Concert in Manila as part of the Festival of Recently Possible Music.

Manila based drummed master Caliph8

San Francisco-based musician-builder Bryan Day was there with his wacky electronics.

The high point for me by far was the festival closing performance by the all-female multimedia ensemble Heresy, including sound artist TERESA BARROZO, video artist Joee Mejias, choreographer Kirstie Belano, production designer Rafaella Cassandra Las, and writer Franchesca Casauay. Unfortunately I cannot find a photo of their performance.

The visit to Manila was difficult to say the least. Manila has the worst traffic in the world on a good day, and I was there during the APEC summit of world leaders, when many streets were closed for security, and even the airport closed for several days, so that Obama, Putin, and the gang could get around. It was nearly impossible to move. And the hotel the festival put me in was hosting an APEC related conference called “Future Voices of Asia” which was basically for the kids of the power elite of Asia who were at the main APEC conference. That meant that my hotel saw swarmed by “secret police” who were anything but secret, while the hall which my room was in was more like an Ivy Leave frat party. The security and road closures around the hotel kept me essentially in jail there, so most of my time was spent stuck in the cafe with the “secret police.”

Manila might be an interesting place. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t know.

Hi Policemen, Are you as bored as I am?

What’s the big secret, guys?