Gold Coast Multicultural Festival and home concert with Tenzin

In mid-September I had a double header with a morning concert on the Gold Coast followed by an afternoon home concert near Mullumbimby. Tabla Tarrango! (my tabla student performing group) participated in the Gold Coast Multicultural Festival. (Here's a link to last year's performance there.) Tenzin and I then had to rush down to a beautiful home on the ridge above Mullumbimby for one of his "For Tibet with Love" series of fundraising home concerts, where we were unexpectedly joined by the lovely violin of Cye Wood.

Tabla Tarrango at Gold Coast Multicultural Festival - Thejan (12), Shen, Nitin (14),  Tito (16)

 Shen, Tenzin and Cye exploring the sonic sphere. Cye had never heard our songs before which made it all the more a spontaneous and inspired journey.

The view from our home concert stage.

Caboolture Sacred Music Festival

Sunday 22nd May saw a bunch of us EthnoSuperLoungers in the van together up to Caboolture for their Sacred Music Festival. Feridun Avar, Tenzin Choegyal and I performed at the same event last year, and this year we were joined by the beautiful Yuki Taniguchi. All the performances were 15-20 minutes each and at the end we had an impromptu jam session in which Tenzin, Feridun and I were joined by didjeridu player Lyndon Davis. Many thanks to Nooreen Harris and the Moreton Bay Regional Council for inviting us.

Lyndon Davies welcomed us to country and shared some didj sounds with us.

Hello Africa got things pumping.

Tas Savusa and girls

Feridun Avar with Shen on tabla

Yuki and Shen performing mantras and kirtans

Tenzin and Shen doing their Tibet 2 thing

A very fun jam session!

The musicians who were able to stay until the end

Snow Lion Japan tour pt6: Saitama

My last concert of the tour with Tenzin and Taro was a charity show held in an art gallery in a quiet village in the hills of Saitama, raising funds for a new Tibetan university in India. Tenzin had to leave before the night was through so that he could catch up with HH the Dalai Lama in Nara the next day, but the rest of us got up to some good country style partying... This was my last concert of the tour because I was to head to Fukuoka with Yuki while Tenzin and Taro still had a couple more shows in Tokyo.

The event was also the closing party for an exhibition by local potter, who opened proceedings with an all-inclusive "kanpai!"

Tenzin's cousin Dolma Tsering is a leader in the Free Tibet movement in Japan.

After the official proceedings we sat around the fireplace, chatted and jammed...

I've created a facebook album with all the photos from this tour, including a few not on this blog.

Snow Lion Japan tour pt5: Niigata

We had another beautiful temple concert on our Snow Lion tour, thanks to Rie of Niigata, who was originally not going to organise the concert until she heard Tenzin and Taro's new CD. As well as having a great concert captured on video (hence no photos, but check out Tso Marpo video below), we also took a couple of walks on the nearby mountain along mossy and ferny pathways. Coming from dry old Australia, the moist forests of Japan are particularly attractive.

I've created a facebook album with all the photos from this tour, including a few not on this blog.

Snow Lion Japan tour pt 4: Tokyo again

Having been to Gifu and Kansai and back, Tenzin, Taro and I now had a few shows in and around Tokyo. First up, Cafe Slow in Kokubunji, sold out just as it was last year, purely acoustic and candle-lit. On the night of our next concert in Cafe Olimpico, Azabu, a small typhoon hit Tokyo and kept our audience at home. Three folks came along for a very intimate concert, followed by dinner and wine courtesy of the very hospitable bar owner.

On Tues 2 Nov, we returned to Joenji temple in Shinjuku, where Tibet House Japan hosted us once again for another very successful concert.

On the Friday, we had another return concert, where we followed up last year's Magokoro ("Hemp Heart") concert with another full house and some really beautiful music.

After this concert we set off at midnight for Niigata, arriving at 330am at a 24 hour onsen and dormitory! Next stop, Niigata...

I've created a facebook album with all the photos from this tour, including a few not on this blog.

Snow Lion Japan tour pt3: Kyoto/Osaka

On the drive to Kyoto, Tenzin came up with a beautiful melody for a new song, "Snow Lion" - look out for that on the next Tibet2Timbuk2 album.

Our tour sponsors Perfect Potion organised a beautiful concert for us at Taizo-in temple in west Kyoto. The monks served frothy macha tea to all the guests in a tea room next to a really wonderful garden, and then Tenzin, Taro and I played some really beautiful music in the temple's main room. It's been my dream for many years to have Tenzin performing in a Kyoto temple, so many thanks to Perfect Potion for making that possible.

We had a few days free in Kyoto including a walk over Mt Kurama and hot spring bath in Kurama Onsen in the north of Kyoto.

After these restful few days we had a concert in Chakra, Osaka. Chakra is a big centre for the Tibetan independence movement in Japan. Yuki opened our concert with some Sanskrit mantras.

I've created a facebook album with all the photos from this tour, including a few not on this blog.

Snow Lion Japan tour pt2: Sangeet Mela

Off to the annual Sangeet Mela, the 13th time this event has been held in Horado village, Gifu. Please search for Sangeet Mela on my blog for reports on previous very impressive events. Once again the lineup was packed dusk til dawn with accomplished Indian classical artists from Japan and around the world including Steve Oda (sarod - Canada/USA). This year there were a few non-classical items - Baul singing by Satyananda Das, Tibetan music by Tenzin and friends, and some fusion with santoor, hang drum, tabla and Odissi dance late in the night. Many thanks to Jimi-san for inviting us to perform there and for continuing to organise this conference every year. I'm sorry I didn't manage to get photos of all the acts this year. I was having a bit more relaxed time, including taking a one hour Thai massage between my two performances.

I've created a facebook album with all the photos from this tour, including a few not on this blog.