KODO March 18, 2009

Eisenhower Auditorium

The Japanese drumming ensemble KODO has performed more than 3,100 times on five continents. “Clad in sweatbands and loincloths, they are like percussionist kamikazes,” writes a Village Voice reviewer. “You expect them to drum till they drop.” KODO performers explore the limitless possibilities of the ancient Japanese drum, the taiko, by preserving traditions and forging new directions. The versatile performers dance, mime, and play a variety of instruments, but it is their awesome drums— including the massive o-daiko, a 900-pound decorated instrument carved from the trunk of a single tree and played by two men—that captivate. “KODO reminds its audiences that, above all, its music is a matter of flesh and blood, wood and stretched skin,” a New York Times writer observes. “KODO can raise the roof, but the group can also show extraordinary finesse.”