Hodgepodge

mood: ecstatic

Last night jagleackasand I went to see the Japanese taiko drum ensemble Kodo perform at Orchestra Hall downtown Chicago.

We went urban, taking the L downtown and having a pleasant dinner at the Elephant and Castle. It is a nice English pub style restaurant and bar and Janice’s lamb curry was particularly tasty (we typically share our entrees). Dessert was a chunk (literally) of bread pudding with rum sauce – yummy!

We then hoofed the 6 blocks or so to the Hall and were escorted to our Box seats! This is the first time I have sat in a box in a theater and it is a treat. There was a closet right inside the door to the box for our coats and we sat in the first two seats which are actually separate arm chairs – quite comfy. The view of the stage was terrific.

Orchestra Hall is not a large venue, circular in shape so the boxes formed a half circle in front of the stage rather than going along a side wall. Even the balcony seats looked be close and excellent. Behind the stage is a section of seats called the terrace and for a performance like Kodo they looked to be excellent as well.

The architecture is classic early 20th century (the Hall was completed in 1904), with gold filigree and ornate plaster work adorning the walls and dome style ceiling. Clearly visible are the pipes from the organ that replaced the largest pipe organ ever built by Lyon and Healy. I love this old style architecture and hope they never tear this beautiful hall down and replace with a modern steel and glass building.

The concert was even better than the first one we saw several years ago at the old Medinah Temple before it was torn down. That show had more dancing, this was pure music.

Taiko drumming is most noted for it’s primal rhythms and athletic moves by the drummers. Most people have seen or heard taiko drumming in martial arts films, The Hunted actually featured Kodo, or at the Japanese portion of Epcot on the far side of the lagoon.

Several different drums are used, the largest being the O-daiko which is carved from a single tree and about four feet in diameter. Two drummers typical play the O-daiko, one on each side, and using what can best be described as sawed-off baseball bats, physical assault the drum with a intensity that builds to a mind numbing, primal beat that is mesmerizing. The performers wear only a sumo wrestler type belt and as the piece progresses you can see the sheen of perspiration and the red flush grow on the back, legs and arms of the performers.

Other drums are used and even a few traditional Japanese instruments are played on a few pieces along with vocalizations. Even movement, every stroke of the drumstick is timed and coordinated. The result is breathtaking.

This kind of performance is not for everyone but if you are adventurous and enjoy a different kind of musical entertainment, you should try to catch this show.