YAMATO TAIKO! *_*
Last Saturday, I ditched going to another HS Reunion (which was being held at a restaurant not less than 10 mins away from my residence) to brave the traffic and go to the SkyDome at SM North EDSA for the Japan Foundation-sponsored performance of the Yamato: The Drummers of Japan. <3
Taking pictures or recording them were prohibited during performance but that didn't stop the others from still taking some with flash while others recorded the performance surreptitiously. The security guards were pretty busy with all of these happening during the performance. XD
Earlier that day I finally remembered to send an SMS to and called my best friend from High School. I was able to persuade her to join me in attending this once in a lifetime event for free at the SkyDome of the SM North EDSA. She was reluctant at first but agreed later on as it has been a year since we have last been together (getting hospitalized on her part due to exhaustion from her very toxic [a filipino slang for "uber busy"] workload at the health department of the city government). It was almost cancelled since she also had a prior agreement with a co-worker to watch the movie, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse", but I won her over in the end. :D
We had to get there early since there will be a long line and we forgot to request for a reservation from the Japan Foundation Manila Office. We got in line around 5pm. The performance was supposedly scheduled to start at 7-7:30p.m. The "reserved" line only entered around quarter to 7 and it was LONG~! D: cosmos14 was able to reserve seats for 6 persons but we were more than that and I opted to not join the group since I also have a last minute addition to the group and waited it out from the "no reservations" line. Our line finally got to get in around 7:30-ish p.m. and luckily my best friend's co-worker and another late comer friend from our group, kurama_aijo was able to join us by then. We too were given tickets so that all the attending people were accounted for since seats are limited at the venue. Whew.
There were a total of 10 in our group who were there but had to split up because of the reservation seating. We even striked a conversation with the people behind us who came all the way from the south of Manila, Alabang! Just to watch the Taiko performance. We heard that the Friday performance was cancelled which probably why we had a full house that night. We got seats from the bleachers whic is slightly off to the stage left side so part of the stage is blocked by the huge speakers. ^^"
They finally started the program at 8p.m. a full hour later from the original schedule listed on the posters. The current head of the Japan Foundation made a short welcome speech and a brief introduction on the Taiko and the performers. (To know more about Yamato: The Drummers of Japan, go here)
The performance was.... astoundingly overwhelming! I actually wrote on the survey form that their performance was a "spiritual experience". I am NOT kidding! It felt like I was cleansed and revitalized afterwards.
The program was about an hour long with another 5-8 minutes of an encore performance and then after a few more minutes they all got out again to take pictures of the audience with them and the audience finally got a chance to take pictures of them, with them, and with their favorite members. XD
I had to add that there was a "YAOI"/BL moment at one of their final number which cheered (more like "a kilig moment" (another filipino slang for the closest loosely-based term for "moe" in japanese) when the Samurai-hairdo'ed guy's hand was held by the overly excitable guy who was trying to teach him how to clap "in-synch" with the beat. XD kurama_aijo whispered to me as an aside, "Easy girls. Easy." It was really funny and a true fanservice to the audience.
Speaking of fanservice, I did notice that their performances were not strictly "traditional". They used these traditional instruments but adpated it to suit "modern" or current taste that encourages an immediate affinity/response with the audience. Their music and antics in turn were warmly applauded/laughed at on stage. The "naughty"/excitable/"pasaway" member was actually the one who actively and successfully encourages participation and response to/with the audience and it was a good icebreaker as well as a nice way to set the tone for the evening even if they started out with a serious first number.
The others did try to engage the audience but they were not as effective as the "pasaway" guy was.
My best friend and her co-worker got a taste of "the arts" on this night and learned something new about a different country and their culture which I am happy to note since they did not mind that they had to miss watching "Eclipse" for this unforgettable experience. XD
"kurama_aijo was "slightly" disappointed that they did'nt play in the traditional way but she still enjoyed it as it was a good performance nonetheless.
Oh, did I mention that they only have 7 members and four of them were women? Also, not only did they strictly play the different taiko drums but they also used the small cymbals, shamisen and a flute as well. I love the three men playing with the mini-cymbals as if they were catching something with them from the air as they "throw" around the three of them while creating music/beats then passing it on to the next person. While the women duke it out with the shamisen (a three-stringed traditional instrument using a bachi as a big guitar pick). :D
If you want to see their other performances in other places, you can go seach their channel on youtube or search for posts of their performances from other members of youtube and watch a selection of their original compositions which they also performed on this night.
I also have to mention that this is the second time that they performed in our country. The first one was about five years ago and it was at the PICC (Philippine International Convention Center) and I believe it was a limited, invite-only/reservation-only performance. This time they were here for three days and two of their performances were at the SM Mall of Asia (but as I mentioned earlier, the Friday perfomance was rumored to have been cancelled) and Saturday was their last day. I was really glad to be able to catch their performance this time.
The whole program/concert/performance lasted for an hour with about 5-6 numbers plus and encore/extra in the end. The the picture taking sessions with the members and audience.
After this we had a late dinner at Kenny Rogers' Roasters and me a dessert with my best friend and co-worker at Conti's across the other mall at Trinoma. XD
Finally got home around 1a.m. It was an outing well-spent.
Thanks to cosmos14 for the invite and the guys who were with me on that day were: zakur0 , sappire_song and her sis (straight from a sounding defeat from the UAAP game vs DLSU at the Araneta Coliseum), kurama_aijo, zakur0's friend Kei, sapphire_song's friend Carlo, my best friend and her co-worker.
And let's not forget,
From zakur0's cameraphone:
In order: 1) The poster at the SkyDome entrance; 2) The Stage before the performance; 3) At the end of the performance; 4, 5 and 6) Curtain Call 1, 2 and Final Bow; 7) The Stage with the Lone Banner; 8) Samurai Guy with the Other Guy (not the "Pasaway" Guy); 9) Samurai Guy with the Fans, and 10) Preparing to pack-up aka egress.
Pictures from sapphire_song's camera:
In order: 1) Curtain Call; 2 & 3) The Encore with the Flute; 4) The Pasaway Guy stopping the Samurai Guy with his out-of-synch clapping XD; 5, 6 & 7) The Stage After from Stage Left, Right and Center; 8) The members taking their own photos with the audience as their background :D; 9, 10 & 11) The Samurai Guy and the Pasaway Guy with the rest of the members in the background taking photos of the audience; 12, 13 & 14) The members taking photos of the audience as the audience takes photos of them :D; 15 & 16) The members having their photos taken by their fans from the side and the other member coming over to the Stage Left for the benefit of the audience who are taking photos of them there, and; 17) Alas, it is finally time for them to go as they prepare to pack-up their equipment after they changed costumes. :(
Credit pictures from: sapphire_song and zakur0
'later!
;p
Taking pictures or recording them were prohibited during performance but that didn't stop the others from still taking some with flash while others recorded the performance surreptitiously. The security guards were pretty busy with all of these happening during the performance. XD
Earlier that day I finally remembered to send an SMS to and called my best friend from High School. I was able to persuade her to join me in attending this once in a lifetime event for free at the SkyDome of the SM North EDSA. She was reluctant at first but agreed later on as it has been a year since we have last been together (getting hospitalized on her part due to exhaustion from her very toxic [a filipino slang for "uber busy"] workload at the health department of the city government). It was almost cancelled since she also had a prior agreement with a co-worker to watch the movie, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse", but I won her over in the end. :D
We had to get there early since there will be a long line and we forgot to request for a reservation from the Japan Foundation Manila Office. We got in line around 5pm. The performance was supposedly scheduled to start at 7-7:30p.m. The "reserved" line only entered around quarter to 7 and it was LONG~! D: cosmos14 was able to reserve seats for 6 persons but we were more than that and I opted to not join the group since I also have a last minute addition to the group and waited it out from the "no reservations" line. Our line finally got to get in around 7:30-ish p.m. and luckily my best friend's co-worker and another late comer friend from our group, kurama_aijo was able to join us by then. We too were given tickets so that all the attending people were accounted for since seats are limited at the venue. Whew.
There were a total of 10 in our group who were there but had to split up because of the reservation seating. We even striked a conversation with the people behind us who came all the way from the south of Manila, Alabang! Just to watch the Taiko performance. We heard that the Friday performance was cancelled which probably why we had a full house that night. We got seats from the bleachers whic is slightly off to the stage left side so part of the stage is blocked by the huge speakers. ^^"
They finally started the program at 8p.m. a full hour later from the original schedule listed on the posters. The current head of the Japan Foundation made a short welcome speech and a brief introduction on the Taiko and the performers. (To know more about Yamato: The Drummers of Japan, go here)
The performance was.... astoundingly overwhelming! I actually wrote on the survey form that their performance was a "spiritual experience". I am NOT kidding! It felt like I was cleansed and revitalized afterwards.
The program was about an hour long with another 5-8 minutes of an encore performance and then after a few more minutes they all got out again to take pictures of the audience with them and the audience finally got a chance to take pictures of them, with them, and with their favorite members. XD
I had to add that there was a "YAOI"/BL moment at one of their final number which cheered (more like "a kilig moment" (another filipino slang for the closest loosely-based term for "moe" in japanese) when the Samurai-hairdo'ed guy's hand was held by the overly excitable guy who was trying to teach him how to clap "in-synch" with the beat. XD kurama_aijo whispered to me as an aside, "Easy girls. Easy." It was really funny and a true fanservice to the audience.
Speaking of fanservice, I did notice that their performances were not strictly "traditional". They used these traditional instruments but adpated it to suit "modern" or current taste that encourages an immediate affinity/response with the audience. Their music and antics in turn were warmly applauded/laughed at on stage. The "naughty"/excitable/"pasaway" member was actually the one who actively and successfully encourages participation and response to/with the audience and it was a good icebreaker as well as a nice way to set the tone for the evening even if they started out with a serious first number.
The others did try to engage the audience but they were not as effective as the "pasaway" guy was.
My best friend and her co-worker got a taste of "the arts" on this night and learned something new about a different country and their culture which I am happy to note since they did not mind that they had to miss watching "Eclipse" for this unforgettable experience. XD
"kurama_aijo was "slightly" disappointed that they did'nt play in the traditional way but she still enjoyed it as it was a good performance nonetheless.
Oh, did I mention that they only have 7 members and four of them were women? Also, not only did they strictly play the different taiko drums but they also used the small cymbals, shamisen and a flute as well. I love the three men playing with the mini-cymbals as if they were catching something with them from the air as they "throw" around the three of them while creating music/beats then passing it on to the next person. While the women duke it out with the shamisen (a three-stringed traditional instrument using a bachi as a big guitar pick). :D
If you want to see their other performances in other places, you can go seach their channel on youtube or search for posts of their performances from other members of youtube and watch a selection of their original compositions which they also performed on this night.
I also have to mention that this is the second time that they performed in our country. The first one was about five years ago and it was at the PICC (Philippine International Convention Center) and I believe it was a limited, invite-only/reservation-only performance. This time they were here for three days and two of their performances were at the SM Mall of Asia (but as I mentioned earlier, the Friday perfomance was rumored to have been cancelled) and Saturday was their last day. I was really glad to be able to catch their performance this time.
The whole program/concert/performance lasted for an hour with about 5-6 numbers plus and encore/extra in the end. The the picture taking sessions with the members and audience.
After this we had a late dinner at Kenny Rogers' Roasters and me a dessert with my best friend and co-worker at Conti's across the other mall at Trinoma. XD
Finally got home around 1a.m. It was an outing well-spent.
Thanks to cosmos14 for the invite and the guys who were with me on that day were: zakur0 , sappire_song and her sis (straight from a sounding defeat from the UAAP game vs DLSU at the Araneta Coliseum), kurama_aijo, zakur0's friend Kei, sapphire_song's friend Carlo, my best friend and her co-worker.
And let's not forget,
From zakur0's cameraphone:
In order: 1) The poster at the SkyDome entrance; 2) The Stage before the performance; 3) At the end of the performance; 4, 5 and 6) Curtain Call 1, 2 and Final Bow; 7) The Stage with the Lone Banner; 8) Samurai Guy with the Other Guy (not the "Pasaway" Guy); 9) Samurai Guy with the Fans, and 10) Preparing to pack-up aka egress.
Pictures from sapphire_song's camera:
In order: 1) Curtain Call; 2 & 3) The Encore with the Flute; 4) The Pasaway Guy stopping the Samurai Guy with his out-of-synch clapping XD; 5, 6 & 7) The Stage After from Stage Left, Right and Center; 8) The members taking their own photos with the audience as their background :D; 9, 10 & 11) The Samurai Guy and the Pasaway Guy with the rest of the members in the background taking photos of the audience; 12, 13 & 14) The members taking photos of the audience as the audience takes photos of them :D; 15 & 16) The members having their photos taken by their fans from the side and the other member coming over to the Stage Left for the benefit of the audience who are taking photos of them there, and; 17) Alas, it is finally time for them to go as they prepare to pack-up their equipment after they changed costumes. :(
Credit pictures from: sapphire_song and zakur0
'later!
;p