Astana: Concrete Dreams and Frozen Toes (A Musician's Perspective)

okay, so…astana. wow. just…wow. i’m still thawing out, honestly. we just finished a brutal leg of the tour - Kazakhstan wasn’t exactly on the itinerary, but our manager, bless his chaotic heart, booked us a gig at some corporate event. said it’d be “good exposure.” exposure to what, exactly? sub-zero temperatures?

this place is…intense. like, someone took a bunch of futuristic architectural renderings and just built them. it’s all gold-tinted glass and sweeping boulevards. it’s kinda beautiful, in a sterile, “i’m a city designed by committee” kind of way. i’ve seen some pretty wild stages in my time, but the sheer scale of some of these buildings… it’s almost overwhelming. i’m thinking about how to incorporate some of this into our next light show, you know? massive projections onto the Baiterek Tower, maybe? ambitious, i know.

I just checked the weather - it’s -10.95°C right now, feels like -17.95°C. yeah, that’s about right. my fingers are still numb. seriously, pack layers. like, all the layers. and thermal socks. don’t even think about leaving the hotel without them.

finding a decent rehearsal space was a nightmare, naturally. everything’s so new and…corporate. ended up squeezing into a tiny room in some business center. the acoustics were atrocious, but hey, we made it work. the sound guy was a legend, though. total wizard with the mixing board. he kept muttering about “Kazakhstan frequencies” - i have no idea what that means, but he made our amps sound amazing.

food… that’s been a challenge. apparently, there isn’t a ton of unique local cuisine here. I’m mostly living off instant noodles and whatever vaguely edible things i can find at the airport. Someone told me there’s a decent cafe near the Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center, but i haven’t had a chance to check it out yet. I’m desperately craving a decent cup of coffee.

if you get restless, Karaganda is just a couple of hours southeast. or Omsk, if you’re feeling adventurous and want to pop over to Russia. Almaty is a bit further, almost a day’s drive, but i’ve heard it’s much warmer and has a better vibe.

I heard that the locals are pretty friendly, but most people speak Russian or Kazakh. my Russian is… rusty, to say the least. mostly just involves pointing and hoping for the best.

this whole place feels…transitional. like it’s still figuring out what it wants to be. it’s a city built on ambition, on a desire to project an image of modernity and progress. and it mostly succeeds, even if it feels a little…artificial.

check out some reviews on TripAdvisor to get a better sense of what to expect: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g298423-Astana_Akmola_Region-Vacations.html. Also, if you're looking for some local insights, this tourism board website might be helpful: https://visitkazakhstan.kz/.

okay, gotta go. my hands are freezing. and i think i saw a stray cat that needs rescuing. wish me luck. and send coffee.

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