Ass Wind & The Gang.

I've been a tad lazy of late thus I never did mention the 21st Jozenji Jazz Festival over the weekend. Mainly because for the first time in several years, I was unable to attend the entire event and could only catch the finales due to commitments at work. I got there first and bumped into a slightly inebriated Apple who provided me with a place to sit. It just happened to be outside a Jack Daniels booth and thus became a good focal point for others to drop by. Surprisingly I recall the names of the two gals (Miyuki & Tomomi) but I have no idea who the South African guy was. I also managed to cajole a couple of students and the JD-gal into posing with me.

As I arrived I heard the end of a group singing "My Way" in Spanish that was pretty good. Unfortunately, we were so far from the stage that I couldn't snap anything but fuzzy film so you won't be able to discern the fake chest hair on these KISS-Clones.

I did manage to capture the Taiko drummers a bit.

Also fuzzy are the afros and photos of EW&tG. Be sure to check out that link and go to "Member" so you can revel in the disco-outfits and afros of "Earth, Wind & the Gang". They are a very popular annual tradition at the Jazz fest and though their singing is not very good and their mastery of the Engrish** language is minimal, their enthusiasm is overwhelming.

The rain began just as they took the stage, so Alex & I huddled under a tree to hear them. They played several ballads which we thought dragged but others seemed to enjoy themselves.

They ended with September and every single audience member swayed along.



We parted ways from our compadres and went down the steps only to hear some actual Jazz at the Jazz fest. Taken aback, we decided to hear them out. Saw a bit of excitement when one of the throng took a tumble down the side of the stairs and landed dashed on the rocks below the fountains. He had quite a bad gash on his forehead but appeared to be alright once the emergency team of paramedics arrived. No good pics yet again, just the rear end view of guitars & an accordion. They sounded good though and that was it for Saturday night.

The polka-esque finale inspired us to have a beer in the German pub and though delish, was rather expensive.

**When the lead vocalist announced the name of the group, he pronounced the word "Earth" as "Aasu" thus prompting the name of today's post.

Boogie Down...