London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Music at the 2008 Dano Festival in Trafalgar Square

Saharial wraps up on our coverage of the 2008 Dano Korea Summer Festival, and launches the LKL YouTube Channel with exclusive live video footage from her camera.

Its now a week on from the Festival, but the memories still linger very happily. Of course, there was more going on than Noridan, with three musical sets Guy Barker, Tomi Kita and of course Y.B. (Yoon Band).

Guy Barker
Guy Barker

Guy Barker, pictured above, went down well with the crowd, especially on his mention of Kim Duk Soo and his visit to Korea to work with him. It’s a shame that schedule constraints made it impossible for them to play together, but hopefully this can be resolved next year to provide an interesting set.

Tomi Kita
Tomi Kita

Tomi Kita played the next set and, though distracted by a quick chat with Tall Lee of Steranko who was there to show support and enjoy the atmosphere, I enjoyed the set a lot more than I did at The Peel. I especially enjoyed the song they announced as being from their latest Album which I believe is this one, and one that is going on my wish list for sure now. It also features Yoon Do Hyun and, seeing as Tomi Kita gets a mention on the sleeve of Y.B.’s 7th Album ‘Why Be?’, it’s a collaboration I’m keen to hear.

The crowd in Trafalgar Square
The crowd in Trafalgar Square

By the end of Tomi Kita’s set, the square was fully packed and keenly anticipating Y.B. The crowd was a more international mix this time round and, after a hurried introduction – Y.B. took to the stage to wild enthusiasm and cheers from the crowd. The set pretty much followed the one they did on Friday – kicking off with ‘Cigarette Girl’ as before, but omitting the slower numbers.

‘Naneun Nabi’ Y.B. Live (Flying Butterfly)

The set was far too short of course to everyone’s disappointment, and I am sure Y.B. would have loved to have played for longer. It was good to see them play in such a different environment and appeal to a wider audience in age and nationality than was at ‘The Peel’ – just going to show that good rock and roll is hard to beat, whatever language its sung in.

‘Arirang’ – Y.B. live (feat. Guy Barker)

One of the highlights for many I think was the above performance of ‘Arirang’. One of their signature tracks, one of the two that brought them to a wider audience in 2002 World Cup, the Arirang is South Korea’s unofficial anthem. This rock and roll interpretation was, this time, accompanied by Guy Barker on trumpet – definitely a unique performance for all who were there.

I would say that this was a very successful Dano 2008. Many thanks to everyone who organised it – we loved it! I am already looking forward to next year.

Check out our Youtube channel for clips of Noridan!

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