Blur

I was having this discussion not so long ago about what the 2000s (noughties??) and now the 2010s (i suppose Twenty Teens maybe??) would be remembered for. I think we came to the conclusion that they were sort of an amalgamation of all the other previous decades in terms of style and cultural aesthetic (perhaps that is the same thing). But for me, i very vividly remember the 90s as the britpop phase. When indie music was at it's coolest (imo), Jo Whiley hadn't sold out and wearing flares was ok again. Musically, I finally started to define myself with a little help from a Mixmag top 100 albums of the year....i forget the year exactly, but it was in the 90s. Massive Attack's Blue Lines was number one and i just followed the trail of bread crumbs from there. I was always tuned in to Radio 1 and what dominated most of the musical stories back then was the Blur and Oasis tete a tete. Of course there were many other good bands going about back then, but at least this story had a bit more drama to it. I only bring this up because life has been a bit of blur recently. So many things have been going on...some good, some bad, some internal and some external. But i suppose this is called progress or making some headway in one's career (i hesitate to use the word successful...whoops i just did!). Things are going super well with R2M at the moment. It feels like i've been in the saddle of a rather rambunctious thoroughbred, trying to carefully steer it home. But now it has bolted, and i'm holding on by hook or by crook til we cross the finish line. So sometimes i think about when things were a little more straightforward...with me, Blur and Oasis on the radio and my standard grade revision books. Don't get me wrong...i'm not complaining...just kind of taking stock of the moment. Many times i've tried to control situations, but things just have a way of spiralling out of control until they settle again. The old idiom stands true that if you can't stand the heat then get out of the kitchen. But, I like cooking and don't mind breaking a sweat now and then either. Here's a blast from the past for you before i say what's happening now in R2M land.

I think a lesser known Oasis track....
Perfect song title for this blog.
So what has been happening?...well by Jove we're on tour. So much organisation has been going on to get up to this point, for now and the future. Big thanks are due to Made In Scotland and Creative Scotland for backing the tour. We have landed in Sao Paulo to present Watch iT! for the Festival Cultura Inglesa. We seem to have arrived at a point when Brazil is undergoing a mini revolution...well i dunno if you could call +100,000 people on the streets of SP, "mini". Apparently the straw that broke the camel's back was a 20 cent increase in the local bus fares. Lothian Buses should take note. This increase has sparked a reaction against other matters that have bene bubbling away under the surface and now Brazilians have turned their priorities from partying to protesting. Surely something positive must come from such a huge public movement but we shall see. This has meant of course that audience numbers for the festival shows (which involve other Scottish companies) have been less than normal. Hardly surprising. I watched, on the news, police back into the major's office and metal barriers come up from the ground to barricade themselves in whist the public went radge basically. Quite full on. Anyone interested in seeing a dance-theatre-multimedia show then? We shall find out on Friday. Jet lag has not been so much of an issue. I think it's easier to travel west, rather than east. Although i have bene nodding off here and there. We have spent most of today sorting out the various nuances of the set. The kind people of the festival (of which there are many) have opted to build the set. So i have make the final say so...a bit like the man from Delmonte (some of you probably won't even know who that is). Only one real issue persists and that is the chair. The one they've sourced isn't quite right, although may have some alterations done to it. But we thought it would be prudent to go and have a look at other potential candidates. We found some very funky stuff, but no winners yet...

Manu and Vitor taking a few notes as we search for the perfect hot seat.

Ooh...look what i found in the junk store!

Watch iT! south american set...ready to get the final touches.

I have found a good croissant spot just nearby but the coffee situation is in a bad way. At least for the time being...there's bound to be somewhere good in a city this size...and come on! we're in south america fo crying out loud. I haven't done my normal thing of going for a mooch around to get a sense of the place. But i hope to do so over the next few days. I just realised that i should have enquired about the missing projection screen material. Oh yes i forgot to mention this...i arrived but the screen material did not. I should have taken a picture of all the excess baggage i had...ridiculous. When i made this show, i spent so much time (and money) taxi-ing Watch iT! set around Edinburgh to the various rehearsal spots. Coming to SP was like next level business...unreal. Anyhow, most of it got here but not the screen. It should have arrived today, but there has been no word....so.....
And with that cliffhanger, i'm off to bed. boa noite x