I'm from Midland, Texas where high school football is king. Seriously. In a town of about 114,00, my high school stadium holds more than 35,000 people. The book, movie and TV show are based on Odessa's football team, my high school's arch rival. I knew a lot of the boys in the book as it was written the year after I graduated high school. Life definitely revolves around those Friday night lights when you live in West Texas.
With football, comes marching bands. I played the flute and also twirled rifles and flags in our band, one of the best in the country. The Mighty Rebel Band as were known was a corps-style band, the forerunner of the today's drumlines. I'm a sucker for heart-pound drums so when I saw tickets were on sale for Drum Tao, I just had to go. Plus, I'd been hankering to see something Asian while I was here , but not TOO Asian. The thought of getting Tom to sit still - and stay awake - through a 5-hour Asian opera wasn't wetting my whistle.
It's hard to describe Drum Tao. Billed as "The Art of the Drum" it is a showcase of drumming at it's best. The likes of Ringo Starr and Buddy Rich have nothing on these guys. And these guys are hot! Muscular and sexy in a very ancient Asian kind of way. The show was a true spectacle, an ensemble playing drums of every shape and size. Sometimes there were gongs, flutes and weird Asian-banjo type instruments sprinkled in for effect. The musicians sported modernized, traditional-type costumes that were absolutely gorgeous and added to the overall effect. The staging and lighting was as cool as the music.
I kept thinking this was the Asian version of "Stomp" or "Blue Men Tubes" or "Riverdance." It was like something I've never seen before - and the kind of thing I'd hoped to experience in Asia.
I talked Heather and her husband Mitch into going with us. Of course, I asked Tom if he was interested, but in typical husband-doesn't-really-pay-attention-to-wife fashion, after the first two songs, he leaned over to me and said, "Are all they going to do is drum? When does the show start?" HA! He obviously liked what he saw and heard because for the first time in a long time, he didn't fall asleep during a show!
The star of the show is actually one of the women! All told, there were more men drumming, but women were well represented. Heather and I both like that they were portrayed as ultra feminine, yet powerful. There was also some silent, comic relief, humor in front of the curtain as they reset the stage for the next numbers. We Westerners sort of got it, but the Asians really ate up. Oh - there were a few displays of martial arts sprinkled in for good measure - also amazing. You should definitely clink on this link and watch some of the drumming.
The show as at The Marina Bay Sands Complex - a very nice, modern theater, the size of a Broadway theater, but in a mall. Imagine! Heather said the shopping center depresses her. So many lovely things - all at your fingertips, but far too expensive! She is totally right! Who can afford all that stuff? How do they stay in business?
Before the show, we went to DB Bistro, one of Daniel Bouloud's restaurants. Oh! My! God! DELICIOUS! It was directly across from the theater - a 2-minute walk if that.
The day was kind of a waste. I was supposed to go see a bunch of apartments, but the realtor's mother was in the hospital. Instead, Cheryl took the kids to Royce's and I went in hunt of shoes for my giant feet. I destroyed my one nice, black pair that I brought the first day here! Naturally, Asians don't have feet my size. They just kind of look in horror when I ask for a 43. Heck, American men don't have feet as big I do! So... no luck on shoes, but I did find a cute dress for about $24!
Today? It's raining - the terror of any mother with two toddlers. Wish me luck!