Stirring Things Up

My taiko group played at an adult day care center two weekends ago. It was an interesting experience. I've never played for an audience of elderly people. Seeing these cute old men and women made me miss my grandparents. I think some of the residents enjoyed the music more than others. One lady was covering her ears the entire time which made me wonder "Are we that bad?" lol Maybe we interrupted her nap time...Fortunately, no one had a heart attack. Several members were worried that the sound of the taiko would be too overwhelming for the residents, especially in such a small space. After performing several songs, we invited the audience to participate in a matsuri song. We walked around the room carrying Oke-daiko and Uchiwa-daiko for the residents to play. The funniest moment was when this petite lady sitting in the front row shouted "Shikkari!" as she watched her caregiver try her hand at drumming. Gotta love the spunky grandmas in the world. ;) My Popo is one of them.