubicki, and his was even a five string, which I had never seen before. I remember back in the late 80's when these were popularized by cats like Stu Hamm & Jon Taylor from Duran-Duran, and they were all of the rage until they almost literally disappeared 10 years later, at least to me. Looking on the Internet, they can still be had, but this guy's factor5 is truly a rarity - a way-kewl axe indeed.

Chatting with other players and some research on the net show that Kubicki is still making basses, but finding one seems to be a bit difficult for folks like me. Perhaps some day when I'm playing that lousy 80's cover band, I'll be sporting the flock of seagulls hairdo and slapping my own Factors - ah, to dream, but I digress... haha

A somewhat-normal occurrence, at least for me, unfortunately
(or how to really screw-up a really great evening by being a dumb s**t)
 

So eventually I make my way back to our table in center/front and the whole place is going crazy as the band proceeds into a 30 minute medley of dance tunes from the 70's, 80's, 90's, along with a heavy dose of hip-hop driving the set. It was definitely well-rehearsed, quite incredible and nobody was able to resist dancing - the entire area in front of the stage was on the verge of being a mosh pit, (but a fun one).

So I reached for my wallet ready to help pay for the tab, and then it struck me - gone! I checked every pocket, nothing. All around the floor in the immediate area, nope. I think the color left me face as I realized that I was in a foreign country with no credit cards, no means of getting money, and the only ID I had was my passport book. Doing a quick calculation, I figured that I needed a minimum of $500 USD to get a plane ticket back to Phoenix, or at least half that to drive to Texas, either of which I had nothing to use - shit!

Selling one of bass guitars was about my only other option, but that would have really sucked as it took a lot of time & money to acquire them. Of course I was a bit inebriated with the good rum all night, so my thinking was not entirely clear, but I did at least grasp the weight of my predicament - get looking for it was my immediate decision (I know, duh!).

I checked around with a few places I had chatted with the band, etc, but nothing was there. Back at the table, my friends were equally worried for me and offered to pick up my part of the tab. Nice, but also a bit necessary, as I had not two pesos to rub together! Heading out of the club, I was feeling pretty bummed, but Javier told me to wait a moment while he told the club manager about my loss. The manager motioned for me to follow him back into the club. After another couple of minutes of winding our way back to the other end, we came to a bar that was located there where he asked a lady working there about finding anything.

Lifting up the cash register entirely, she held out my wallet and said "solamente esto" (only this). I think I did a moonwalk as I found that everything was in it including my debit card & identification, life was good again! Javier was officially my favorite person at that point, lol.

So just who is this guy...?

On the way home we made our way over to the atm as I insisted on paying them back my share of the tab, which was not really a lot to me, but I know that wages here are roughly a third of the States. As we strolled the cobblestone streets, admiring the older colonial-era mansions of the central district, we passed through the plaza in the middle of the government offices, which once served as the seat of government when Queretaro was Capital of Mexico, long ago when it was the crown of the Spanish empire.

As we passed a particularly elegant edificio (building) from the 1700's with a huge bronze plaque on it that read, something to the effect of, State Governor's Office. Javier non-nonchalantly pointed to it saying, "That's my office."

Inquiring about it later that week with my friends down at Harry's I found out that he's the representative for Queretaro for that office. in the US we would refer to him as, basically, the Lieutenant Governor.

...Okay, I wasn't expecting that one, either!

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For all of you guys out there who like to drive really fast

It says:

Life goes on. Drive Carefully.




'nuf said...!

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a weekend with good friends - part I

To feel like a Lion on stage...

It was an amazing weekend, starting-out with Friday going to see my friends Vudu Chile play at Wooli's Kaban in San Miguel Allende. It was a special evening in that, unbeknownst to me, they had an artist as part of the show. The painter, Norton Wisdom, had performed a couple of days prior with David the vocalist, who was doing an acoustic show there, David was so impressed that he invited him to perform at the Vudu Chile show.

As I arrived, the 'canvas' was already being set-up, well ahead of the band's gear (surprise-surprise! lol). What it consisted of was a 4x8 sheet of plastic with shrouds on the sides and a bright spotlight on the back side. This illuminated the plastic canvas in a way that allowed the field to be seen even from the far end of the room and the paints that he used, as I found out later, were semi-translucent, and they became a glowing work of art as he worked to create them. This he did all evening, creating an amazing scene that was driven by the music being performed in simultaneous harmony - literally, performance art!

In my ignorance I asked Norton at the beginning of the show, "so do you do one painting for the whole evening or a couple, or what?"

He simply replied, "You'll see..."

That was an understatement.

It turns-out that he's a renowned painter famous for this style of work; there are several videos of him on-stage, so-to-speak. Here's a video of some of his paintings being created:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIn0a9APMNU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUUx8x309iQ&feature=related

One important caveat - this form is basically just a sketch-version of what Norton Wisdom does on canvas. He travels with a photographic portfolio of his work that he sells, and it is amazing. Similar in concept to the 'stage paintings' however the depth of work looks to be several days, possibly even weeks to create.

The band set up their stuff and it was our first time together since I had left three weeks prior, so we had a lot of catching-up to do. I had brought back several things from the US that the guys could use for 'the music biz' so it was a bit like Christmas - we had a great time chatting and opening gifts! lol

The first two of the three sets saw several creations by our resident artist, which he would creat over a few songs, photograph and then wipe the board clean. A few of the painting s were a bit risque' ones that, while most of the customers really loved, a select few 'were not amused' and one decided that she had "had quite enough of this and this guy needed to change his paintings or end this immediately!". In a moment of clarity, as she demanded that the band interrupt the show and basically kick Norton out, David also decided that he had had quite enough of her pettiness and politely yet firmly informed her that instead of adhering to her demands, "perhaps it was time that she left".

After hearing the story, I and everyone else was quite proud of him.

The third set was especially fun, in that the alcohol was beginning to really kick-in, both on-stage and off! David worked the room as the seasoned pro he has become and the crowd danced and cheered with his 'improvisations', shall we say, during a song that allowed him to really cut loose. The evening was a very fun but it most certainly rated PG.

Settling into my comfy couch in the adjoining room behind the stage, I re-opened my laptop and went over some design specs for Gigbag, which I had been doing much of the evening, not to mention the whole week prior. We have been trying to have design of the Musician's section of the website completed so the vendors can get us an accurate estimate for it, which we expect to be quite a substantial sum. It has become something of a routine for me over the last few years, where any time that the muse is upon me I almost always carry my bag along just in case.

About 20 minutes into the set though, I see Javier, the bassist of the group waving to me to get my butt up there. My first thought was "shit, I haven't even touched a bass in almost a month!" and me playing a song was probably an express ticket to clearing-out the bar. Luckily for me, I do have one thing especially in my favor: Javier, who is an amazing player is also a skilled technician, has set-up his G&L 5 string bass with such wonderfully low action and even my rusty fingers find it is a dream to play.

'The lads' insisted and we broke into a solid rendition of SRV's Texas Flood, which is a slow blues tune that really has a lot of room for what I would call, contemplation, and it allows deep infusion of emotion into it. At first I felt very rusty and a bit out-of-it, however it quickly clicked.

As the song moved out of the intro and into that now-famous opening riff that filled the room as Julian gave amazing voice to his guitar, channeling the fellow in the wide brimmed hat - the crowd resounded to the guitar lick's visceral tone, howling their approval.

As usual, the drummer Adrian set up a pocket and I could bury myself into it, focusing on both simple yet driving walking basslines. I guess the strength of the groove definitely registered on some as the owner of the bar came up to the stage and bowed-down in front of me, which was a huge compliment and also was the first time THAT has happened...! haha

It felt great, the bass just growled for me, which is something I strive to produce, and at the end of the song David put his arm around me and said, "Dude, look at the painting Norton did!" Turning around revealed an amazing painting a lion's head (straddled by a lady's legs, of course) flanked by a figure playing a highly-stylized bass guitar. In a 'shamanic moment' as David likes to call somewhat-inebriated deeply reflective conversation, we discussed the effect that my musical contribution that evening on Mr. Wisdom's painting. David asserts that my being here in San Miguel de Allende at this point in time and that meeting and playing with them is not merely an accident, but that it has a real purpose. I'm just happy to have known this evening and many others like it playing with these fellows called Vudu Chile.

With their help, the bass not only growled that night, but even roared...!

(After the Show - pic of Norton with Adrian the drummer)

Btw, if you wish to see more, Norton's website is at:

http://www.nortonwisdom.com/

He's a great guy and if you get lucky enough to have a chance to see him, definitely go!

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The donkey who fell down into a well

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well..

The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing.
He would shake it off and take a step up..

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.

Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well, and happily trotted off!





Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.



Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.
Free your mind from worries - Most never happen..
Live simply and appreciate what you have.
Give more. Expect less




NOW ....... Enough of that crap. The donkey later came back, and bit the farmer who had tried to bury him. The gash from the bite got infected and the farmer eventually died in agony from septic shock.



MORAL FROM TODAY'S LESSON:

When you try to cover your ass, it always comes back to bite you.

(thanks Henry!)

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