We made it to the Kodo Drummer's concert half an hour early. It seemed like every foreigner in Kochi was there. A woman from Duke, one of the big chain record shops in Japan, was hawking CDs at the top of her nasal voice. Nancy and I bought one, knowing they would be sold out after the show. From there we made our way to our seats, 26C and 27C on the second level.

In spite of my directions Vineeth made it for the start of the show. I told him, "It's in the big Orange Hall," the name of the venue. Later he phoned and asked "Where's this big orange building again?" As luck would have it he was phoning from in front of the Orange Hall.

We turned off our phones as the lights went down. From behind the curtain came the whine of a shakuhachi - a Japanese bamboo flute, extremely difficult to play well. In the centre of the stage was a masked, kimono-clad dancer. She floated onstage for ten minutes before the second curtain came up, exposing the okaiko players. One stood with his back to the audience. You could see every muscle in his body, even that little muscle on on the back of your shoulder that no one has except Hulk Hogan and maybe Ravishing Rick Rude. Facing us were two more behemoths. More impressive were the drums, as big around as a good-sized Chevy truck. The auditorium filled with the most explosive rhythm imaginable.

My favourite was a twenty-minute call and answer piece featuring seven of the small, sharp-toned taiko drums. The drummers were seated on the floor. They began with toko-toka's as quiet as a baby's footsteps. One of the drummers would play a rapid tom-toka-tom so loud you wanted to cover your ears. That would be answered by another drummer. Eventually all the drummers were playing separate rhythms in response to one another. It was a dance with sound, each drum tuned differently to create a rainbarrel effect. All the computers in the world couldn't have programmed something so intricate and beautiful.

The concert was directed by a famous Noh director. It was dramatic and atmospheric with many of the elements of theatre. With their drums the Kodo drummers set the stage for fighters and lovers, mourners and comedians.

The encore left everyone feeling good. It featured a simple rhythm everyone could clap along to. They sang and danced through the audience as they left the auditorium. Then the lights came up and it was time to go home.