Every person has his or her different ways of relieving stress. In the movies (and a lot of times in real life, too, I guess) people will pop open a bottle of liquor and cry away their problems. Other people beat their wives or children, and others do the healthier things, like exercising, reading or talking it out with their friends.
Or they get together with a bunch of strangers and bang on drums. And apparently, this is one of the healthy ways to deal with the world.
This week's centerpiece, "The rhythm of the night," by Erika Wurst, takes a look at one of Tempe's most culturally diverse groups: the Mill Avenue drum circle. And according to one ASU professor, this may just be the best thing to hold addictions at bay or beat away your stress.
It's also a pretty cool place to hang out.
I've only experienced the drum circle once, and I was drumless. I sat on my bicycle and admired the group in front of me. It took a little looking to find them, since they had been kicked off of Mill by police a half hour before I saw them, but it was all worth it. I was experiencing people who, although they didn't really know each other, were bonding over the beating of drums. The group was rather impressive. A couple of guys there looked like they were stockbrokers or something, while others looked homeless. For these few minutes, though, it was like no one cared who anyone else was. And they were all in a perfect sync with each other.
I had never wished I had a drum or a tambourine or a bell so much in my life. I never got sick of the sounds bouncing off the walls around us, and I was sad to leave.
This group is what Mill Avenue should be on a late, weekend night: an eclectic community of people who accepted one another for who they were or weren't. Unfortunately, that kind of feeling isn't often found in the Mill scene, and people are more out for themselves, looking to fight or hook up with someone.
Maybe if people wandering down Mill would take a moment to listen and experience this interesting group, they would learn something from it. And maybe Mill would become a more welcoming, eclectic place to visit.
Reach the editor at emily.murphy@asu.edu.
