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Mr. Al and I went to an On Ensemble concert this weekend. I loved it! We got front row tickets, which turned out to be way too close as the skirt of the stage was within kicking distance, but the band was set up far enough back not to be intimidating. Which is not to say they weren’t overwhelming. What a great band!
Those of you who know of my predilection for drums and for music that isn’t exactly mainstream are probably taking that with a grain of salt. Maybe you should because I really am that way, but frankly, there’s a movie-score quality to them that I think will appeal to a lot more than just Mr. Al and I.
They start with taiko style drumming. As Masato (we think) said in the concert, taiko just means drumming in Japanese. From there they add elements of rock, and wild experimentalism. They moved flawlessly from traditional rhythms to strange things of their own devising and back again. Some of their transitions are intense heavy beats that they all nail at the same time. Truly talented.
If I have any complaint, it is with the audience. Apparently a lot of the people we normally see at these things were either at the basketball game, or attending one of the other concerts in town. If you ask me, they were in the wrong place.
It was the first I’d heard of them, but you know I’ll catch every show I come within a few miles of from now on.
Drumming pushed back in the land of music to the rear of the stage still is the heartbeat of music and man.
Yep. Probably why I’m so fixated on it.
it is pretty amazing…enjoying the listen to while i read…and i have heard similar…dont know if it was them but…
They remind me a bit of Afro Celts. Only with more drumming.
Fascinating. Sometimes my husband gets all music-snob on me and says music has gone as far as it can go; no more originality. I say there is always another idea waiting to happen!
But those new ideas will probably sound like noise to him.