The night previous required a quick rehearsal, for what, you ask? Well, we had a performance lined up. Yes, that's right. You better believe it.::
It's the the Sannai Maruyama historical site in Aomori. The place is significant due to the fact that it is the location where an extremely ancient and well preserved Japanese village was unearthed (wow).
We had actually played there 3 years ago, and they had been requesting for us to return ever since.
One twist on the whole setup though, is that not only Kevin, Kyle, and myself are heading over there, but also a local young gun Shamisen player named Baily! He's American too!
So with our spirits high, and our ranks boosted, we drive off!
Our journey tours us past quite a few different distinct areas.
At first we hum along through rural farmlands. Then, cut through low, tree-covered mountains speckled in the awakening greens and pinks of springtime. After emerging from the windy mountainous roads, we skirt along the ocean and through the small seaside towns beside it.
Eventually, we pull over at a convenience store and meet up with one of the museum staff. He gets in his van and leads us to our destination.
We transfer our gear from the parking lot into the museum. We are introduced to some of the other staff people, and are allowed access to a conference room to warm up and rehearse.
Unfortunately, we really don't have much time to go over any of the material; the stage and microphones are already being set up for us. This is especially annoying for Bailey, who didn't have practice from the night before.
HUTEMERGEAILYHUT
Despite all, we descend the stairs from the conference room, and man the stage. There are a surprising amount of people in the audience.
We have our set list already worked out from last night, and we go down the list. Everyone is pretty rusty - for Kyle and I, this is the first time we have really played Shamisen at all since we got off the plane. Even this is the case, the crowd really enjoys us, and the energy is good.
Kevin speaks inbetween songs. He talks about how we flew out from America just a few days ago, how we are competing in the Hirosaki tournament, and that Kyle made his own Shamisen (they really loved that part).
After we wrap everything up, people ask for our autographs and take pictures with us (we did it! We're stars!).
The crowd disperses. We put our instruments away, and head over to to the cafeteria to grab some lunch (provided by the museum, free of charge). I got some Udon, where as Kyle got a really big meal modeled after traditional old style Japanese food.
With our appetites sated, we were ready to play for the second set.
We played the same songs, and we did much better after having the chance to warm up. However, the crowd was small, and hardly as excitable.
It wasn't until later, once we finished, and the audience came up to talk to us, that we realized a large number of the crowd were what you would call... mentally handicapped.
Later on we took an outside tour of the archeological dig site and the surrounding huts and buildings that were constructed in order to simulate a village from the ancient time.
Our guide is boring, and speaks a dialect that even Kevin can barely understand ... so ... we leave early.
On our way home, we stop by the Takahashi Chikuzan (an extremely influential and famous shamisen player) museum, located on the second floor of a supermarket.
... after that disappointment, we continue our journey to Misawa.
We drop Bailey off, hang around town for awhile, and when it gets around 9 or so, we head over to the "Live House", Wood Company.
When we show up, they are just opening things up. Kevin is greeted warmly by the staff and the owner; he has been coming here to play since he was in his early teens.
We slam down a shot of Tequila (because it's Abbott family tradition), break out our instruments, play a few songs, and screw around for awhile. The 4 people in the audience are as excited as they can be, and it's a good time.
Other than that, we go home and get some shut-eye.
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