Amherst College Drum Circle 2007

Keeping the beat.

 



Last night in front of the Robert Frost Library at Amherst College, just as the sun was going down, there was a drum circle ritual going on. Back in the day when I used to go to Grateful Dead shows, there were always drum circles in the audience, where the beating of the drums would go louder and louder and faster and faster, building into a wild, hypnotic, clothes optional Dionysian frenzy. 

The Amherst College drum circle was more restrained than that, at least while I was there, but it still was a lot of fun. A whole bunch of drums of every size and shape were laid out on the lawn. All you had to do was walk up, pick out the instrument of your choice and join in the beating of the drums.

This was the weirdest looking drum, it resembled a mutated teapot with boll weevils all over it. The sound it made was like coins shaking in sand.

This guy was really good, both at drums and playing the flute.

Hey, I'll bet you didn't know that I play a hell of a mean tambourine!

It was a great way to experience the dusk of the day and I hope they will hold a drum ritual every week, at least until it gets too cold.

A Bob Dylan poster is prominently on display in the window of Newbury's Comix in Amherst.

It's weird to consider that you could have walked around Amherst over four decades ago and probably also seen a Dylan poster somewhere on display.