08-05-2023, 10:37 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-05-2023, 11:05 PM by Drunk Monk.)
8/5/2023 Tears of Nature
I had a ticket for Friday’s show but I was at STS9. I bailed on the 2nd STS9 show tonight & opted for this. I also bailed on Jerry Garcia Day in SF, and missed the 33rd Annual Japanese Sword Show because I just found out about it today and already have overcommitted tomorrow to too many work tasks (It goes for another day tomorrow at the SF Airport Marriott if any other D00Mbro is interested).
But I was ecstatic about tonight’s CMF show because it was the best one Ive heard - amazing!
The theme of this year is percussion. I luv percussion.
Relapse by Peter Shin was inspired by smoking a fat blunt and staring in a mirror according to him. He had an identity crisis about being Korean Asian-American, and this piece reflected that. Woven around a traditional Korean folk song, intense percussive crashes disrupted the melody. It was quite good.
Carlos Simon’s Tales - a folklore symphony was the black experience told in 4 10 min movements. Simon explained it all when introducing the piece and it was described in the program but I got lost in what it meant. I liked the 4th movement which was based on John Henry.
Andrea Reinkemeyer’s Fire Sings Water was a creation tale of Ursula from the Little Mermaid. It imagined her violation that turned her evil. It built up to a tremendous crescendo.
All three pieces prior to the intermission were full of anger and heavy drumming. We both enjoyed that.
The centerpiece was another Tan Dun (and no, once more he did not appear). The Tears of Nature featured soloist Wang Beibei - recommended by Tan Dun for this piece. She may be the greatest drummer I have ever heard. She had an array of instruments that included 3 xylophones, a gamelan set, a cowbell set, conventional trap without a kick drum, a monster orchestral drum, a rain stick, and some rocks. She started with the rocks.
There were also 4 back up drummers. The best part was that her set up was at the front stage left, directly in front of our seats. We had the best seats in the house for her. She was only 25 ft away. We were the closest.
With the rocks, she worked her way up to the kettle drums and just took command. Such perfect drum rolls and the skill to expand and contract the kettles from fearsome to sweet. Then she worked her way back to her set and tore into every instrument there. She broke away, drumming on the floor and the conductor’s platform, which the audience loved but Stacy & I weren’t impressed compared to the rest. At the end, she was flying back and forth between instruments with unbelievable speed - absolutely mesmerizing.
She’s also a tiny Chinese woman - couldn’t be more then 5 ft tall. I’m used to rock drummer with orangutan arms. What she lacked in reach, she made up for in speed and precision. She got four standing ovations. I need to listen to more Wang Beibei.
Great show. One of the best so far. Truly enjoyed Wang and hope to see her again someday.
I had a ticket for Friday’s show but I was at STS9. I bailed on the 2nd STS9 show tonight & opted for this. I also bailed on Jerry Garcia Day in SF, and missed the 33rd Annual Japanese Sword Show because I just found out about it today and already have overcommitted tomorrow to too many work tasks (It goes for another day tomorrow at the SF Airport Marriott if any other D00Mbro is interested).
But I was ecstatic about tonight’s CMF show because it was the best one Ive heard - amazing!
The theme of this year is percussion. I luv percussion.
Relapse by Peter Shin was inspired by smoking a fat blunt and staring in a mirror according to him. He had an identity crisis about being Korean Asian-American, and this piece reflected that. Woven around a traditional Korean folk song, intense percussive crashes disrupted the melody. It was quite good.
Carlos Simon’s Tales - a folklore symphony was the black experience told in 4 10 min movements. Simon explained it all when introducing the piece and it was described in the program but I got lost in what it meant. I liked the 4th movement which was based on John Henry.
Andrea Reinkemeyer’s Fire Sings Water was a creation tale of Ursula from the Little Mermaid. It imagined her violation that turned her evil. It built up to a tremendous crescendo.
All three pieces prior to the intermission were full of anger and heavy drumming. We both enjoyed that.
The centerpiece was another Tan Dun (and no, once more he did not appear). The Tears of Nature featured soloist Wang Beibei - recommended by Tan Dun for this piece. She may be the greatest drummer I have ever heard. She had an array of instruments that included 3 xylophones, a gamelan set, a cowbell set, conventional trap without a kick drum, a monster orchestral drum, a rain stick, and some rocks. She started with the rocks.
There were also 4 back up drummers. The best part was that her set up was at the front stage left, directly in front of our seats. We had the best seats in the house for her. She was only 25 ft away. We were the closest.
With the rocks, she worked her way up to the kettle drums and just took command. Such perfect drum rolls and the skill to expand and contract the kettles from fearsome to sweet. Then she worked her way back to her set and tore into every instrument there. She broke away, drumming on the floor and the conductor’s platform, which the audience loved but Stacy & I weren’t impressed compared to the rest. At the end, she was flying back and forth between instruments with unbelievable speed - absolutely mesmerizing.
She’s also a tiny Chinese woman - couldn’t be more then 5 ft tall. I’m used to rock drummer with orangutan arms. What she lacked in reach, she made up for in speed and precision. She got four standing ovations. I need to listen to more Wang Beibei.
Great show. One of the best so far. Truly enjoyed Wang and hope to see her again someday.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse