The New York Buddhist Church will be holding its 60th annual Obon festival at Bryant Park (south west side). There will be performances by HAPPYFUNSMILE, Soh Daiko, Tachibana, and Hoh Daiko. Please come and join the fun!
Soh Daiko in New Jersey, 6/28, 7pm
June 28, 2009Soh Daiko will be performing in the Global Beat series at the Congregation Beth Ahm of West Essex in Verona, New Jersey: 56 Grove Avenue, Verona, NJ 07044.
Kagero at the American Folk Art Museum, 7/3, 6:30pm
June 26, 2009I’ll be playing my chindon with the KAGERO dudes at the American Folk Art Museum, July 3 at 6:30pm. This is part of the Free Music Fridays series and should be a blast!
American Folk Art Museum at 45 W53rd St.
Tachibana Dance Recital
June 22, 2009The New York Tachibana Dance Group held its annual dance recital yesterday, 21 June 2009. It was a flurry of activity with all the dancers dressing upstairs and the volunteers constructing the stage. With the help of Bob Moribe, Brian McGurgan, Marc Grobman, and others, the stage, lights, and sound worked flawlessly.
All in all, the kids stole the show. The littlest girl, Cocoa Yamamoto, started the recital with a solo dance (Musunde Hiraite). Daniel Mori joined her for Shojoji and he had his own solo (Momotaro). There are four young girls dancing with Tachibana these days—Mari Kubota, Nanami Kubota, Alissa Mori, and Moie Uesugi. They started just two years ago but they’re advancing so quickly! Their dances (Sakura Kamuro, Hataori, and Soran Bushi) were fantastic! Sometimes I forget how young Keiko Higashikawa is, since she’s taller than most of us, but she was really amazing (Fujimusume).
While we weren’t as cute as the kids, the adults held their own: Chris Brunner (Shichifukujin), Barbara Bell, Kazuko Brooks, and Akemi Ishida (Momiji no Hashi), Wynn Yamami (Ageshio), Katie Takahashi and Katherine Small (Jurakumai), Barbara Bell (Hibai no Fu), Samie Tachibana (Makasho), and of course, our teachers Sahotae and Sahotoyo Tachibana (Ogi no Shiki).
Tachibana 2009
Kagero Shows
June 15, 2009I’ll be playing chindon with the KAGERO folks at a few shows in June.
June 19, Tierney’s Tavern, 9pm in Montclair, NJ. 136 Valley Road, Montclair, NJ 07042. Part of the Boro 6 Indie Music Fest.
June 21, Cyn Lounge, 7:30pm in Williamsburg. 216 Bedford Ave (at N. 5th St), Brooklyn.
June 26, Two Boots, 10pm in Brooklyn. 514 2nd St. at 7th Ave in Park Slope.
Kagero at the Artist Loft Series, 6/1, 9pm
June 1, 2009I’ll be playing chindon with KAGERO at the Artist Loft Series. 723 Seventh Ave between 48th & 49th Streets, Penthouse Floor New York, NY. $10 Cover, with free drinks from 8-8:45pm, so come early and stay for the whole show, which runs from 9-11pm.
Kagero at Spike Hill, 5/28, 11pm
May 28, 2009I’ll be playing chindon with KAGERO at Spike Hill tonight at 11pm. Hope to see you there!
Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn
Gigs
May 20, 2009With the end of the semester and with family visiting from out of town, I’ve been too busy to update. But I played three very fun gigs this past week: HAPPYFUNSMILE at Forbidden City (5/13), Kagero at Lucky 7 in Jersey City (5/16), and Soh Daiko at Kingborough Community College (5/17).
No gigs in the immediate future. Time to relax!
HFS at Forbidden City, 5/13, 9pm
May 6, 2009HAPPYFUNSMILE will be back at Forbidden City on Wednesday, May 13, 9pm. Come celebrate with Brian, Kossan, Akiko, Kaori, and the whole gang! Free admission as always.
Forbidden City, 212 Avenue A, between 13th/14th
Soh Daiko Performances
April 24, 2009Soh Daiko will be performing at the Sakura Matsuri in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Saturday 4/25, 11am and the Centennial Celebration at the Newark Museum on Sunday 4/26, 12pm.
