Concert Report: Goh Kurosawa

This was one of the busier weeks, as far as prep went, because Goh would be staying with us. But I also had a couple helpers, in Dan and Yohaan. Dan did some plumbing repairs to give the rec room where Goh would be a working private bathroom (though the shower is still upstairs). Yohaan assembled the futon frame and helped set up the futon, in place of our air mattress on the floor.

While I was still doing some of the cooking, the guys all gathered around the dining room table with their guitars. Goh showed Yohaan and Dan some tapping techniques, and they worked on them together. I usually have my Zune playing while I cook, but this was soo much cooler! I need to figure out how to make that sort of thing happen more often! 

This was our first concert that featured an instrumentalist, but if anyone was concerned that it wouldn't be as engaging a show, those concerns were quickly put to rest as soon as Goh started playing. I could see the musicians in the audience watching Goh's hands, trying to figure out how he was doing what he was doing. The non-musicians, like myself, were simply enjoying the sound. At the end of the third song, Jeff asked a question that inspired an impromptu teaching session, in which Goh broke down exactly what he'd been doing with the last song. It'd been a "simple" tune, in G-major, that Goh had written for his students, designed to get a "full" sound out of the guitar. Of course, at the end, he admitted that none of his students had ever actually played it, which amused (but didn't entirely suprise) the audience.

After the break, the night became more musically interactive, starting with Dan accompaning Goh on his bodhrán. What started out as a chill little number quickly became a considerably more energetic improvisational jam, which the crowd very much enjoyed. Then Jean & Bill played a few songs, including a couple originals and a cover of Bruce Springsteen's I'm on Fire inspired by their previous visit for our night with Kevin Oaks. Jim Marcotte closed out the music with one of his originals. He was going to play more, but then he and Goh got into a discussion about harmonics. As the musicians talked shop, the rest of us noticed the time (not in a bad way, mind you, but it *was* getting late). So we wrapped things up on another fun night. 

Thanks to Jim, Jean, Bill, Dan, and especially Goh for sharing their music with us, and thanks to everyone else for coming out to enjoy it!