gurdymonkey | (no subject)

I am being a total slacker this weekend. I don't have to be anywhere*. I don't have to do anything. I don't have to paste smiles I do not feel on my face. After two back to back camping weekends, the downtime is welcome.

*The one place I did plan to be was at the concert by Emeryville Taiko and the Voices of Praise last night. I watched from the choir loft with

didjiman and

karisu_sama 's daughters. It was good. It was frustrating: the last time I stood in a choir loft, it was to sing with the Tropes. Did I mention it was frustrating? All those drums and all that energy and I wasn't pounding on one - and couldn't come home and take it out on my practice drum afterward because of the lateness of the hour. Oh, and frustrating: the sound mixer for VoP made sure that the piano, bass and drum kit drowned out the choir. Tomida-san didn't need a mike to be heard in that space when he sang (most beautiful moment of the night, BTW!), so why amplify the instruments out of all proportion?
EDIT:

didjiman's photos of the concert are up at
http://imagecraft.smugmug.com/gallery/6314439_ULXqF#398198996_D3zyR

The performance was an unapologetic fusion of African, Carribean, and other drumming influences, including one piece that was so jazz inflected I could see Gene Kelly tapping to it in my head. This is not a bad thing, it just is what it is. Modern taiko is not strictly Japanese or strictly traditional, by any stretch of the imagination.

Cool discovery of the night, supplemented by Bestest Hugs Ever from

karisu_sama : the okedaiko (photo of cute guy playing a real one) were made out of heavy cardboard tubing - the kind used for pouring concrete - strapping tape and steel hoops! I might actually be able to adapt this technology to build my own shime-daiko or kotsuzumi....