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.
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