The Most Popular Band in Mongolia and other musical notes...

This is our friend, Tsogoo, mentioned in the post below.

This past Saturday Jessica and I saw the most popular band in Mongolia live, up close and personal. Yes, we saw The Lemons. Along with The Lemons (no translation, they just call themselves "The Lemons" in English), we saw a cavalcade of other prominent Mongolian performers. Unfortunately, among them were a few R&B artists (with ultra-smooth dance moves and dramatic heart-grabbing), a rap group, and many commercials for a local radio station. In fairness, it was the radio station’s 2nd anniversary shindig, and they did pour out free Champaign (irrespective of age). There were a few high points. Another band, The Pilots (again, no translation), was pretty good. This band consists of the younger brothers of The Lemons. The Lemons, also, turned out to be pretty good. They started a little too pop rock, but later shifted to more aggressive rock.

Toward the end of the show, there were about 25 people on stage (I don’t know why since only four were involved in producing the music). Mind you, this was not a large venue. It was roughly equivalent to standing on a basketball court the short way. But nevermind that. On to more exciting events. While the band was between songs the MC asked (using amplified social pressure) Jessica and I to come up on stage. He then asked us why we are in Mongolia, and if we like the radio station. As the band played the intro to “Creep” by Radiohead, the MC asked me how I liked the show. I said, “I liked The Pilots, I like The Lemons… and I love Mongolia!” The last part was suggested in my ear by Jessica, and was quite a popular sentiment.

The next day, our friend Tsogoo, who invited us to the show the previous night, came to our house with his friend. His friend is also our neighbor. He doesn’t speak any English. He does, however, love Pink Floyd. Tsogoo and our neighbor then proceeded to play the solos (and only the solos) to quite a variety of Pink Floyd songs on their guitars. The neighbor is only about 17, but can rip off an impressive David Gilmour solo. Why do they play just the solos? Because neither of them can sing. Oh well. I hadn’t expected to hear the solo from Atom Heart Mother Suite while in Mongolia. Well, not live anyway. Quite a treat. Man I miss my too-@#$%ing-big-for-USPS bass.