The Shakuhachi Quest

You enter the venue to the sounds of musician Michel Vles playing a variety of instruments to entertain your  pre-show.  This is a fitting beginning to a story about music in our lives and three young men’s quest to find a rare Japanese flute called a shakuhachi in Vancouver.

Jim Sands is a talented storyteller that weaves his tale of this quest with the help of the music and performance of Michel Vles. Although a few times Sands’ words got away from him, he recovered quickly and took the audience on a journey reminiscent of one of the best stories you would hear on CBC Radio.

The story centers around Sands being hit by a car while riding his bike and what flashed before his eyes in that moment while he was flying through the air. Family? Friends? Lovers? Regrets? No, Sands thought of his old friend Danny, although he says he did not know why. During the next hour we hear the tale of Jim, Danny and Bob on the quest to find the shakuhachi flute, a quest for that rare music in our lives that helps to define who we are and what makes us…well, us.

“Sometimes the difference between life and death is as thin as the groove on a vinyl LP.”

 You don’t have to be a musician or an instrument lover to enjoy this show but if you are you are in for a treat. This is a touching story of a quest, friendship, life and death, and the music… the beautiful music of life.