Alexandria River, Kaminari Taiko

 This is one of the sites of what was to be, in my opinion, the coolest couple attractions in the whole of Alexandria River Fete, they were two drum bands, Kaminori Taiko was the one that played on this stage to the left,

 When they began to assemble, the crowd wasn't exactly high-energy, more like they just kind of happened to be there, so decided to take a seat.

And then they begun their preparation, and the young lady standing in front gave us an introduction of the band, Kaminari Taiko                                                                                               
The band was so high-energy, so enthusiastic during playing, it was amazing, and they didn't just play for the crowd, they created it, they ran it, they molded it, and FORCED us to bob our heads along.

Then begun the REAL beauty of this high energy drum band.  They added a dance to the music

 

It was simply beautiful, it was powerful, it was engaging, it was fun.  They enjoyed what they were doing and they made us enjoy it, but the best part of the whole procession, out of the dance, the band, the music, the energy, out of everything, the best part was this woman

Her presence was palpable, she was truly powerful, she held everyones attention with her exuberance, she was the point in the circle that drew the eye in, she danced, she sang, she screamed, she laughed.  She brought the crowd and their feeling, their thought, their energy to the brink, to the very top, and then tipped it over, spilled it out.  She was a drummer.









They are a drum band based out of Houston, Texas, and I believe they will be at the next Alexandria River Fete as well, I believe they said they have been at the last two.


The following link goes to the Kaminari Taiko webpage, if you would like to look more into them or listen to their music, although I can't imagine that a recording could have the same power as seeing them live, however, for some that simply is not a possibility, like for me, whenever they aren't in Alexandria, haha.    http://www.ilovetaiko.org/


Thank you for checking out my post related to the Alexandria River Fete, my next post will be about the other drum band, which was also a great experience, Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko.  If you would like, you can leave a comment letting me know what you think or if you would like me to try and find out something more about them.