This is going to be my short and sweet review of my impressions of the Kodo performance this past Saturday. They are continuing their tour up the East Coast now and those that like music, especially the technical aspects, I do encourage you to go see them. The admission is reasonable, especially for being considered one of the world’s most engaging and extraordinary musical groups. Kodo conveys two meaning, according to them. The first is “heartbeat” (hence the title) which they say is the primal source of all rhythm. The second meaning, when read in a different way, means “children of the drum” which they say is the group’s desire to play their drums simply, with the heart of a child.
From my horrible, goofy last post, you know that a lady asked if the music was telling a story. The answer is that it is simply the song and the group leaves it to the audience to interpret the song in their own way. For this reason, I encourage those of you (as I know a handful of you apply) who will be attending one of their performances to not go further than the next paragraph. I won’t really get into my feelings for each piece, more on the technical aspects that I observed. But I would not want anything I post here to influence your minds at all to the song. I’d rather, as they desire, for you to interpret this purely from your mind.
Because I respected their wishes to not have any photography, still or video, as well as other recording, I did not take any pictures of the performance. So do not bother bringing your cameras. Also, if you are one of those that intend to buy their merchandise after the show, carry cash with you as they only accept cash or checks. Each item ranges between $15-$25…shirts and CDs are in the $20-$25 range, so plan accordingly. There is a question and answer session after the performance, which I encourage you to attend whether or not you have a question. Finally, after a standing ovation, Kodo played an additional song after their performance, which so happened to be “Zoku” which is my favorite song of theirs. If you liked the show, let them know! For those that are going to see the show, I am about to go over my thoughts on the show so I encourage you not to read past this paragraph.
In the following paragraphs, I will list the name of the piece and will include the program notes that were printed on the program, if there are any for that song. They will be in italics.
Tobira- I longed to see a world beyond this one, so I searched for the door (’Tobira”) that would take me there. Until I open the door, I have no idea what awaits me on the other side. For now I simply dream about the unknown.
This was a pretty good opening piece that set the tone for the whole concert. The general feel and energy is constant throughout. Playing the drums simply like children definitely applies. The performers were energetic and there was lots of smiles and feelings all around. The only performer that I recognized was Eiichi Saito, who is the bald person…he’s been in Kodo for a long time and he really seems to love it a whole lot. Almost every person had their own little solo performance in this show, and it seemed to loosen and lighten up the audience.
Jingi-No-Taiko- The piece finds its origin in Shimane Prefecture’s classic Ishimi Kagura piece ‘Jingi Taiko.’ The original arrangement features an ensemble consisting of a miya-daiko (traditional shrine drum), shime-daiko (rope-tightened drum), hand cymbals, and bamboo flute. The miya-daiko player would take center stage, and in the spirit of a true entertainer, he would sing and dance in addition to playing the drum. Jingi-No-Taiko is a simplified version of the original in which only the miya-daiko is played. Two drummers stand facing each other across the taiko, layering solo and base rhythms as the essence of each player is slowly revealed. This piece is offered up to the gods in prayer for a bountiful harvest, and pays homage to the cycle of life.
This piece seemed to have you characteristic “calm monk” type of atmosphere to it. The miya-daiko is a large drum, with both ends able to be struck. So it lays on its side, here on a stand with one person standing on each side of the drum. The beat is a slow to moderate speed and the drummers had a wonderfully flowing technique. Even in the slow speed, nothing seemed off. It was very well done. As noted above, one drummer would begin to sing/chant something while drumming. Off stage, several performers would seem to echo out a chorus which filled the ambient space of the auditorium and perfectly complemented the beats of the drum.
Miyake- On Miyake Island, one of the seven volcanic islands of Izu south of Tokyo, there is a festival centered on this very unique style of drumming. The drums are set very low to the ground, requiring a strenuous stance. Kodo’s arrangement of this piece features a flamboyant drumming technique and free improvisation of the performances.
This is a favorite of mine. A very simple but stong beat, combined with really good visual motions. The drums are low and requires the drummers to crouch to the ground. When doing the steady beat, they are more or less in a simple crouch. When they begin swinging, they assume what I can only really describe as an exaggerated horse stance (for you martial artists) while moving their bodies in a rocking motion towards and away from the drum, as there is a foot near the drum and a foot away. The sychronized motions of the performers during this rocking motion is really impressive, and makes my legs sore just watching them!
Momotsuzuri- “Momotsuzuri” refers to a patchwork style of making quilts. It can be likened to the creation of music by weaving one sound with another, or to the creation of the universe through the connection of all life forms. In composing this piece, my image of the O-Daiko was that of a womb from which all living things are conceived.
This was really cool. A shallow O-Daiko is center stage and the two female drummers walk slowly to the center, from either side of the stage, arms outstretched displaying their sticks. This immediately reminded me of the anime show Noir (see the picture of “Two maidens who govern death”). Their drum sticks were unusual, looking like broom handles roughly three to four feet in length, with some puffed fabric on one end. Both stood just in front and to either side of the O-Daiko. Throughout the piece, both women exhibited graceful and intricate motions as they struck the taiko, creating different sounds with either the soft or hard end of their stick in a regimented, yet smooth, form. At almost a majority of the piece, both also did a song as well…which is a little hard for me to do the same. My “singing” while marching during the 1995 state marching performances don’t even compare.
Monochrome- Weaving constant rhythmic patterns together with highly irregular ones, Monochrome develops spirally to an exciting climax. The listener might interpret the sounds as those of the changing of the seasons, or perhaps even the progression of life itself. The ambitious pace expands greatly the range and power of expression of the roped shime-daiko.
This has to be the most complex music I’ve ever come across. I wouldn’t even know where to begin if I had to put this on paper. The interpretations presented above were not my interpretations. A lot of my interpretations for anything Kodo does usually involves larger “invisible” forms, such as energy as a body and flowing and spirit. You will not see me do things that are conceivable to a generality, like the seasons or even snapshots of life. For such a good song, there is a high degree of unstableness with the sounds that are generated. While the rhythm is the same for each individual drummer, they are introduced in their own accord, with no unity. Contrasting this haphazard like nature is the extraordinary amount of precision and discipline displayed by each individual. The piece almost seemed to detail the combination of individual freedom vs community as well as the human spirit with its flaws. You are probably noting that this is probably the first time you see an interpretation from me, I do so because while I am usually along the same lines as the notes of the songs…I wanted to share my vision of the song, which is not like the suggestions above. After various strong, even furious, attempts to stand out, the individual beats will return to their low simmer. A slow and steady, yet soft, gong is introduced and from that deep and steady tone the individual sounds began to build, but this time in unison. The gong gets louder and slowly increases speed, but more so in volume than in speed…to the point where it is as chaotic as the Shime-daiko when they were individual. Then, one by one, the steady and strong beat of the Chu-daiko are introduced, with which the Shime-daiko match beats with. Together in unison, they build up the energy of this song perfectly. For a contemporary, even abstract piece, I love this song a lot! May I also note that despite their small size, the drummers were able to bring the Shime-daikos to a volume that was just a notch below uncomfortable, which I really liked. This reinforced my impressions that these guys seem to just want to play till they drop, and the energy they generate and release is more than enough evidence of that.
P.P.C.- There are no notes for this piece. This is basically the comic relief, that I called the “Three Stooges.” Three players, each wearing a color of red, green and blue, come on stage in a silent comedy while each holding an instrument. Whether a cymbal or a small drum. During this time, the rest of the performers are setting up for the next piece. There is humored contrast with the goofiness displayed by the Three Stooges as they play around with the rest of the performers that are setting up the drums, whose expressions are stoic, serious and almost fervent. Finally, the drum pieces are set up and the four main players wait as the Three Stooges pass in front of them before leaping forward with a strong flurry on their drums, scaring off the Three Stooges and signaling the start of the next song.
Chonlima- “Chonlima” features four drummers playing Okedo-daiko (barrel drums) and Shime-daiko (roped drums), and one drumer on a larger Miya-daiko. The players pass the sounds from one to another, palying at a frenetic speed, mixing traditional Japanese rhythms with more modern tempos, blending tense excitement with subtle humor. The title “Chonlima-One Thousand League Horse” alludes to a stallion that possessed great speed and stamina in a well-known Korean legend.
This piece is Christine’s favorite, and I can easily see why…especially since she’s a former marching band drummer. Their hard work pays off here. Each drummer has a Shime-daiko in front of them, surrounding each Shime-daiko is an Okedo-daiko, meaning there are five of them total. Behind them is the drummer with the Miya-daiko. This has a detached resemblance to a drumline in marching band…not really, but use your imagination enough. As noted, the piece is very fast and the seamless transition of the hurried beat flowing from one player to another is very impressive. Adding to this is Kodo’s typical discipline in form, where the angles and heights of the drum sticks, the stances of the drummers and the angles of their posture at any given time are closely matched that give them, especially in this song, an almost robotic feel to them…kind of a look that you would find in a serious scene of Animusic.
Ajara- In Japanese, “Ajara” means to romp, frolic and ‘play the fool,’ but the character used to write this word also holds the nuance of being fashionable and elegant. I will play the fool with all of my might, but in a style suitable for the word “Ajara.”
This piece is preceded by the appearance of the Three Stooges again. In where they find a large taiko (I want to see it is a shallow O-daiko). They wheel it across the stage and each Stooge takes a turn playing a beat on the drum. Other drummers come out and wheel three more taikos, a little smaller I think, until they surround the first taiko in a triangular formation. Each Stooge takes to a drum and begins playing, forming a unified beat, though also showcasing a solo each while alternatively beating on the center taiko, and usually hopping around, trading off with the outer taikos. While still being a little comical, their goofiness is offset by some impressive drumming skill, both in beat and in form.
Mine-No-Kaze- This piece is based on a folk song from Ehime Prefecture called the “Misaka Magouta.” To create this arrangement, the performers actually went to visit Misaka Ridge. As they contemplated the depth of the magnificent mountain’s natural splendor, they tried to conjure images of the horsemen of days bygone. The wind blowing across the mountain peak, the rising moon, the sound of the horse’s bell… using the Shamisen, Kokyu (Chinese fiddle), bamboo flute, and song, the performers aimed to weave these images into an intimate musical tapestry.
Oh yeah, I feel bad. This was the most atypical Kodo piece, by some standards. Mainly, because of the lack of a percussion beat. As noted, a fiddle and flute, mainly, were used in this piece. One of the female drummers sang the vocals for this piece, and it was very graceful. I don’t think I can build upon the notes above. During this time, four drummers began setting up the “float” that held their large O-daiko, rotating it so that one of the drumming surfaces faced towards the crowd and then locking the wheels in place. Why do I feel bad? Because they lady finished her song and she did really well. I wanted to clap, as I could imagine the audience wanted to as well. However, when she was done singing and left the stage, the Kokyu and flute continued to play, stepping off the stage and playing while moving across the main floor. During this time, they continued setting up for the next song, placing two Shime-daiko on the O-daiko float, three Chu-daiko, facing sideways, to the front of the stage lined abreast. The center and right Chu-daikos had Shime-daikos placed just in front of it. Eventually, with the setting up complete, the fiddle and flute stopped playing and for a short bit, the auditorium was silent.
O-Daiko- The story is told of a baby who upon hearing the thunderous sound of the O-daiko dropped off into a peaceful slumber. The powerful sounds emanating from the O-daiko possess a deep tranquility. The arrangement is simple. The drummer on one side beats out a basic rhythm while the main drummer inprovises freely. When they become united with each other and the rhythm, both the drummers and the listeners find themselves wrapped within the embrace of the O-daiko. This miya-daiko, carved from a single tree, measures about 4 feet across and weighs about 800 pounds.
This is another favorite of mine. I am impressed by the effort that the drummers put into playing this piece. They are really beating on this thing as if their lives depended on it. I remember in Dahlgren we had a joke about working out, where you feel you can’t do any more reps and your personal trainer levels a gun to your head and says, “One more!” and you just moan away, as adrenaline in your body makes you start lifting away as if you just started working out. That’s what I see here in this piece. I had seen this on a DVD of a previous performance they had done before and I could just imagine how exhausting it must be. Seeing it live, I was astonished not only by seeing it all in person, but while te DVD cut out most parts to make the piece seem like it was a minute long, I am almost sure that the two drummers had been wailing away at the O-daiko for at least fifteen minutes, maybe even more. I can’t say they did it less than ten minutes. They had easily worked up a sweat and despite being incredibly fit, they were still heaving by the time they were done. It was during this time I realized that they were doing three performances in Dallas, it was amazing to think they just played their heart out, it seems, the day before and were going to do it again the following day. This is also where the drummers are wearing nothing more than a headband and some toweled g-string, which of course drew varied hushed responses from some in the audience. That helps bring out the raw, strong nature of this piece out. The main drummer faces the drum, his back towards the audience. Before striking the drum, he loads back his body, flexing his back like a bodybuilder in a competition, then he quickly assumes a lowered, wide-stepped stance and uses his entire body to beat the drums, every now and then stomping his feet at the base of the float to add to the rhythm. Unlike the normal disciplined precision displayed on the other pieces, this one is raw and full of energy. But it is still impressive that they are able to finish with a final unified beat in the end, despite being understandably exhausted. If I could ever go at it on the O-daiko for that long, I wouldn’t have to worry about any other workout for the rest of my life!
Yatai-Bayashi- Every year on December 3rd in Saitama Prefecture, an all-night festival is held featuring richly decorated two story yatai (carts) pulled from village to village. The people hauling the yatai are urged on by the powerful beating of the taiko, concealed in the cramped first story of the carts. This gave rise to a technique of drumming while seated. Turning the two-ton fixed axle carts at intersections requires complex team work, and is accompanied by precise and intricate tama-ire solos on the shime daiko.
This song just slightly breaks a tie with “O-daiko” as my favorite piece by Kodo. Remaining with the setup of the O-daiko, the two drummers that just played just on the verge of falling into a coma get off the float and proceed do the left and center Chu-daikos to play the next piece (which I couldn’t believe they had any energy left to play). Five more drummers appear. One proceeds to the final Chu-daiko on the right, two board the float and setup up facing the audience with the Shime-daikos that were placed on there beforehand. One comes out with what I can only describe as a Japanese triangle…just not triangle shaped. The last has a bamboo flute. The two who had played just before get a short rest as the rightmost Chu-daiko starts off with a beat and, joining in with the Shime-daikos, begins playing a solo while accompanied with the triangle and flute. The flute plays a solo as well, complementing the Chu-daiko while the triangle and Shime-daikos keep a steady beat throughout. Once the solo wraps up, the middle Chu-daiko preps for his turn and both Chu-daikos match beats with the Shime-daikos as they middle Chu-daiko takes over and the right Chu-daiko fades silently. It should be noted, that the center drummer’s face gets uncomfortably red, red enough that if this was a Silent Hill movie, then he would be sprinkling blood all over the place before his head explodes. The center repeats the same solo and then the transitions continues as the left takes over from the center. As the left Chu-daiko finishes his solo, the center and right swivel around to face the audience and they do a duet with their Shime daikos. Afterwards, the right drummer continues a solo on the Shime-daiko as the center returns to the Chu-daiko. Then, all players join in concert, combining all beats together for a short bit. Then the Shime-daikos on the float lower their volume greatly, while maintaining temp and form (which I’m told is impressive) before building up again, and the other drummers return for a final beat before the song concludes. I find those playing the Chu-daiko in the reclined sitting position to be very impressive, as I know I’d be in pain trying to do the same. It allows for a display of precision and form while still also allowing raw energy to be shown in this position…that and the deep and strong beats from the Chu-daiko seem to appeal to me the most.
After the show, they received a standing ovation by the audience and the Three Stooges returned to try to get the audience to match the beats they played. All the while, various taikos, though predominantly Okedo-daikos, are brought out on the stage. Before long, the drummers come out and they start playing my favorite song…Zoku!
This song seems to calm and rejuvenate my Warrior spirit, and is a song I can easily listen to over and over again. Taiko drumming has been used in medieval Japan to motivate the troops, and I can see that. The combination of almost all types of taikos being used, with the main beats coming from the Okedo-daikos and Miya-daikos, the deep slow beat of the shallow O-daiko, a solo performed on mutliple taikos and near the end, the joining of the Chu-daikos to beat a deep and constant rhythm, it was the perfect way to wrap up my first concert with Kodo.
The combination of discipline and precision, mated to the contrast of the primal and raw…as well as the hushed quiet where you had to strain to hear the beats (in perfect precision still) all the way to a volume and energy so loud you expect your chair to come off the floor and the lights to fall from the ceiling. There are many performances where you can enjoy the show by throwing a disc in your DVD player or uploading the song to your MP3 player. Kodo is not in that category. I have avidly listened to two of their CDs and have seen their DVD many times, and that does nothing for seeing them live and in person. I am also one that is a little of a stickler when it comes to home theater and while I don’t have the best setup, my setup is more than sufficient and I still did not get the experience I did on Saturday night. The performance was so good, I decided I would not listen to my CDs again, I still haven’t removed the wrapping from their newest CD that I bought. Until I can get a player and a set of headphones that are pretty much the best that I can get my hands on and can reproduce the sound exactly the way Kodo wanted it to sound like when recording, I refuse to listen to their beats through an inferior medium.
When I am caught sitting in an uncomfortable posture, yet the music is demanding my attention that I do not even do something like shift in my seat to get uncomfortable, then I have a group that gives a performance that has earned my absolute and unwavering attention. This was money well-spent and worth every penny. I could’ve paid three times the amount and still have been happy.
Their One Earth Tour is a success, despite entering their 26th year, they are in high demand all over the world. Don’t let the traditional garb and the ancient looking wooden drums fool you. If they happen to be near you and you can see them, go. Listen, NOW!
One Earth Tour- Our small planet is filled with a huge variety of people from different cultures who often have very different ways of living. In this world, it is more important than ever that people find ways to live together harmoniously. In ancient Japan the taiko was a symbol of the rural community and it is said that the limits of the village were defined not by geography but by the furthest distance at which the taiko could be heard. It is Kodo’s hope with the One Earth Tour to bring the sound of the taiko to people around the globe, so that we may all be reminded of our membership in that much larger community: the world.
