Anything Goes at the 2013 Calgary Omatsuri

Fingers crossed that my website issues are sorted out until the next major Wordpress framework upgrade. Now, I can get back to the business of blogging and merry music making! The final performance from the 2013 Calgary Japanese Festival was by the cover band Anything Goes. They're a young band, founded this spring. However, they've been making a splash at events such as the Calgary Expo,  GeekM00t and the  Show and Shine, "On Wheels for Kenya" event. Their next big gig is at the Edmonton Comic & Entertainment Expo.

Here's some clips that I took of their performance at last month's Omatsuri:

Afterwards, I had the opportunity to chat with Vanessa, Gladzy, Joe and Trent as everyone else was packing up:

My apologies for the soft audio.  I tried to bump it up as much as I could.By the end of the day, my camera batteries had died and I didn't have the proper adapter to use my external mic with my phone. But dang! I still love my keitai.

My one wish is that that the next time I hear Anything Goes perform "God Knows" from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, the band will perform it in Japanese. ;-)

Anything Goes on Facebook

About the featured photo: Anything Goes perfoms at the Calgary Japanese Festival. Photo by Christine Kohl. Published by Kathleen Irulanne Boucher.

Minyo Dancers at the Calgary Japanese Festival

Minyo dancing is another type of traditional Japanese dance. It's done more at festivals to commemorate the dead and to celebrate festivals. Here is my interview with Pat-san from the Minyo Dancers of Lethbridge. It had to be cut short as they were just about to go on stage:

Here is one of the dances they performed:

Calgary Japanese Festival

Minyo Dancing

Catching up with the Koto at the 2013 Calgary Omatsuri

The koto is a traditional Japanese instrument. This stringed instrument actually came originally from China. At the 2013 Calgary Japanese Festival,  Mizue Asai-Kaufmann and Kaori Akiyama performed several numbers after the short drizzle:

I had an opportunity to chat with them afterwards about learning to play the koto. How interesting that they both learned the koto at the same age!

Omatsuri J-Pop and Anime Talent Show Highlights

I'm going a little out of sequence from the Calgary Omatsuri programming schedule, simply because I feel the need to stir things up a little. A new addition to the Calgary Japanese Festival programming was the addition of a J-pop and Anime Talent Show. This part of the show featured young singers from across Alberta. They each had a chance to sing one number earlier in the day. The talent show itself was the second last event on the programme. Here is a video compilation of some of the performers:

The performers featured are: Sierra, Rachelle, Bryan, Colton, Yan (YT: Blue Reminiscence) and Kathleen (YT: Irulanne). They performed "Tsukiakari no Dearest"  - Camus and Mikaze Ai, "Hikari" (AKA "Simple and Clean") from Kingdom Hearts and "Sora wa Takaku Kaze wa Utau" from Luna Haruna and Fate/Zero.

I also had the opportunity to interview Bryan and Colton, two of the performers. I'll upload that one once I'm done editing it.

Interested in checking out the featured songs? Here they are:

Uta no Prince-Sama Duet CD Reiji & Ranmaru / Ai & Camus

Game Music

COLORS

Hikaru Utada

Sora wa Takaky Kaze wa Utau [w/ DVD, Limited Edition]

Runa Haruna

Renshikan Karate Demonstration at the 2013 Calgary Omatsuri

At the 2013 Calgary Japanese Festival, members of the CJCA Renshikan Karate Club and Fish Creek Renshikan Karate Club perform at karate demonstration. In this clip, they perform basic blocks and kicks:

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch up to Sey Yamashiro-sensei or Frank Prystupa-sensei for an interview. At least, I can share with you some information and point you in the right direction if you'd like more information.

Perhaps, karate is the Japanese martial art that most people are familiar with. My generation grew up with the original Karate Kid and Miyagi-sensei ("Wax on, Wax off.")

"Karate" means "empty hand". It is a form of self-defense, as Frank Prystupa-sensei described in the demonstration.

They learn a variety of blocks and kicks in the form of kata (forms). In addition to grading, practitioners can participate in tournaments.

Here's where things get interesting. There are so many different schools of karate. The style that is shown here is called Renshikan-Ryu. It is a relatively young style, founded by Japanese-Canadian David Akutagawa (1927 - 2008). It is a combination of two older schools: Shito-ryu karate and Chito-ryu karate. Akutagawa sensei was an eighth dan in Shito-ryu, a sixth dan Shihan and renshi in Chito-ryu.

For more information on karate, or to find a dojo near you, check out the following:

Japanese Martial Arts (book)

Karate Alberta Association

Karate Canada

Karate USA

The Karate Dojo: Traditions and Tales of a Martial Art (book)

In the Dojo: A Guide to the Rituals and Etiquette of the Japanese Martial Arts (book)

About the Featured Photo: Members of the CJCA and Fish Creek  Renshikan Karate Clubs demonstrate a kick at the Calgary Omatsuri. Photo by Christine Kohl. Publisher: Kathleen "Irulanne" Boucher.