Yamato Drummers, Spirit Tour 2001

Wadaiko Yamato, drummers of Japan, make a stirring start to the evening, pounding out a sharp, infectious rhythm. But rapidly the beat changes and new elements come into play; a haunting duet covers a scene change, a comedic duel erupts between two drummers, and now the drums are not only beating, but speaking; and this is the skill of the Yamato drummers, that they can inspire emotion in their audience, and then take that emotion and change it, again and again. The huge variety of instruments allows incredible virtuosity; in addition to cymbals, gongs, flutes, koto(Japanese zither) and shamisen(Japanese lute), I counted around twenty different sizes of drums, enough to strike chords, repeat melodies and shake the stage. But the sound is only part of the entertainment; the drummers move with perfect precision and controlled physical exertion, whirling and kicking around their instruments, drumsticks cutting great arcs of red and white across the black stage. The sticks whirl and the music is created, but the actual act of drumming is elusive, as if the musicians are dancing, and the drumming a side-effect of their dance.

The second half opens with a delicate flurry of tiny hand-held drums, brandished like fans. In a typical reversal of feeling, the drums suddenly become bats, tossing an imaginary juggler's ball across the stage, while the drummers scramble to keep the beat in the air. The music calls films to mind; Japanese epics, Spaghetti Westerns, particularly the intense and thrilling flute and shamisen pieces, 'Kumo' and 'Hayate'. The evening ends with the maximum possible number of people playing the biggest possible drums. An encore allows the audience to join in, clapping along with the drummers, discovering exactly how hard work it all is. Warm, funny and irrepressible, the musicians remain enthusiastic, energetic and spectacular to the last.

Jeremy Dennis 09/03/01