San Ureshi and Friends - Review

This is not San Ureshi but an old man playing the
erhu in a park in Beijing.

 Nexus Arts at West Village, Sat 26 Feb.

Sometimes listening to great music induces a feeling of total serenity. And when that occurs listening to music from cultures other than your own the experience can border on mystical. The San Ureshi ensemble’s concert at Nexus Arts offered such moments. Listening to this beautifully arranged music from East Asia was like enjoying your own intimate WOMADelaide festival. This collaboration of Chinese and Japanese musical traditions seemed all the more poignant in the current geopolitical climate.

The core ensemble consists of Zhao Lieng (originally from Singapore) on guzheng or Chinese harp; David Dai (Taiwan) on erhu or Chinese violin; and Satomi Ohnishi (Japan) on percussion. One of the early pieces drew inspiration from 12^th century Japan with what sounded like the drums of battle underpinning the beautiful contrasts of the plucked harp against the bowed notes of the erhu. A cello joined the ensemble and the interplay between cello and erhu was at times exquisite. Chinese traditional singer, Cindy Fan, delivered songs in the distinctive high pitched vocal style characteristic of much Chinese folk music and transported us into the mountains of northern China.

Extra violins in the second half of the program added depth and texture to the arrangements. Behind all of these wonderful pieces was a variety of percussion sounds that were sometimes quite forceful and at other times quietly delicate: I heard horses racing across the plains, and the falling of a gentle rain. At other times rhythms were subtle and implied – quite masterful! And watching the elegant hands of Zhao Lieng pluck the strings of her harp was akin to watching the hands of a Balinese dancer.

Satomi Ohnishi’s lighthearted and often humorous introductions to each piece was the perfect counterpoint to some seriously beautiful music. It’s hard not to imagine that this group are headed for bigger and better things. Being at this concert just felt like a very special privilege.

(This review also published in The Clothesline)

Song #77 You Must Run Away

 

CHORUS

YOU MUST RUN AWAY NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY

YOU MUST RUN AWAY NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY

 

VERSE 1

YOUR FAMILY WILL LOVE YOU

MOVE HEAVEN AND EARTH FOR YOU

TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU’RE HAPPY

AND LEARN THE  FAMILY RULES

 

CHORUS

 

MAKE SURE YOU GET A REAL JOB

DON’T STRAY TOO FAR AWAY

WE'LL BRING YOU BACK HOME AND HOLD YOU

AND KEEP YOU SAFE AND WARM

 

DON’T PLAY OUTSIDE YOUR CULTURE

IT ISN’T WORTH THE RISK

WE’LL BE THERE TO CATCH YOU

IF YOU WIND UP IN A FIX

 

CHORUS

BRIDGE (1) 

BUT MAYBE YOU’RE DIFFERENT AND WOULD LIKE TO TRY

SOME THINGS BEYOND THE PALE

PUT 2 AND 2 TOGETHER AND SUDDENLY DISCOVER

THE ANSWER COULD BE 5

 

BRIDGE (2) 

SMOTHERED BY LOVE AND KEPT IN A BOX

THERE’S A MILLION THINGS TO LEARN

THERE’S A PLACE IN YOUR SOUL THAT’S EVER MORE CERTAIN

THAT YOU NEED TO WANDER FAR

 

CHORUS

VERSE 1

CHORUS 

YOU MUST RUN AWAY NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY

YOU MUST RUN AWAY NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY

– TO MAKE SURE YOU CAN GROW

 

© M Coghlan 2018

COMMENTARY: Ever since I read David Cooper's Death of the Family back in the 70s I have been suspicious of the hold that families hold on their sons and daughters. It's natural for families to want their children near and to want them to fit into family life but what growing family members actually need to realise their potential is to get as far away from their family as possible. Oscar Wilde put it something like this: "No one is an adult until they leave their place of birth." The song has a reggae feel.

 

 

Song #76 The Dance of Risk and Failure

 

WHAT IF YOU KNEW TODAY WOULD TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY

WHAT IF YOU KNEW TODAY WOULD TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY

WOULD YOU GO, WOULD YOU JUMP AND TAKE THE CHANCE

WOULD YOU GO, WOULD YOU DARE TO DO THE DANCE

OF RISK AND FAILURE?

 

WHAT IF THE LIFE YOU LOVED CAME TO AN END

BECAME TOO SAFE AND WAS EATING UP YOUR SOUL

WOULD YOU CHANGE, TRY SOMETHING NEW AND TAKE A PUNT

COULD YOU CHANGE, START AGAIN AND ROLL THE DICE

OF LIFE AND LIVING?

 

YOU KNEW IT ALL OR AT LEAST KNEW WHERE TO LOOK

YOU HAD ROUTINE AND RHYTHM ALL PLAYED BY THE BOOK

COULD YOU STOP, TURN AROUND, TRY SOMETHING NEW

BE A CHILD, TAKE A RISK AND JOIN THE FEW

WHO CAN COPE WITH FAILURE?

 

BRIDGE

YOU TELL YOURSELF OF COURSE YOU WOULD

OH THE CHANCE TO STAND ON THE EDGE AND FALL (X2)

 

YOU FEEL TODAY COULD TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY

TODAY YOU’D JUMP, TAKE THE RISK, AND DO THE DANCE

OF RISK AND FAILURE

OF RISK AND FAILURE

(Copyright M Coghlan circa 2015)

Commentary: Another post full time work song when I was still trying to work out what I'd do with myself. Challenging myself to be more adventurous ....

Song #75 It's Hard To Tell

IT’S HARD TO TELL

 

CHORUS

IT’S HARD TO TELL (X3)

WHICH WAY TO TURN

AT THE NEXT BEND

 

VERSE 1

YOU’RE FEELIN’ ALRIGHT BUT THERE’S STILL SOMETHING MISSING

A CHINK IN THE ARMOUR THAT NEVER LEAVES YOU ALONE

ALWAYS THAT FEELING THAT LIFE COULD BE BETTER

 

VERSE 2

YOU FEEL YOU’RE WASTING YOUR TIME ON THINGS THAT ARE EASY

SITTING AT HOME WHERE THERE’S NO ROOM FOR THE BRAVE

AS YOU COUNT DOWN THE YEARS OF THE TIME YOU HAVE LEFT HERE

 

CHORUS

WILL I STAY WELL?

IT’S HARD TO TELL

NO ONE KNOWS

WHAT WAITS FOR YOU

 

BRIDGE

YOU CAN CLOSE ALL THE BLINDS AND SHUT OUT THE DAY

OR OPEN THEM UP AND GREET THE SUN’S RAYS

WHATEVER YOU DO YOU WILL BE ON YOUR WAY

TO ANOTHER DAY

 

CHORUS

WHERE IT’S HARD TO TELL

SO HARD TO TELL

WHICH WAY TO GO

AT THE NEXT BEND

(2015)

Commentary: Written in the year after I stopped working full time when I was struggling to work out how best to use my time. Catchy enough tune but really needs a band to make it live.

En Route to Bali 1973 - Train Across Java

 

CC image courtesy Nikita Gavrilovs 

The train trip across Java from Jakarta to Surabaya   was incredibly hot and crowded with people. Even   though we all had seats people sat on the armrests,   stood in the aisles, sat or laid down in the aisles or   even somehow managed to lie up in the baggage   racks. There were people everywhere. Thankfully all   the train windows were left open so at least the flow   of air against your perspiring skin offered some   semblance of cooling.

We'd been warned before we started the journey that we wouldn't be able to buy any of the cold drinks that were served on route because they were probably not hygienic. We were to drink just hot tea or coffee or bottled soft drinks like Coca Cola which were never cold. However, at regular intervals people who made a living from selling food and drink on the train would come through the carriages with these trays of beautifully coloured cold drinks that had ice cubes in them and were clearly deliciously cold. Local passengers snapped up these drinks - they were dirt cheap – and guzzled them down while we just sort of sat there drooling with envy for the first several hours of the journey and stayed with the coffee, tea and Coca Cola routine. As the hours went by this became harder and harder and at one point one of our group decided they couldn't take it anymore. These drinks looked so inviting! Suddenly as one of these vendors with these enticing looking drinks came by he just blurted out ‘I'll have one of those’,  took it, drank it and we all watched in anticipation to see whether he would get sick on the spot or 5 minutes later but after a certain amount of time passed he still seemed to be fine so from then on we all helped ourselves to these drinks and no one got sick. Not on the train at least.

It was a 24 hour journey so we had to endure at least one night on the train. It was around Christmas time and in those days I always carried my guitar with me.  I don't know how it came about. I guess I must have played a few songs.  I don't remember whether it was my idea or whether someone asked me to play my guitar but late at night as the train was going clickety clack clickety clack through the warm tropical night across Java I played Silent Night.  It was one of the more remarkable things that had ever happened to me. Silent Night is one of those songs that everybody knows it seems almost everywhere and even if they don't the melody is so poignant and engaging and beautiful that it stops everything and it did indeed stop everything on the train that night.  For a few minutes as I was playing and singing Silent Night I was aware that 50 - 80 people or more were dead silent and were just listening to me singing and playing. Nineteen year old Michael on a train in Java singing Silent Night in the middle of a tropical night! Those who knew the melody or the words joined in.  It was a really special moment.

There is another indelible memory of this train journey across Java. As all the Indonesian people often walked up and down the train so we took to doing the same thing. It would help pass the time, stretch your legs, and you’d get some fresh air because the area between the carriages was not covered. It was just a very basic coupling joining one carriage to the next. There was a metal plate you could walk on with a couple of flimsy hose handles that would be considered unsafe and completely forbidden in Australia.  But in Indonesia back then it was allowed. It was nice and breezy there and a lot of people gathered at these intersections between the carriages.  The end of each carriage also had a ladder that allowed you to climb up on the roof and invariably there were people on those ladders between the carriages and clearly there were people going up onto the roof. Eventually I got my turn to climb up one of these ladders and to my amazement the carriage that I was riding on had about 20 people up there sitting, talking, some walking, some lying … most of the carriages had several people up there so not only were people in the aisles and on the seats and in the baggage racks they were on the roof as well! I stayed up there for a while and really enjoyed it. However some time later there was a bridge in the distance. Clearly it made sense to get off the roof while the train goes under the bridge and most people did. They climbed down from the roof. As I was climbing down the ladder between the carriages I decided to stay there and keep my head just above the roof level of the carriage to see what it was like as the train whooshed under the bridge.  There was a little boy - I'm guessing about 8 - 10 years old - who hadn't moved and was still sitting quite erect and cross legged on the top of the train and I was concerned because the bridge was coming closer and this little boy hadn't moved and I was trying to get the attention of other people to tell them the bridge was coming and that there was a boy still up there on the roof. They were clearly not worried and told me not to fuss.  As the train passed underneath the bridge I kept an eye above the level of the carriage to watch what this boy was doing - actually I don't think I did. I looked away right at the last minute. But without flinching he just sat there as the train whizzed under the bridge cool as a cucumber. It didn't decapitate him! In fact he was completely unhurt and the people around me laughed because they trusted that this boy knew what he was doing. One of them actually pointed to him and said “been before.” The boy was quite familiar with the train ride and the height of the bridge. He was just enjoying a game of chicken with the bridge. I'll never forget it

En Route to Bali 1973 - Singapore/Jakarta

 

In 1973 Singapore didn’t allow people with long hair to enter. So my brother Damien and I were ceremoniously sheared among friends in Perth before our departure on an A.U.S. flight. AUS stood for Australian Union of Students and everyone on board was a student enjoying cheap student fares so you can imagine the party like atmosphere .

I passed the haircut inspection after having to turn a full 360 degrees twice to allow the customs officer to closely inspect my hair, but lingered to see how one of the more senior passengers (he was probably all of 30) with very long hair would get through. He had tucked all his hair up under a hat. He was asked to remove his hat and at that point he immediately started demanding in a very loud voice that he would like to speak to someone from the Australian embassy. He just kept repeating this over and over and eventually he was allowed to enter Singapore with no haircut!

This was my first visit to Asia. I was 19. Singapore had not yet gone through its economic boom time and the streets between Changi airport and the city were lined with poverty. People dressed in rags living by the side of the road; rickety market stalls lined the route, noisy dirty traffic flew past without any apparent order. It’s that assault on the senses that many Asian nations offer first time visitors that nothing can prepare you for. I remember staring open mouthed at the chaos unfolding by the side of the road as we made our way to the hotel.

That aside, the party atmosphere continued on at the student hotel most of us were booked in to. We roamed between various rooms where the alcohol and marijuana was flowing. One of the rooms belonged to the senior hippy guy who had bluffed his way through customs and who was now sitting on his bed naked and cross-legged rolling joints like an Indian holy man. There was a sudden moment of panic when we get a call to one of the rooms that the authorities were coming up to investigate. People scattered back to their own rooms and all the marijuana was quickly flushed down toilets, and windows opened to allow the smoke out.  Smoking and possession of marijuana in Singapore in those days was even more serious than having long hair! It turned out to be a prank - one of the students had just decided to freak everyone out with the fake phone call. It worked. It killed the mood completely.

Damien and I were planning to head to Bali in Indonesia. This involved flying to Jakarta to catch the train through Java and then a ferry to Bali. The flight to Jakarta was not a student flight. I was seated next to a seasoned traveller who had been to Jakarta many times and wasn’t impressed that his work had brought him back there. He called it a hell hole and said that if I thought Singapore was bad I hadn’t seen anything yet. How right he was. There are moments in your travelling life that you never forget. My first steps outside Jakarta airport was one such moment. It was absolute mayhem. A mass of people and traffic and noise in a chaos impossible to comprehend. As we stood trying to work out how to get a bemo (taxi) I noticed a man lying in the gutter – barely clothed and quite still. He could easily have been dead. And the traffic flooded past just inches from his head. No one appeared to notice. Or care. The opening lyrics to a Neil Young song played in my head: “old man lying by the side of the road…. don’t let it bring you down…. it’s only castles burning….”

By the time we reached our accommodation for the night all the women in the bemo were crying at what we’d seen. They guys I guess were crying on the inside. I know I was. Jakarta was extreme culture shock. I think we spent a couple of days there. It’s all a bit of a blur. It taught me so much in such a short time. I have never felt the desire to return.

Our next adventure was the train across Java en route to the island paradise of Bali.

Song #74 Happy Online

(Listen to a very raw version)

People say that I've got grey hair
I must say that I don’t care
Everyone strugglin’ to go on line
You might be a friend of mine

Tapping keys there across the world
Perhaps a lost and lonely girl
Who turns to the web to find her heart
With someone who’ll be apart
Far away

Everyone wants their own home page
Aiming to be the next web sage
I tried to find you but your site was down
You must have been out of town

Planning dreams to take me away
It’s time to go I just can’t stay
Email my friends to say goodbye
It’s time to go off line
I’m goin’ away

Then it happened - life fell apart
My friend dear life lost its spark
No urls ; no send, no reply
Just tropical heat and a whole lotta rain
In my eyes
Something had died
Someone has died

Gee it’s good to be back on line
Where real life can’t touch me and I feel fine
Say hi to my friends who have no face
They got no pain and they got no place

They can’t see that I got grey hair
And that’s why I say that I don’t care
They can’t see the tears in my eyes
I could be laughing and I could be wise
And I’m far away
Happy on line
It’s email time
Happy on line

(I don't mind 404. I don't mind server down. I'm happy online.)

(Copyright Michael Coghlan 1997)

Commentary: A song about life online and how much I enjoyed it. There is a kind of serious but flippant aspect to the first part of the song before it goes into a darker place. Flags the realisation that you can also go online to escape the hardships of the real world. As you can see this was written long before the advent of social media.