I Wish You Love

Danny; Cairo, Egypt

We woke up this morning and drove back to Cairo from Alexandria. Before we left, I had enough time to have breakfast at our hotel on the terrace overlooking the Mediterranean sea.

We stopped halfway back at a rest stop that had some strange inhabitants.

The drive back went through an area of Egypt that is know for farm raised fish, organic farming, produce for export and wineries etc. It's a very lush area and it is the first farm land that I've seen since I've come to the Middle East.

We got back to Cairo and had enough time to rest for an hour before we had to go to the outdoor stage for our last concert in Egypt and out final concert of the Mid East
Musical Overtures tour. The outdoor concert sponsored by Mobinil
wireless, was an underground music festival featuring five Cairo alternative rock bands and us. Before we played, we had enough time to walk to a Nile river boat cafe for a snack. I wasn't sure why there was a horse in the parking area of the festival, then again it didn't surprise me after all the goats, sheep, donkeys, chickens, roosters, etc, etc, that I've seen in the streets, on this tour.

I told Johnny that he should ride the horse on to the stage;)

Eating on the Nile with Mike Hanke the US Embassy PA officer. He and Sarah took such good care of us and made our trip to Egypt so enjoyable, safe and successful. They did an amazing job!

We got back to the concert and did a couple of media interviews before taking the stage. There was a great Cairo band playing when we got there and it was great to hear the fusion of Arabic traditional instruments and modern rhythm section. Before we started, people were milling around and waiting for us to go on stage.

We got our gear set up on stage and I wondered how this young hip eclectic audience would receive us and our music?

We started to play abd the young crowd moved towards the stage and by the time we were playing our third song, Johnny had made his way off the stage and into the crowd. He had them singing along individually and as a group. People were dancing, holding up lighters. We saw a band and group of fans yelling to us, they had been at our workshop. The energy and enthusiasm of the crowed was surprising and not the same vibe I had seen during the other acts. There was so much interaction and participation. By the time we played the last tune, everyone was really dancing & rocking out. You could feel the excitement and joy of the people, like they had been waiting for a moment to dance and let loose. There has been so much happening here since the revolution and there is such a youthful positive vibe in this city. I felt very emotional watching them having fun and celebrating. Sharing the music and fun made this the most wonderful half hour! We got the biggest welcome and made so many more friends tonight. We thanked them from the stage for the honor and pleasure of being here in Cairo with them this evening. I love Egypt and the Egyptian people. I can't think of a better way to end our tour. There is so much history, culture, heart & soul in this land and I am truly changed by being here during this amazing time in their quest for freedom. Egypt, I wish you peace, stability, safety, freedom and most of all, love.