Sado. 2. Earth Celebration.

If you have seen Kodo live, you know they are amazing. But on Sado, on their home turf, they surpassed themselves. I have never seen them so playful and and full of energy both at the same time.

There were three main concerts, one per evening, all in a forest clearing on a big, outdoors, hill-top stage. Kodo performed many of their traditional songs, but also included a large number of pieces that were either completely new to me (and I have most of their CDs and DVDs etched on my brain to the extent that is only matched by some Python skits), or that were re-worked, re-choreographed versions of their classics. And their energy level was phenomenal, to the extent that we, the audience, requested and got four encores. One of them being Ravel's Bolero on taiko, fue, and shamisen. And that was just on night 1.

Every year, Kodo are joined for Earth Celebration by a featured guest artist. This year it was a collective of drummers and dancers going by the name of Tamango's Urban Tap. For several days leading up to Earth Celebration the artists rehearsed together and learned from each other. And so, to give you a flavour of what that means, let me just say that during the third concert we were treated to a spirited tap dance carried out by four Kodo gals wearing traditional yukata and geta. Yes - it apparently is possible to tap with geta.

If any Sony Corp. lawyers are reading: this is not a picture from Saturday's concert.

After the concert: a satisfied fan, complete with costume.

In addition to the three mainstage evening concerts the festival featured a multitude of 'fringe' perfomances, some by Kodo, but most by other artists. So, since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are several paragraphs of of narrative:

Kodo members performing in the marketplace during the day...

... and at night, after their main concert.

Miyake drummers. Yes, the Miyake drummers. From Miyake Island

A friend from the 2005 NATC: Sado demon drummer in the streets of Ogi

Fire dancers at night

A cute girl (ha!) and her friend watching a butoh performance

Japanese guys playing African rhythms

Ummm... not sure what, but in the streets of Ogi at night

A kick-ass group from Sendai

And, in a rare moment of rest, a view of multiple Teds.
Click here for mulitple Marcins.

We slept in tents. We ate lots of good food and drank lots of average beer. We saw many friends. We went swimming in the ocean each morning. And since it was very, very hot, we bathed at a local 370円 onsen twice a day. And - oh yeah! - we saw lots of great taiko.

And then, on the morning after the last concert, Kodo came down to say good-bye to the visitors going back home on the 10 o'clock ferry... What more could you wish for?

Sado. 2. Earth Celebration.

If you have seen Kodo live, you know they are amazing. But on Sado, on their home turf, they surpassed themselves. I have never seen them so playful and and full of energy both at the same time.

There were three main concerts, one per evening, all in a forest clearing on a big, outdoors, hill-top stage. Kodo performed many of their traditional songs, but also included a large number of pieces that were either completely new to me (and I have most of their CDs and DVDs etched on my brain to the extent that is only matched by some Python skits), or that were re-worked, re-choreographed versions of their classics. And their energy level was phenomenal, to the extent that we, the audience, requested and got four encores. One of them being Ravel's Bolero on taiko, fue, and shamisen. And that was just on night 1.

Every year, Kodo are joined for Earth Celebration by a featured guest artist. This year it was a collective of drummers and dancers going by the name of Tamango's Urban Tap. For several days leading up to Earth Celebration the artists rehearsed together and learned from each other. And so, to give you a flavour of what that means, let me just say that during the third concert we were treated to a spirited tap dance carried out by four Kodo gals wearing traditional yukata and geta. Yes - it apparently is possible to tap with geta.

If any Sony Corp. lawyers are reading: this is not a picture from Saturday's concert.

After the concert: a satisfied fan, complete with costume.

In addition to the three mainstage evening concerts the festival featured a multitude of 'fringe' perfomances, some by Kodo, but most by other artists. So, since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are several paragraphs of of narrative:

Kodo members performing in the marketplace during the day...

... and at night, after their main concert.

Miyake drummers. Yes, the Miyake drummers. From Miyake Island

A friend from the 2005 NATC: Sado demon drummer in the streets of Ogi

Fire dancers at night

A cute girl (ha!) and her friend watching a butoh performance

Japanese guys playing African rhythms

Ummm... not sure what, but in the streets of Ogi at night

A kick-ass group from Sendai

And, in a rare moment of rest, a view of multiple Teds.
Click here for mulitple Marcins.

We slept in tents. We ate lots of good food and drank lots of average beer. We saw many friends. We went swimming in the ocean each morning. And since it was very, very hot, we bathed at a local 370円 onsen twice a day. And - oh yeah! - we saw lots of great taiko.

And then, on the morning after the last concert, Kodo came down to say good-bye to the visitors going back home on the 10 o'clock ferry... What more could you wish for?