Sober Saudi

I’m not well-versed in the subject of hosting a concert by any means, but I like to think that I have a fair estimation of what can be expected by performers ready to take people to another place through their music before the show.

Besides what I’ve learned through movies and during my brief stint as a drummer in a punk-pop band back in the ‘90’s, the last personal experience I had with an artist performing on my bill (relatively speaking) was with the overrated, uninspiring Shwayze… until this last weekend that is.

With the (financial) backing of the KAUST Administration, we brought the Jeddah Legends to Thuwal for a show of unprecedented proportions.

As one of the major proponents of the show, I was invited to spend time with the Saudi hip hop pioneers before the performance.  Except for the lack of scantily-clad sorority girls, an over-abundance of Corralejo Tequila, and an under-sized rapper; the pre-game was exactly as I imagined it to be in the KSA.

Sipping green tea while nibbling on homemade cupcakes, the entourage and I made small talk in the living room of a staff home, talking about the craziest shows they’ve performed (including a Red Cross show in Florida less than two weeks after 9-11) and the logistics of being a musical performer in Saudi Arabia (which involves getting the blessing of the Ministry of Information, whose kids just happened to be fans of the JL).

The scene following the routine preparations was something that not even I could’ve foreseen in all of my enthusiasm.  In a moment, with lights flashing, the bass bumping, and EVERY student moving with the music, months of pent-up energy and frustration was immediately released into the room and all was right at KAUST.

Having become a “KAUST Legend” in a matter of hours, the best feeling of the night was the feedback from the Saudis, especially the women; who kindly challenged me to one-up myself and bring another performer to KAUST, ASAP!

Elissa, did you hear that?

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(This piece is largely a generalization on my part, based on observations alone.  It also has nothing to do with my trip to ARAMCO last weekend, sorry Ernesto)

During the fourth and final week of the WEP, I was lucky enough to participate in a class titled “Leadership Training through Improvisation.”  Taught by three members of BATS Improv in San Francisco (including one Saudi national), the course enlisted Saudis, non-Saudis, men, and women.  No stranger to the limelight, I soaked up the class for all that it was worth and felt like a star (didn’t hurt that I was the only native English speaker in the class).

What I never could’ve foreseen was the enthusiasm and participation on the part of the Saudi students throughout this short course.

In a country where on-stage performances are entirely non-existent, there are no cinemas, and music is largely frowned upon; I was amazed by the un-tapped creativity of the future leaders of the Kingdom brought about by this simple course.  When everyday life only allows you to be as creative as the ingredients you put in your shawarma, it was obvious that these Saudi students were as eager as I was to take advantage of the opportunity to shine.

One stick that I continue to chew with the Kingdom and its ambitions to become a “knowledge-based” economy is the fact that creative outlets for the youth appear to be numbered.* When sport and videogames replace an appreciation for music and the arts, instead of complementing them, (if videogames can actually “complement” anything) I struggle to see ANY country producing a generation of “thinkers” that are as progressive as the economic investments that we see on a near-daily basis here in the Kingdom.

I can guarantee the future leaders of the Kingdom (college-aged and younger) don’t feel it yet, but the pressure to perform for their country is building (as in other emerging countries such as China and India).   It’s a blessing to be able to appreciate the simple things in life, as many of my Saudi friends do quite well; but it’s also a responsibility to perform to certain levels when the Kapsa is served to you on a silver platter.

The creative potential has been located.  So as they say in my home state of California, “drill baby drill!”

*I’m completely biased on this issue because of my upbringing, so forgive my ignorance.

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In my first four months living in Saudi, I never associated the Kingdom as a “colorful” country.  In fact, I was starting to get concerned when by December, everything I saw took on the color white, black, or tan (a side effect of ‘Saudization’ maybe?).  Needless to say, my PADI Open Water certification training this past weekend couldn’t have come at a better time.

Setting out with five equally driven compadres, we headed to a private beach in North Obhur to get a taste of yet another piece of the Saudi ‘high life.’

As could only be expected given my past track record of scuba diving (a Discover Scuba course in Mozambique), the weather was freakishly off the beaten path during the entirety of the training.  It may have been poor timing on our end, but it was definitely ironic that in a country where we beg for cooler weather constantly, the only days that we wanted sun, we got wind and rain.

Putting all of the weather’s incongruencies aside, the class proved extremely enjoyable and almost mundane in terms of skills required.  Eager explore the depths of the ‘Sea’ (not to be mistaken with an ‘Ocean’), there’s no way any of us could have expected to see what we saw upon submersion.

Set against the back drop of a 110’ vertical coral wall teamed with visibility levels exceeding fifty feet, we found ourselves entering a new world.

After getting used to the routine equalizing and mask clearings (which doubled as sinus-clearing efforts for me), I was finally able to embrace the beauty before my eyes; living coral, fish EVERYWHERE (of all colors and sizes), and a sense of calm and adventure that I had yet to experience living in the Kingdom.

With a serious case of the travel bug and this new certificate in my wallet, there’s no telling where I’ll find myself next in this never-ending journey.  I can guarantee that if every private beach in Saudi provides this same deadly combination of clear waters, marine life, beach volleyball, and cold drinks; I won’t be leaving the country for my next vacation anytime soon.  (I say that now…)

(pics to come soon)

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