Tag: Wonderful Tonight

Joy of randomness

We move between chaos and control.

For those who experience Saigon traffic, the dance takes it to another level: randomness.

A tour bus made its final stop in front of a hotel. Tourists stepped down, immediately, with cameras (little did they know, traffic like this is all too common). Rain and randomness. Control and chaos, coexist.

That’s just one aspect of life in Saigon.

You might be sitting in an outdoor cafe, tucked in the corner table, still got sneaked up by a lottery ticket seller who lost both legs.

Even on a quiet night,  Saigon still has some surprises for you: a translated version of Wonderful Tonight, a circus show from China or a low-key visit by Entertainment’s Most Powerful couple: Angelina and Brad.

Saigon is standing in its former shadow, that of Paris of the Orient. Its skyline sees new addition every six months.

Consumerism of all shades puts on its best display (black and blonde mannequins).

Some guys even went to Thailand to have sex-change.

City life takes young folks out of the country and demands much less in social mores.

With chaos comes consumerism. With consumerism comes individualism. With individualism comes choices and frustration.

For now, the city is maintaining its equilibrium: buses weave in and out, parting a sea of scooters to pick up a few passengers.

Drainage capacity is pushed over the limits during rainy season.

And vendors claim whatever left of the already-carved up sidewalks.

I wrote once about a butterfly with its innocent dance in traffic. Now I realize traffic itself imitates the butterfly in its randomness . Here lies the key to crossing the streets in Saigon. Brave it! Don’t hesitate! Chaos, and not control.

First it’s stressful. Then it’s joyful. Once in a while, it’s painful (My xe-om driver made a 90-degree turn, and the scooter skidded. This destroyed my best dress pants, leaving a knee scar).

No pain no gain.

I guess by now I have gotten over the hump: reverse culture shock.

In academic parlance, I have gone semi-native.

Only when you stuck with it, that it made some sense: people do enjoy living here more than in the countryside.

Here, they can take classes, find jobs and get married.

More options, more choices.

Even amidst chaos, one can find joy in randomness. As unpredictable as a butterfly dance in traffic. I wish the place is a Hollywood set. But it’s far from it. Here the “extras” are the main characters. Or as in Roger Altman‘s genre, the place is the persona. No one seems to be in the lead. The city itself plays the lead role.

Stress and songs

The audience sang along, occasionally to the shared mike.

We will we will rock you.

Tonight gonna be a good good night.

Even Top of the World which was a relic from the 70’s.

A night at Acoustic, Saigon.

A night to release the stress.

A night to see Rock rules in a whole new generation.

The warm-up band was from Australia. “Don’t cry, don’t cry”…

Then the Filipino band who without fail stepped on the stool to elevate themselves (Britney, Gaga numbers).

Last but not least was the House band, mainstay.

I will always love you….

Wonderful tonight (in Vietnamese, can you believe, with ” I give her the car key“, not scooter’s).

We had joy, we had fun last night.

Wholesome and healthy. My young sidekick did not even touch a beer.

He ordered milk.

Young people are health-conscious, environmentally aware (can you put out the cigarette?).

No problem.

So we together decompressed, sang along, shouted along. Soared throat.

Soaring spirit.

That’s what it’s all about.

Partying.

Live a little.

Then come back to work harder.

To get more stress and strain.

I am ready.

Try me.

Hit me.

One more time.

One more song.

One more day in Saigon.

Full of stress, but then, if you know where to look, full of strength.

Strength in unexpected places, in a corner there at the end of the alley.

At Acoustic.

Happy Monday

Yes, one might feel Wonderful Tonight, but not the next morning, Monday that is.

Unless, it’s a keeper. Passion doesn’t push it way in, since it’s intrinsic in nature.

Yes, we are alloted only 24 hours a day.

But some of us can connect the dots faster than others.

Then there are those who can help others make those connections.

Blessed are the peace makers.

Former President Carter made a comment the other day about the agenda Occupy movement.

He was into Habitat for Humanity. Why not start Jobs for the Jobless.

Happy Monday to those who got work.

Happy Monday also to those who look for work.

Happy Monday to stay-at-home mothers whose sacrifices are much needed.

The innocence of the late 50’s, early 60’s showed forth in “Monday is Happy Day…Tuesday is Happy Day”.  Wonder if those sentiments will ever make a comeback. Please hold the grease and the hairspray though. Those who find Monday a Happy Day can surely handle Friday’s Happy Hour.

Still the one (who sings)

Bob Seger‘s still the same.

Shania Twain‘s still the one.

And at C’est Moi tonight, the owner/singer (Vietnamese back from France) still carried the show with her energy and charisma, as if she owned the place.

When you sing, you have to lift the audience out of the here and now.

If they are on their feet, all the better.

Time suspended.

Bodies transported to a windmill (Dans le soleil and dans le vent) or a party and back (Wonderful Tonight).

Male baritone and female alto, vocal or duet, and the silence of the prelude.

Then the loop from vocalist to audience and (feed)back which in turn validates the performer.

Forget reality and all its pain.

Just Do Re Mi in infinite variables, one breath at a time.

The Vietnamese taste for music ranges anywhere from classic Western,  Pop  to traditional songs welcoming Spring time.

Rooted in agriculture,  people here cultivate then celebrate.

The upcoming week is time to board “The Last Train” : time for migrant workers to get out of the smokestack and back to their village.

Spanking new $2 dollar bills in red envelopes; kids in new clothes and old folks rejuvenated by family reunion.

Spring not only brings hope but also brings back the familiar . Let’s say someone has died, on the first day of Tet, everyone goes out to the graveyard, as if trying to cross the chasm , to bring him/her back to the fold and festivities.

Call it “collective denial” but it’s entrenched here, unlike Greek‘s Alpha-Omega mindset of “one cannot swim in the same river twice”.

I got that feeling tonight when Thanh Hoa (the singer/owner) took my request for You’re Still the One.

I sat there a few years back listening to that same song, same setting.

She still carried the show as she had done before.

Which gave me that feeling of homecoming, of having a seat at the table.

On YouTube, you can choose to hear “Still the same” by today’s Bob Seger (older) or “Still the same” by Bob Seger of the 70’s. Still the same.

Still the one.

Still wonderful tonight.

Music transcends time and age.

Music for Spring time , bridging cultures and distance.

It connects people, links the generations and calls out for renewal and redemption.

Come home child! There is always a seat at the table. You are still the one.