Has it really been almost a month since my last post? Time sure flies when you're a happy (and busy) gigster...
Speaking of gigs, on September 26 four Odaiko New England (ONE) Community Members (yours truly, Cat, Diane & Joy) trekked up to Shelburne Orchard outside of Burlington, VT, for the "Ringo Matsuri", or Apple Festival, hosted by Burlington Taiko Group (http://www.burlingtontaiko.org/). This event features apple-picking (of course), fresh cider & pies for sale and various other activities - and lots of taiko drumming! It's open to other groups; a few of us from ONE had attended the previous Ringo Matsuri in 2007 and really enjoyed the experience, so we were really looking forward to this year's event.
This year, in addition to Burlington Taiko and ONE, three other taiko groups were represented: Arashi Daiko (http://www.arashidaiko.org/) from Montreal, Oto-wa Taiko from Ottawa, and UConn Taiko.
Burlington Taiko and its sensei, Stuart Paton, kicked things off with a lively Shishi-mai or Lion Dance, followed by a spirited version of the song "Sokobayashi". 
We followed with a solid version of "Hamon" which garnered a big round of applause. :-)
The other groups followed, and everyone played really well - outstanding taiko! We played one of our crowd-pleaser songs, Shin-en, and invited members from other groups to join in, which was fun. A highlight was an all-hands-on-deck version of the well-known piece, "Hiryu Sandan Gaeshi" (more-or-less an invitation for the Dragon God to visit Earth and bless it three times). Since all the different groups had their own 'matsuri' section in the middle, it was decided to jettison that part so everyone could just play the main part. What a splendid noise we all created! It was really something to be surrounded by about 25 other drummers rocking out.
Later on, another highlight was provided by members of Oto-wa Taiko and Arashi Daiko teaming up to play the Kodo song "Zoku". A powerful performance, which was punctuated by Arashi Daiko's Sandra wielding the 'baseball bat' and walloping the daylights out of an odaiko: 
Afterwards, while the Burlington group packed up its equipment, many of us from the various groups took a leisurely stroll around the Orchard - a nice opportunity for us to chat, take photos & relax. Though our work wasn't done for the day...
Afterwards, while the Burlington group packed up its equipment, many of us from the various groups took a leisurely stroll around the Orchard - a nice opportunity for us to chat, take photos & relax. Though our work wasn't done for the day...As a special treat for the guest taiko groups, Burlington Taiko hosted a gathering at their dojo, with a big potluck group dinner followed by - of course! - more taiko playing. We played a song from San Francisco Taiko Dojo's repertoire, "Tsunami", which Stuart learned when he studied with Tanaka Sensei at the SFTD, and everyone had a chance to solo on Burlington's homemade odaiko. A fitting end to a delightful day of music and rhythm!
Extra special thanks to Stuart and Burlington Taiko Group, Jean-Francois and Arashi Daiko, and everyone else who contributed. The invigorating and nurturing spirit of taiko and the larger taiko community was much in evidence, and greatly inspiring.
