Tokyo Limelight Circus 2005-09-07

This was a band called Tokyo Limelight Circus that I found practicing in Yoyogi Park. They weren't set up on the sidewalk performing but off to the side engaged in serious work (and looking seriously photogenic). I mentioned in a previous post that groups of all kinds meet in the park simply because there's room to spread out with no apparent noise restrictions.

In response to the question below, you could say they are a "jug band" minus the jug. They do have a washboard player (who you can barely see here). Actually, it may be more accurate to call them Zydeco (because of the accordian, bass, and guitar). I don't really know, and I can't even recall the music they were playing. I did a search on Google and saw that in Japan they are labeled "Hillbilly Music" (at one club). So there you go, sort of. Here is a quote about jug band music found on the web (more for interest than because it explains what these guys are playing):

Although jug band music is often associated with the folk traditions of rural, predominantly white Appalachia, it was in reality performed mostly by African-Americans in urban areas. Jug bands united Appalachian folk with blues, ragtime, and very early jazz; they are best known, of course, for their novel, do-it-yourself instrumentation. The jug in question was usually a whiskey jug, and a player blew across the mouth of the jug to produce pitches in the bass register. Jug bands usually featured at least one stringed instrument from the Appalachian tradition -- guitar, banjo, and/or fiddle -- and used a wide variety of everyday, easily available household objects for rhythmic accompaniment. The most common were the washboard (whose slats were struck and rubbed in a way analogous to a snare drum) and the metal washtub bass, which was usually equipped with a broomstick and clothesline that produced the sounds.

As always, I appreciate and read your comments. :)