Destiny calling

You’d be forgiven for mistaking this blog as a concert review site right now; I promise I’ll get onto other things again soon. I’m really trying to keep things in order, and the next big thing to arrive in Dubai was Destiny’s Child - so tough! In May 2005 they played at DMC, this is same venue as the Blue concert and as it’s outdoor let me tell you in May is bloody hot! How Beyonce, Kelly and Michelle coped under the heat of the stage lights I’ll never know, we were roasting without them; they certainly gained my respect for that. I’m not a huge fan of the girls I have to say, but I recognise their talent and think their harmonies are delightful to hear. So whilst I wasn’t really excited about the gig I was looking forward to hearing them sing live. Imagine how disappointed I was that they were more interested in costume changes and energetic dance routines than singing. I don’t care how fit you are, bouncing up and down in that heat means you breath heavy; this is not conducive to blow your mind vocals! Their performance quite honestly was poor, the fact that there was no band and they sang along to a PA system just added insult to injury.

The night was enjoyable though, I went with Pam and as usual we danced, so in spite of the poor show I had fun. Dubai is a small town and these big events appear to attract the entire expat population, so it’s unusual for me not to meet someone I know, this time it was Dean and Alastair. Dean worked in my team, a young International Manager (IM) who was very smart, very eager to learn and a cracking bloke to boot. His friend Alastair another IM has a wicked sense of humour and they are good company. We bumped into them on our way out of the gig; they were heading to the Barasti bar, so we went along. The Barasti is another Dubai institution; set by the beach at the Mina Seyahi hotel it’s popular with expats. Right next door to a sailing club, it is popular with the water sports crowd also. It’s always busy and this night was no exception. We managed to find a table sat, had a few drinks and a good laugh. Pam and Pam were very very drunk, I was comparably sober, though still a bit tidily; I had a plane to catch early the next morning so left them to it and headed home.