In English Wagakki Band means a band playing traditional Japanese instruments, and that much is accurate. But it doesn’t give you any idea of the energy these people bring to the stage, or of how amazing the fusion of rock and traditional Japanese music can be when in the hands of masters like these. On Monday they will be doing a concert at Irving Plaza, NY, NY, and then they will swing south for a stage at SxSW in Austin, Texas. This is in honor of/promotion for their new album Yasou Emaki, which I am already looking forward to. And then there is the Anime they are involved in this year.
Here are a few tunes to get you ready for the concerts. The first track is Hangekino Yaiba, which means something like Blade of Counterattack, and was posted on Aug 14, 2015. The second is Akatsukino Ito, or The Intention of the Akatsuki, and is wonderfully visually dense with the Dragon. Finally, weighing in at 36+ million views and still climbing, is Senbon-Zakura, roughly A Thousand Cherry Blossom Petals, the first song by them I ever saw. If you have even a small chance of making one of these shows, do yourself a favor and be there. This is one of those bands the world will remember for decades, don’t let yourself miss this opportunity or you will be kicking yourself about it 50 years from now. Oh, and did I mention they were involved with an Anime production?