Weather will determine if ‘Concerts in the Park’ series at Cesar Chavez Plaza begins today

2009-05-01T09:00:58Z

The first scheduled concert of Sacramento's 'Concerts in the Park' series may or may not occur tonight depending on the rain, according to concert organizer Jerry Perry.

The bands Sol Peligro, Retrograde Revolution and La Noche Oskura are scheduled tonight to play the first of 15 series lined up for this summer's concerts, held every Friday evening at Cesar Chavez Plaza. If it rains, Perry said the series will begin next Friday, and an extra concert will be scheduled Friday, August 14, to make up for tomorrow’s cancellation.

This is the 18th year that the Downtown Sacramento Partnership has hosted the concerts, which are free and open to all ages.

The plaza is located at 10th and J Streets and lined with food and jewelry vendors during the performances. There is also a beer garden adjacent to the stage. Perry said that depending on the musicians' set times, the concerts typically begin at 5:30 p.m. and end by 8:30 p.m.

Perry, who has been booking local acts ranging in genre from folk, rock, reggae, blues, acoustic, to punk at the concerts for the past 13 years, said he feels really good about the performances scheduled for this year.

“My thing is always trying to introduce new bands…I love all the new bands that are out there,” Perry said. Perry has 29 first-time acts booked to play the concerts for this summer.

Notable returning performers will include the Brodys, Bucho, Mumbo Gumbo and Agent Ribbons, according to Perry.

Also scheduled to play this year is renowned Sacramento rock band Tesla, whose performance was cancelled last year.*

The partnership's Director of Marketing, Lisa Martinez, said that in addition to a variety of new venues participating in the concert pub crawl after the performances, there will also be a number of new vendors selling food during the concerts.

It's a great event because it's free, and you can usually get food and a drink for under $10," said Martinez.

According to Martinez, 4,000 people attend the summer concerts on a weekly basis, and a total of 67,000 attend the concerts annually.

The concert series will continue for 15 consecutive Fridays at the park until August 7 or August 14, depending on whether or not tonight’s show is cancelled.

For a full list of this year's performing bands, visit http://downtownsac.org/concerts.

* Editor's Note:Tesla is not scheduled to play this year, nor did they play last year, but have played previously.

Local Taiko group to celebrate 20 years, asks what next 20 will look like

2009-07-24T05:13:29Z

Just a few steps into Taiko Dan's dojo stands a Goliath-like wooden drum looming overhead. The drum is 780 pounds and rests on a 860-pound stand, standing nine feet tall altogether, according to the dojo's owner and founder, Tiffany Tamaribuchi. Despite its intimidating proportions, the drum is beautiful, with a glossy finish and a large black and white skin stretched over it.

Dojo is another word for a school of training in Japanese; in this case, the Sacramento Taiko Dan performing ensemble uses its dojo to teach the ancient art of Japanese Taiko drumming. Behind the large drum inside the dojo are smaller drums stacked on wooden shelves, and the dojo's walls are lined with even more drums on stands; yet a newcomer's gaze returns to the intimidatingly large drum near the entryway.

It is an odaiko drum — meaning "large drum" in Japanese — Tamaribuchi said. It is made out of bubinga wood from Cameroon in West Africa and initially took anywhere from 60 to 100 people to transport. According to Tamaribuchi, it is currently the largest odaiko drum in North America.

Standing not much more than five feet tall herself, Tamaribuchi specializes in playing the odaiko. Watching her play the drum is mesmerizing. Each strike to the drum is driven with intense power and precision and reverberates with a thundering pulse.

Traditionally, women did not get powerful drumming or intense percussive roles, she explained. But Tamaribuchi was breaking conventions from the moment she decided to begin Sacramento's first Taiko drumming group at age 22 in 1989, after training under the grand master of the San Francisco Taiko dojo. "It was pretty challenging ... because of my age, initially I had a lot of difficulty trying to get anybody to take me seriously," she said. It was six to eight months of trying unsuccessfully before the minister of the Sacramento Japanese United Methodist Church finally offered a temporary practice space for the group at the church.

Although Taiko Dan will celebrate 20 years of success with an anniversary concert at the Sacramento Community Center theater Saturday, Tamaribuchi said the group is facing yet another challenge, where it must ask what the next 20 years are going to look like. "Things are going to have to change, or we're not going to make it," Tamaribuchi said.

The dojo offers workshops, classes and a youth program. Its costs are usually offset by performances and class fees. It also receives grants from the California Arts Council and the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts commission, but Tamaribuchi has been told to expect anywhere from a 30 to a 70 percent cut in funding. Tickets to the anniversary concert, held by Taiko Dan every five years, usually sell out. As of Thursday, Tamaribuchi said barely half of this year's tickets are sold.

Over its 20-year existence, Taiko Dan has had as many as 120 active members to as few as two or three. "It's really phenomenal," Tamaribuchi said, reflecting on Taiko Dan's expansion. "The first practice we had three people, the second there were 12, and by the third practice we had 40."

Most recently, she said the group has stabilized to 40 or so students, with 14 people in the performing ensemble and six touring members. Many of Taiko Dan's members work full-time jobs, volunteering their spare time to help teach and perform. Tamaribuchi estimates that 30 of the 80 or so instruments in the dojo are drums that have been handmade by members.

Taiko Dan is predominantly female, with only about five male students. This is unintentional — Tamaribuchi said her strong role as a female performer has drawn a lot of women to join. "It's a very accessible and empowering art form for women," she said.

Performing at weddings and public festivals as well as private events, the group averages 50 to 60 performances a year, down from a high of 80 performances.

Taiko Dan will rent a 24-foot truck to bring the odaiko to Saturday's anniversary performance.

The concert is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, featuring guest artists from Japan.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the community center box office, at participating venues or online at tickets.com.

For more information about the concert or Taiko Dan, visit sactaiko.org.

Photo Credit: Jonathan Mendick

Local performances

Weather will determine if ‘Concerts in the Park’ series at Cesar Chavez Plaza begins today

Local Taiko group to celebrate 20 years, asks what next 20 will look like