East meets West

Last night we played at the Youth Cultural House, a beautiful theater in HCMC (Saigon). We had to use a translator to introduce the songs and my stories were probably too much and too long. It got me off my rhythm a bit because I actually had to think of what I was saying. Try it sometime... We played with a wonderful young
woman musician named Linh Phi (see photo left) that played two traditional indigenous instruments," the T'rung and the Cheng. The T'rung is like a bamboo xylophone and the Cheng is a stringed instrument played with fingerpicks. She was very acquainted with western music, really soulful and was a monster player. She and Tucker had a great time trading leads. It was a blast playing with her and when we get back to HCMC we'll do another show Sunday night with her at a club called 17 Saloon. They have put up a 10 foot tall poster of us on the club. It's hilarious.

Right now, we're in Vung Tau on the South China Sea. It's about two hour's drive south. We're playing at the Dien Bien Theater with a different T'rung player. She is much more traditional and doesn't know a western lick, but it's going to be very cool. It's beautiful here and the ocean breeze is a welcome relief from the big city. I'm going to go jump in the water before tonight's show. The waves are roaring in...

Vietnam reminds me of India - green jungle with jam-packed streets ringed by shops selling everything you ever wanted. We drove to Vang Tau with our State Department officer, Sunshine Ison and Mr. Luan. Sunshine is a young woman of 30 from Kentucky and she can speak Vietnamese pretty well which comes in mighty handy when we are traipsing around the countryside. Everyone is friendly and helpful. No one talks about the "American War" much. 2/3 of the country is under 25 and they either were born after the war or don't want to remember it. This is a very "hip" and modern country, not at all what I expected. The internet is everywhere, cell phones on every ear and Toyota's, Chevys and Mercedes screaming along beside bicycles and rickshaws. There's lot's of nightlife too with rock music spilling out into the streets. Everyone is young and happy.

I'll let you know how the show went tonight, but right now the sea is beckoning...