Outside of the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles on Friday May 8th, fans were lined up, talking excitedly and listening to a shamisen player playing a few songs reminiscent of the
Yoshida Brothers. The show seemed to be highly anticipated by a variety of people from the elderly Japanese, whole families with small children, couples on dates and even young people. Eventually, the doors finally opened and people were let into the beautiful venue complete with red velvet, beautiful giant chandeliers, and classy jazz music playing.
The show started about fifteen minutes late but people didn’t seem to mind as they chatted with those around them. The seated section took up most of the venue at the front while a number of people stood in the back. Soon the lights dimmed and the lighted sign of ‘El Rey’ disappeared off the red velvet curtains and the curtains slowly opened.
The show started off with the lively new song from
Prism called
National Anthem. The atmosphere was more like a rock band playing a high energy show with the arrangement of bright lights and highly technical background music. The
Yoshida Brothers started off the show energizing and exciting their fans by playing a fast-paced shamisen arrangement at center stage. The song seemed to be over quickly and was followed by
Kodo, a
Yoshida Brothers classic and one in which they are well-known for. This was a crowd favorite as the audience became more focused on the show and cheered as it came on. As soon as this performance ended, the audience erupted into enthusiastic clapping and calls to the brothers. This seemed to motivate the duo and their performance immediately changed from a serious concentrated performance to more carefree and energetic for the rest of the show.
After the third song, the older brother
Ryoichiro started off the MC by introducing himself and his brother, giving a few words in English and Japanese. He then turned it over to
Kenichi who thanked everyone for coming. The two then sat down on chairs at center stage, slowly beginning their next performance piece. The rhythm started off very slowly and picked up with each beat of the song. The lights followed the mood of the song very closely, which was true throughout the show. The song
Panorama was next, and a percussionist appeared on stage getting loud applause and cheers from the audience as he walked up to the massive drum set up in the back. This was the only other musician who helped out with the
Yoshida Brothers performance on stage during this show. The percussion in the background of the song didn’t cover up the melody of the shamisen at all but actually enhanced the instrument’s sound.
After the sound of applause for
Panorama,
Ryoichiro picked up a mic and introduced the next song of the night,
Storm from their newest album
Prism, saying this performance was a special edition of the song just for lives. It ended up being a solo played by the younger brother,
Kenichi. The audience was dead silent, enchanted by the solo. It was so silent a person's sigh could be heard from across the few hundred capacity venue. The younger brother played with a lot of energy and had a more fun style of playing; he always looks like he’s having the time of his life, having fun with his performance and constantly smiling.
He soon left and
Ryoichiro began his solo, playing the song
Suirin. The older brother’s style seems a lot more serious, more focused but containing a lot of passion while playing this more traditional type of melody. The audience was entranced by the intricate play of fingers running across the bridge of the instrument. Some even let out quiet exclamations to the people next to them about how talented his playing was. The song slowly evolved into a play off between the percussionist and
Ryoichiro. The cheers from the crowd grew louder and louder as the two became more and more intricate with their instruments. This encouraged
Ryoichiro and he seemed to have more energy and a lot more fun as the audience grew louder.
Kenichi returned to the stage and the two began to play the atmospheric
Oborozukiyo together. As soon as the shamisens were heard, the whole atmosphere changed from the exciting electrically charged atmosphere from before to a more serene mood complete with the soft blue lights accompanying them. Both of the shamisen masters slowly melted the mood away into something more mellow and traditional. It was as though an old Japanese folk story was being told with the shamisen. When the daydream-like song was over, it was as if disappointment fell over the whole audience.
Ryoichiro spoke softly and broke the spell over the crowd. He announced their new album
Prism came out on May 5th and asked everyone to go and buy it. The very short MC promoting
Prism ended and with a shout the brothers went into their next song,
Blooming.
Hit Song was next, which was exactly what the title describes. Background music was played during this more Western music-influenced song, and there was hardly any of the traditional shamisen sound.
Finally and disappointingly it was announced that the next song,
Tsugaru Jongara Bushi, was the last for the night. The brothers described it as the traditional Tsugaru shamisen style of song, which is mostly improvisational. When listening to the song and seeing the brothers play it live, people would never have guessed it was played spontaneously. They took turns soloing and jumping in and out of the song with ease. Racing against each other, they moved their fingers faster and faster each second. It was also easy to tell that both of the performers were more comfortable and had the most fun with this style, a style that was very different from all of their other songs they had played. The song slowly winded down and came to an end. The brothers stood up to intense clapping and cheering, waved to the audience and left.
The cheering and calls of the audience did not end until the
Yoshida Brothers came back onto the stage a few minutes later for one last song. The last song for the night,
Fujin, seemed like another Tsugaru shamisen style of song. This song somehow seemed much shorter compared to the others. They stood up and took many formal bows to the audience in sync and then walked around the stage waving to their fans. The audience was giving them a standing ovation, madly cheering and clapping for the show. The two brothers reluctantly turned around, carefully picked up their instruments and walked offstage. The curtains closed and the classy jazz music returned, closing out the memorable night.
Set List:
1 NATIONAL ANTHEM
2 KODO
3 TOKI NO SUNA
4 PANORAMA
5 STORM
6 SAIUN
7 OBOROZUKIYO
8 BLOOMING
9 HIT SONG
10 TSUGARU JONGARA BUSHI
ENCORE:
FUJIN
More information on Yoshida Brothers and their newest album Prism
can be found on their official website.
