The Martlet

The line wrapped around the block outside of the Alix Goolden Performance Hall on Pandora Street. Victoria was in for a treat: the first Canadian performance of powerful shamisen duo, the Yoshida Brothers.

Their North American tour is the continuation of their ambitious desire to share the unique and versatile sound of the shamisen with the world. The Yoshida Brothers’ wide appeal was apparent at a glance at the line: teenagers in skinny jeans, grey-haired gents in ties and everything in between all waiting, glued together by a buzz of anticipation in at least three languages.

Special guests, Dharmakasa opened the evening with their ingenious pan-cultural fusion sound. Their songs, combining east and west, old and new, fell on receptive ears.

Andrew Kim’s serene stage presence hid a mad instrumentalist genius. He displayed an invented nine-string violin for “Persian Griot,” his homemade electric sitar for a variation on an Indian raga they called “Electric Kofi,” and a theremin for the closing number. Recognized Japanese flute master Alcvin Ramos enthusiastically acted as the MC, and proved his talents when he performed a Celtic piece on his shakuhachi — a technical and artistic feat with a beautiful result. With Steven ‘Shambunata’ Daniluk on drums, and Cameron Hood on bass back-up, the quartet (together since 2001 after meeting at a yoga class) celebrated the release of their first CD, the aptly named Between Worlds.

During the 15-minute intermission, the stage setup was stripped to only two low stools, microphones and small side-tables at the foot of the wall organ that looms over the Alix Goolden stage.

Ryoichiro and Kenichi Yoshida appeared to a chorus of anticipatory applause, and took their seats with shamisens in hand. The shamisen, often called the Japanese banjo, is a long-necked, fretless instrument with three strings and a small square body. It’s played by strumming a plectrum, called a bachi, rather than using one’s fingers — though during some pieces, it seemed as though they used their fingers to pluck the strings on the neck of the instrument. The brothers, clad in matching spring-green hakama and white kimono with goldenrod and teal striping on the sleeves, sat silent and still for only a moment before launching into their first song of the evening.

Ryoichiro, the 31-year-old elder Yoshida brother with the youthfully spiky haircut sat hunched over his instrument for all but the most intense solos. He would surface afterwards to share his toothy smile with a clapping, hooting audience, soaking up the enthusiasm before delving back into his private world for the next song. Kenichi, 29, was the opposite. He smiled with reserve and briefly bowed over his instrument in thanks for the applause. But during performance he came alive to tilt his head back and sway with the speed of the music, smiling wryly in the midst of his most impressive solos.

One brother would play while the other sat calmly, waiting, and then they would launch together with impeccable timing in frenzied unison. The audience chuckled when Kenichi, easily the more fastidious of the two, nonchalantly cleaned his plectrum with a yellow cloth while his brother was in the throes of an intense and lengthy solo.

The brothers play in the tsugaru style, which evolved in their home prefecture of Hokkaido. The tsugaru style features speedy finger work and frequent percussive strikes of the plectrum against the shamisen’s body. Their fingers were all but blurs during “Storm” and “Kodo,” the song that’s most well-known to North American ears, thanks to the Nintendo Wii commercials (which feature the “Inside the Sun” remix of that track).

They were brought back on stage for an encore after the crowd clapped and stomped in demand. Their talents, honed in private from age five and in the public eye since their 1999 Japanese debut, are considerable. Their sound, daredevil solos mixed with traditional fare, is distinct. Like genuine rock stars, they left the ladies of the audience tittering (it must have been those hands).

Their latest CD, The Best of the Yoshida Brothers, hit shelves on June 3.