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Artist Mon Feb 06 2012
Tour Diary: Canasta in Mongolia - Day 1
As we'd hoped, the band members of Canasta have made it safely to Mongolia for their whirlwind tour [see previous], and they even found a brief pocket of internet connectivity in order to send in this quick update, and a photo.
The following comes from guitarist, Jeremy Beckford:
"I dont think any of us were quite sure of what to expect before arriving in Mongolia, other than ball shrinking subzero temperatures. Arriving at midnight after a 17 hour trek across the north pole and through China didn't exactly prepare us either, but the warm greetings of U.S. embassy staff definitely helped with the -38 air temp outside. The first thing that surprised me was the number of expatriates here, catered to by businesses striving to provide American culture all over Ulaan Bataar, the capital city. Our first orders as Team Canasta were to report to the nation's only school for the blind for a performance and Q&A. It quickly became clear the people of Mongolia have a love of music that knows no boundaries. Clapping along has become passé in Chicago indie rock circles, but these guys are full blown 7-100 members of canasta. Their focus and appreciation of created the warmest environment for a concert I've ever experienced. The highlight was 1 boy who asked to sing a song with us and came up to shyly stand in front of his peers and hold the mic for a couple of minutes. The crowd cheered him until be belted out the most heartfelt rendition of his school song, later joined by the rest of the student body. Pretty much the most touching moment on stage I've experienced.
To be continued....."
Lynne Sheaff / February 7, 2012 4:31 PM
So glad you're blogging.