Concert one: K.O.!

We had the first concert tonight, 661 seats and sold-out! That's the best way to start a tour.

On the downside, the stage was a bit smaller than what we're used to, which made some logistical things trickier. On the upside, the staff and presenter were super-helpful, the audience was completely jazzed from the start, and the green room food was always plentiful, varied, and tasty! Huge plusses.

It's always interesting to observe what people do on tour before a concert when we're in the theater. It often depends on the parts a person has - if they're new or specialized parts, often people will practice on stage until the house opens. Others go for puzzles like crosswords or sudoku. Some nap. Me, I watch movies and TV shows on my laptop. :)

Going to be an easy next three days - my half of the troupe goes to Cleveland, OH for a workshop. Then 2 straight days of driving to NH. I hear some of our members don't like cold weather...oh yeah, that would be everyone but me. lol. And even *I'll* be fruh-eezing out there. I'll enjoy it since it's not permanent!

Today's Quote, from me: "I wasn't aware of it until I was very aware of it."
Bonus Quote, also from me, about a song that I'm not in: "There shouldn't be so much rushin' in the song because I'm the only one here with Russian blood and I ain't in the song."

Is cold!

Weather.com says "31 degrees Farenheit (feels like 23)" And I believe it. And this is the warmest part of the tour. Yee-haw, bring it!

I was born and raised in Silicon Valley, but I've never been a warm-weather person. I like it cool because I tend to run hot., and sunlight turns me into bacon. Now, I don't plan to run around outside in shorts and a propeller hat, but I can enjoy the cool side of things while I'm here. And we predict single-digit weather in NH along the line...

Today we did half of a load-in (continued tomorrow morning) at the Goddard Auditorium followed by a lecure/demonstration (lec/dem) for a mix of world percussion students and Japanese-language students. The pic is from Franco's infamous kuchishoga (spoken notation of taiko) demonstration of "su", or the rest.

And today's quote (not that there's one everyday, but work with me here) is from PJ, as we discussed different types of taiko to the audience:

I bring out our largest drum, the okedo on the upstand
The crowd: "Ohhhhhh."
PJ: That's why we call it the 'O'-kedo."
Franco and I cracked up. And yes she gave me permission to post it here. :)

Ah, almost forgot! It's 2/27, 6:30pm PST. Since 2/25 @ 11:30am PST, (55 hours ago), I've had a whole FOUR hours of sleep. I'm finally feeling sleepy, so let's hope tonight is a winner!

Talk about your frequent updates...

Well, I've slept 30 minutes since the last post, maybe 45? I know, I know, over-indulgence is never a good thing...

I wasn't sleeping easily and then I heard the rain against the window, which I've always liked the sound of. Except the rain outside the window suspiciously sounded like rain inside the window this time. I found two leaks near the window, one in the corner and one down the drapes onto Franco's open-tilted suitcase. Yipes!

The front desk was super apologetic and is offering us a free room, food, drinks - we're good for everything but neither Franco or I are really upset; we caught it early so it didn't cause any damage. They found us another room and it's got a microwave and a fridge that works!

At least I heard the dripping because of my lack of need to sleep. Stupid brain is rewriting its DNA, apparently. Maybe I'll grow extra arms later on; that would make for an interesting Odaiko solo...

What a way to start a blog!

Welcome to the first post of my experiment! I'm a performing member of San Jose Taiko who wants to post experiences, perspectives, and oddball humor both during and between tours.

You won't find "dirt" or "gossip" here, but I plan to post things that amuse me about taiko, travelling, performing, and just being part of different communities. So with that, let the show begin!

• Today was day 1 of the 2009 Winter Taiko Tour. We're in Richmond, IN after flying into Dayton, OH. This would have been a normal start for me, even with a 6:23am flight this morning, except for one thing: I've been awake straight for 36 hours! I didn't plan that, mind you - I'd just fought off a stomach bug, caught up on sleep the day before, and just...haven't been sleepy. My system needs a reboot! I'm hoping that once I finish this post, the nice hotel bed will talk me into sleep. If not, I'll have to watch the third Matrix movie on cable to do the job. Ugh.

• Speaking of the nice hotel, the shower clearance is...about 6'5". I'm 6'3". I was able to exfoliate my knuckles while I shampoo-ed. Lovely!

• On one of the flights over here, just as we hit some moderate turbulence, this song popped on my mp3 player: Fatboy Slim - "Push the tempo".

• I like bullet points.

• The presenters lefts us nice gift packs of fruit, cocoa mix, and chocolates in our rooms. Very nice!
  

Allrighty, off to bed for me - stay tuned for further jaw-dropping posts!