Inauguration Day chaos, wonder, excitement...part 2

Picking up from where I left off, we exited the cafe and began to make our way towards Dupont Circle, where a Drum Parade was scheduled for 2:00 pm, starting with a jam session before going mobile. However, it was taking us a long time to get there, and it was already after 2....and we needed a bathroom break. Fortunately, Karen knew another friend in DC, who kindly allowed us to stop in for a few minutes.

I'm not sure Karen's friend was prepared for a scruffy, bedraggled, taiko-playing interloper (that would be me, dear reader) plus Greg & Karen, invading her refined home. However, our hostess and her guests graciously welcomed us and gave us a chance to take a nature break, warm up a little and refuel with some tasty comestibles. Doumo arigatou! The break also gave us a chance to figure out where we could intercept and join the drum parade. Refreshed and ready to rock'n'roll, we bade farewell to our cheerful hostess and set off armed with drums, cowbell, and bachi.

Paused at an intersection, we could hear the sound of the drums approaching...and the parade soon came to a stop where we were waiting. This was the second of three jam sessions, and we quickly joined in. The parade was somewhat smaller than I expected (though the absence of the Batala Washington group hurt their numbers - more on the Batala group in my next post), but people were drumming enthusiastically.

I've got to mention this amazing apparatus....at first sight it looked like a bizarre Rube Goldberg contraption. I'm still not sure exactly how it was constructed; it seemed rather like an extensively-customized hybrid of wheelbarrow, bicycle and antenna. Truly, though, it was a clever construct, one that Mickey Hart (long-serving drummer for The Grateful Dead) would be proud of: hanging off of it, mainly on the sides and in the rear, were a variety of tom-toms & other drums plus a few percussion odds'n'ends. 3 or 4 different people played these various drum surfaces, while perhaps 16-18 others were banging on a diverse mix of drumming surfaces & percussion. One person even seemed to be playing a small saucepan with a drumstick!

It was during this jam that the bachi I was using for the cowbell - already frayed from aggressive use by Mark - began to not only fray further, but literally disintegrate. My gloves and forearms were getting showered with splintering bachi bits; thinking back, it's a small wonder that I didn't suffer any eye damage - one could easily have ricocheted towards my face! I gave up on the cowbell at that point and played Karen's uchiwa instead.

Our fellow drummers were mostly enthusiastic, and it was an enjoyable parade to be part of. Though I have to admit that the behavior & general disposition of a few of the random people who were drumming along suggested theirs might've been a chemically-aided form of merry-making ...

By the time we finished with the 3rd & final jam near the African-American Civil War Memorial, we were really tired & cold again. The lead players of the group were most appreciative of our contributions to the parade & jam sessions; we were just happy to be drumming, and it was a lot of fun to be part of.

By now further disheveled, we stopped at an Ethiopian Restaurant for dinner. Like Asmara in Cambridge, this restaurant features spongy bread for scooping up the delicious beef, lamb, spicy sauces & vegetables. A nice conclusion to a truly momentous day in American History - and We Were There!!

Inauguration Day chaos, wonder, excitement...part 1

Hello Again,

Excuse me for not being exactly chronological, but I wanted to post my thoughts about Inauguration Day before I comment on some of the other elements of our adventures in the Nation's Capital...

One of the group at Victoria's place woke up at about 6:40 AM on the 20th and kindly announced the time. Woken up, I took what I call a "2 minute warning" (a pro football term, for those of you who don't follow the NFL) shave & shower and threw on a bunch of layers and my improvised hachimaki (the night before Beth brought a bunch of white dishtowels we converted into hachimaki, inscribed with "TAIKO FOR OBAMA" in Sharpie). Karen, thinking ahead, had brought one of O.N.E.'s winter happi coats, which she wore outside her jacket and other layers. This, combined with her electric blue boa, made for quite the unique Inaugural outfit.

We boarded the red line Metro train at Silver Spring station....within minutes we were gradually compressed into one big human sandwich, as more and more passengers squeezed into our car with every stop. The pack was noteworthy enough to warrant filming by a TV cameraman at one stop, though it was impossible to determine the station he worked for. We briefly debated changing to the yellow line when we disembarked at Gallery Place, but one look at the platform convinced us to abandon the notion. March onward, taiko foot soldiers!

After a variety of false starts & seeking information/advice from various security personnel, we eventually charted a zig-zagging, indirect course toward the National Mall. (One noteworthy detour found us walking into a tunnel; people heading in the opposite direction informed us the way had become blocked in some way or another. I didn't mind reversing course, as it seemed as if we were descending into a cave...) Eventually we made it to the National Mall and sought out a suitable location to view a Jumbotron screen, which turned out to be a spot next to the reflecting pool - it could have doubled as a skating rink in the Arctic chill gripping the region.

We arrived in time to see the House & Senate leaders take their places, as well as the living former Presidents Carter, Bush 41, and Clinton.....Aretha Franklin - and her hat ....Justice John Paul Stevens administering the Oath of Office of the Vice President to Joe Biden.....the stirring performance by Itzhak Perlman & Yo-Yo Ma....Chief Justice Roberts administering (with a fumble) the Oath of Office of the President to Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America. The stirring, powerful oratory of President Obama's Inaugural Address. What a gift to have such a skilled orator as President, in this age of instant transmission of words and images. Some world leaders had better be prepared to deal with a true diplomat in the Oval Office!

Thrilled, but, by now chilled, the poetry reading and other final elements gave us an excuse to head for someplace to warm ourselves. A rapidly-filling cafe provided a haven from the unrelenting wind & cold and we warmed ourselves on soup, coffee, tea, sandwiches, and other treats. While the seats weren't big enough to accommodate all of us & our gear, and the food wasn't anything spectacular, the important thing was that it was WARM!

Inauguration Day, Part 2 to follow

Inaugural reflections from Dave on the Inaugural experience

Hi All,

I'm overdue for an entry, so without further ado...

I caught the 10:00 AM bus from South Station and enjoyed an uneventful ride to the cavernous Port Authority in NYC. I hailed a cab & then received a scenic tour of the Upper West Side en route to the hostel, but I made it there in good time and met up with Karen, Greg, Beth & Matt. We festooned the rental minivan with DC or BUST!! signs and red, white & blue ribbon streamers and embarked upon our big trip in high spirits.

Everyone got me up to speed on the events of Friday, including On Ensemble's performance at DROM and the already-famous karaoke tab. Kudos to the crew for a well-provisioned ride...even though the fresh fruit became frosty fresh fruit overnight in the frigid Manhattan air. (Hope you enjoyed the alliteration in there.) Our indefatigable drivers Beth & Karen cheerfully delivered us to Silver Spring, MD - YES!!!

Sunday's focus was the Inaugural Concert at the Lincoln Memorial. Outfitting ourselves with cold-weather gear and percussive devices, we rode the Metro & then walked to the National Mall, stopping along the way for some cool Inaugural buttons. Once on the Mall we began to play, which in turn began to turn heads our way. As previously noted a Fox affiliate filmed us and briefly interviewed Greg, but we don't know which city the "Fox13" crew came from...maybe Tampa or Memphis? It was interesting to observe passersby and note how much attention you can get from banging on drums & a cowbell.

We missed the opening moments from the concert; by the time I took my first photo, Denzel Washington was addressing the throng. We heard "Lean On Me" as we approached the Washington Monument; we settled on a spot just past it, and enjoyed the words & music awhile before relocating to get closer to a jumbotron during Garth Brooks' performance. The rest was pretty good, and a favorite moment for me occurred when Pete Seeger came out to lead everyone in several verses of "This Land Is Your Land" - surely Woody Guthrie was somewhere, smiling, while that song reverberated around our Capital. On that note, I'll stop for now. I'll check in a little later with another installment.

do-ko-do-ko-DON!

We Were There

We had a long, sometimes crowded trek to get to the National Mall, and along the way, we made some noise for change.
When we got there, we couldn't see anything for real where we were, but we were there, watching a jumbotron between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.

Kinda hard to believe it's real, even though I was there.

With Friends

The last few days have been quite eventful!

Matt and I haven't been staying with the rest of the group, which is sad because we hate to miss out on a slumber party, but we have been getting to stay with college friends that we don't see enough.

For our night in New York, we crossed the river to New Jersey to stay with Arwen, Uri, and their 2 year old daughter Naomi. We stayed long enough to have lunch with their rabbi and his wife (another Beth), while their 3 year old had fun playing with Naomi. It was a really nice visit, but altogether too short, since we didn't arrive until about 4:45 am! (Too much karaoke fun!)

Now we are in Silver Spring, staying with Ari (who I've known since freshman year of college), his wife Shira, and their 1 year old Gili (who has a cold). They have a really cute brick house in a neighborhood that I'm guessing was built in the post WWII housing boom (since it kinda reminds me of my neighborhood in Waltham).

This means that yesterday morning, instead of a fire alarm, we had a relaxed time eating breakfast, and building towers for Gili to knock over.

Then we joined the rest of the group for a terrific afternoon. We got to the national mall and started playing... before we knew it, we were being filmed by a tv crew (Fox 13, from where?). We also shared our instruments with passersby. That's what I came here for: to make some noise to celebrate--and share my joy with everyone around!

Then we went to the welcome concert, which was great. So many people! More on that later.

This morning, we have had a quiet time, spending time with Shira and Gili, watching the snow fall gently outside.

FIRED UP!

Our first day in Silver Spring started with a BANG. Midway through our morning, while Greg was in the shower, a fire broke out in the building where we were staying! 15 floors had to evacuate into the street! Greg, Dave, Victoria, and I headed to the dinner to eat pie!

DC or BUST

The Inauguration crew has landed!

Yesterday we said goodbye :( to Tanya (after staying a total of about 7 hours at the hostel - that's what happens when you check in at 4:30 am) after some tasty New York diner breakfast and a shopping trip to EMS winter wear reinforcements we picked up Dave :) and decorated the van with DC or BUST signs and red, white, and blue ribbons. Tolls booth workers cracked a smile every time we pulled up and asked them where we were - when they would answer - we would cheer.

More later -- Beth as better photos



It's cold here!

On the Road to DC!

Tanya and Greg -- the 'morning after' a $524 karaoke bill!

Beth, Matt, Karen, Greg, and Tanya took off in a rented van bound for New York where we met up with Mark and Kristen and friends at Drom for the On Ensemble concert. They were amazing to watch - both individually and as an ensemble. I have a new appreciation for what 'ensemble' means. Kaoru and Kelvin played Miyake lower than anyone I've ever seen! After the show we met up hung out with others from Soh Daiko and Taikoza then headed out for Greg's first taste of 'real' ramen (not ramen noodles in the package!) and OF COURSE we had to head out to KARAOKE where we ran up a $524 bill!! Many stories to tell there -- let's just say that I had no idea that Greg could do AC/DC like he did and that Beth has got a sassy side that comes out when she sings I love Rock and Roll! We missed Kristen singing Killing Me Softly by a millisecond as Mark and Kristen and crews friends were heading out the door. Next time Kristen!