TP End-of-Year Taiko Marathon

During the last few hours of the last day of 2011, Bryan, Darren, Emily, Jason, Tomomi and I dared to complete the Taiko Marathon. We had three 30-minute shows in a row, with enough time in between to watch a few of our favorite YouTube videos backstage. The six of us were cozied up inside the First Christian Church in Fullerton, CA with the attendees of Fullerton's 21st annual First Night event. First Night is a tradition of Downtown Fullerton's. The event brings community members together to celebrate the new year in a safe environment. First Night had food of all sorts, entertainment stages in every direction, ample seating and even an ice rink!

When we arrived and found out we'd be playing inside the church, away from the hustle and bustle of the night outside, we initially expected a quiet evening. After all, who would venture inside and away from all of the fun (and more importantly, food) outside? Well, much to our surprise, the evening attracted a dense fog and chilly conditions, resulting in a long line of people waiting to come inside to hang out with us!

Our first show went quite smoothly. I remember a bachi flying somewhere, but we handled it well. :)

Our second show was going just as smoothly until I started feeling the first signs of fatigue during our last song, Many Sides. All that cardio after 2 weeks of vacation was intense! All of a sudden, I was hungry. It was like approaching mile 12 and really wanting a burger. Mitchell read our futures and knew we'd be starving, so he arrived after Show #2 with six delicious corn dogs! Thanks Mitchell!

The third show was difficult, exhausting and a piece of cake all in one. It's tricky to describe the feeling of fighting to get through, yet knowing you could do it all over again at the end. By that time, we were on auto pilot. We had made whatever mistakes we were going to make, and we were looking at the finish line. Once again, bachi went flying. However this time, the bachi came back to us! See what I mean about it being a piece of cake? A youngster in the audience was victim to one of our sticks, and after a bit of encouragement, he gracefully tossed it back up onstage so we could finish our set. How wonderful. I'll never forget what a great throw he had!

All in all, First Night was a success. I'm thinking about going back at the end of this year! Have a great 2012 everybody!