Ive always thought of Irish/Scottish music as a type of music where some sort of participation is part of the experience, whether that be sitting in on a session, or on the dance floor. As much as I appreciate this style of music, I have never felt it appropriate to merely sit and listen, except for a slow air. Yet thats exactly what I have been missing here in Japan. Everyone just sits and listens as if they are in a jazz club. There seems to be a few people here who know how to dance and offer dance lessons, but no one seems to be taking them up on the offer.
What do you guys think about this? It just really feels like something is missing.
It’s my understanding (and very possibly wrong,) that the Japanese tend to be a more reserved society. Is there another sort of music or event that evokes a more participatory enthusiasm from people in Japan? Maybe ITM is just somewhat unusual there, and everybody doesn’t know the usual cultural setting.
In the course of business travel, I’ve been to sessions at The Field in Kyoto as well as others in Osaka and Tokyo. Also had the great fortune of visiting the Irish Music festival in Takeshima (at GulliverLand!) The dynamics were very different from sessions here, seemed everyone tended to wait for someone else to start the sets. My friend Peter and I actually got criticized on The Field’s weekly weblog (now there’s a way to keep everyone in line) for starting too many tunes and being generally too enthusiastic.
That being said, I met some phenomenal players there. I know only the most minimal of Japanese language, but we all knew the same sets of tunes. It was just amazing.
Yeah, your right, this is in many ways a very, very, reserved society- but then again, this IS the culture of public bathing, crazy winter festivals where nearly naked men dance in the freezing cold dressed in nothing but loin cloths, and co-workers who after exchanging daily greetings will proceed to tell you about their current struggles with constipation. They seem to be very selective with what they are reserved about. That being said though, I did notice that at my old job at a Japanese circus, they would sometimes watch our act and not make a single sound until the end after which you would get a thunderous applause. Then again, maybe we weren’t funny and the applause was just to be nice.
Checked out the session log- pretty funny stuff! It didn’t seem all that bad though. I feel that sometimes people take themselves too seriously here. Music is supposed to be about having fun- at least that’s how I felt even when I made my living playing music.
If I knew how to do more of the dancing, I’d get out there myself!
-Hudson
p.s. you’re right- there are some great players here. (and I’m not talking about your’s truly!)
