Another band at the Alexandria River Fete, Matsuri Daiko

 This was another band at the Alexandria River Fete (said as:  Fet), out of Houston, Texas as well, called Matsuri Daiko, also Japanese-themed, but this one is Okinawan as opposed to Mainland.   They were also very high energy, but their energy was more...aggressive, which was understandable in the scenario, as the song they played for us was an old song and dance to ward off evil spirits, to fight against these spirits


Before they even made their appearance, their performance had begun, with a stylized entrance, with the sound of drums beating off in the distance as they started from beyond the stairs, and came down into the audience opening.

 The dance was a mix between a powerful, liberating call to arms and an aggressive, combative attack, on the spirit who they were attempting to ward off.

 And then, a demon makes its appearance, although, this one is technically here to help, at least if it is what I think it is, which would be a Shisa, in Okinawan mythology, sometimes also called Guardian Dogs, the males help to ward off evil spirits, while the females spread goodness unto the land.  Although they are technically good demons (in Japan, a demon is not always evil, there are good demons and bad ones) they are not exactly 'friendly' creatures, and while they protect homes, they will also attempt to scare away any people from the home.

People like these ones here, where it made a jump at a woman taking a video with her phone, causing her to jump up to the next stair up, hehe.

 And the Shisa Stars are unveiled.  And they would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for those pesky kids and their drums too. *shakes hand in the air*












Well, thanks for checking out my post on Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko, a Japanese themed band out of Houston, Texas.   If you wish to look them up, or see where they may be making appearances, you can check out their website at  http://www.rmdtexas.org/  

Leave a comment if you would like and please stay tuned for my next post.