We went to the Oto-Wa Taiko concert Saturday night and I had a really good time. Unfortunately we were running late and I didn’t get a chance to bring my camera. I was so jealous of the photographers who were shooting the event.
I’ve been to a number of these concerts over the last five years and I’m starting to recognize a lot of the pieces, but I think they’ve added a few for this showing. The dragon head was definitely new and some of the sets didn’t feel that familiar.
It was also the first time I caught Dagaku. Which is the children’s drumming group. I guess it’s like a farm team. I was surprised by how good they were! Some of them were the proverbial knee high to a grasshopper but they performed really well for their four sets. The final piece they did ended with a beat and a pose and the kid on the far right of the stage dropped her stick on the pose – it was so cute it could have been on purpose.
My one concern of the show was the… um… Big Ass Drum in the back. If I remember correctly, I should have felt bodily fluids shake when it was hit. It seemed to have been producing the right tone, nice and deep, but the power didn’t seem to be there. And they were whaling on it – the stand was shaking – but much lighter strikes on drums at the front seemed much louder. Maybe it was the raised platform it was on, maybe the position on stage, maybe it was that I was sitting farther back then before – it just seemed a little odd. Weird acoustics I guess.
Watching the show I got the idea of a type of performance I’d like to see: Imagine a Taiko version of Devil went down to Georgia. Two groups in a challenge/response give’n take with the beat. With the idea it’s a battle over their very souls, each round should get a little faster and a little more frantic like the music I’m use to from home. Of course, that’s more or less an excuse to justify what I like to hear. But I’m ok with that.
I’ll definitely be going to future concerts.
