August 22, 2006
Celebrating the Earth on Sado

Camping on the cliff above Sobama beach, our group of eight did a lot of relaxing nothing this weekend.

After brunch each morning, we sat under the shadecloth talking for hours about whatever came to mind: halloween costumes, books, travels, work. Lukie showed me how to do contact juggling. Aya sketched. Everyone sweated. We indulged in ocean swims, cold showers, and lots of beverages until it was time to head into Ogi for dinner at the festival market and then to walk up the hill to the evening’s Earth Celebration concert.

This year, Kodo played with a dance troupe called Tamango’s Urban Tap. As always, each group took a bit of the other’s style and incorporated it into their performance. I cannot say I’d ever expected to see four women in yukata and geta doing a tap dance, but they did - giggling like girls as they sang their own accompaniment - and did a fine job of it, too. Tamango led the audience in singing the Zousan song (which made Zoupi exceedingly happy) where he bungled some of the words, then led an African chant where the audience bungled most of the words.

Recording the Kodo concerts is strictly prohibited and I respected that, but I did capture some frenetic drumming at one of the after-concert fringe events. If you’d like to hear the noisy musical atmosphere of the festival market in the late evening on August 18th, have a listen to this:

play mp3 Earth Celebration Fringe Drumming 4’59” 4.6MB MP3

Posted by kuri at August 22, 2006 09:07 AM

Comments

Niiiiiice… i so wish i was there… I love it at the end when everyone is like “Yakult? What did he say?”

Posted by: j-ster on August 22, 2006 08:48 PM

I was at EC too, probably not too far from where you were recording. If you guys go again next year, drop by the Kyoto Journal booth and say Hi.

The fringe drum jam sounds great. I’m currently looking for a good digital recorder and wonder what you are using.

Thanks, Ted

Posted by: Ted T on September 2, 2006 10:06 AM
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