And now something for those who are up-to-date with my posts.

This weekend I sucked in my gut and squeezed into the front cab of a 12-seater van with 12 other people. 5 hours and one 5-minute toilet stop later, we were in the Christchurch University Students Association building. With only 10 minutes stuff four faces with pizza and dress in black, it was about halfway through our first song that the indigestion hit and the legs started to seize up again. We hammered away for a good hour and a half while Joko played with shadow puppets. Believe it or not but this was the performance we had been practicing for all year and was the first time we had actually gone the whole way through and seen the puppet show. I guess you would believe it if you were there as we easily got distracted by the puppet show and lost track of when to start each song. We thought we were safe from judging eyes as we were behind the puppet screen, until suddenly the entire auditorium got out of there seats and started poking around the stage, watching our every move, our every mistake. Despite my sweaty palms, it was really cool to see their curiosity and fascination, just like a real show in Indonesia. Unlike a real puppet show, this one did not go on for 8hrs non-stop (as Joko used to do 6 nights a week for 4 months back in his younger days). Afterwards, everyone got to have a wee tinkle and we got to stuff ourselves with more pizza.

One the Saturday, there was a gamelan workshop where anyone could come along and have a go at Balinese or Javanese gamelan. Anyone, that is, who could work out how the hell to get into the locked theatre (it took us about half an hour and we were meant to be hosting it). So yea, it could have been the hidden access or the complete lack of advertising but no one came. I think we were all pretty stoked as we got more or less one-on-one lessons from Wayang from Wellington who is an absolute percussion genius (not as good as Joko mind you) but this guy was insane when in came to complicated rhythms from just two notes. It’s a shame most of us lost our hearing thanks to the smash-the-keys-as-hard-as-possible technique that the Balinese insist on.

So yea, the rivalry between the two gamelan was pretty obvious that night, as we had to alternate between our Javanese group and the Christchurch Balinese group, us in our two day old smelly black gear and them in their blazer jackets, sarongs and bandanas. Joko was pretty obvious with his watch-checking and the Christchurch Wayang was obvious with his disgusted facial expressions. But we loved it!

After a show you celebrate right? So when in Rome... you head to DuxDelux. Only all those who aren't students actually went, and then there was me. No horror stories mind you, just a sob story. Yup. Never let a struggling teacher head down the money track when you're trying to celebrate. The semi-jokish 'can you find me a job in Melbourne?' question from Joko to a friend who had come over from Oz to play with us (an incredible 'gender' player) quickly turned into a 'let me tell you a secret'. Well this so-called 'secret' was enough to make everyone stare at the floor with glazed eyes.

Joko is one of Indonesia's most prestigious puppet masters. Not many people can work puppets, tell stories and conduct gamelan for a whole night with the level of skill he has. Last time he went home, with his Kiwi wife and two kids, the head of Police begged him to play at his party. "Name your price" were the only words that made Joko reconsider accepting such a challenge after years of not practicing. 50 million Rupiah. There was not even a blink of an eye from the head of Police. After all, he was the most popular puppeteer. Now, he teaches gamelan part-time at Otago Uni. Incredibly patient, bubbling with smiles and always willing to help out in his free time. But a part-time lecturers wage, even though he puts in more time than most fulltime lecturers, is not exactly enough to support a family. And so he began his part-time job at night. We were all dumbfounded as to how to cheer up the mood from there. I'm pretty sure that was the only time I've been in a group that hasn't slandered the barmaid who had to kick us out at closing time. Good thing most of us couldn't afford more than one beer. I don't think Joko even finished his.


INSERT VIDEO CLIP HERE


So what now? Our next practice will be for a CD, New Zealand’s second professional gamelan recording, and if I can get my A. into G. there should be a bit of a puppet show video to go along with it.