A Bad Day, Indeed

So by now I'm sure most of you have heard about Barenaked Ladies' guitarist Steven Page's, erm, difficulties. I thought about posting something, then decided against it, mostly because although you, the comfortably adult reader, probably had heard about it, your kids hadn't, and probably wouldn't. So it didn't really seem to, you know, affect you.

But I thought the band pulling out of their Aug. 22-24 appearance at the Disney Music Block Party Tour at the Nassau Coliseum merited at least a mention...
The show was the most jam-packed of the tour dates, so it's still a decent lineup without them. (Note: Bill points out that They Might Be Giants will be replacing them for that stop on the tour.)

They've done so, it seems, to avoid subjecting themselves and Disney to questions about Page which would certainly overshadow anything else on the tour.

All in all, I'm pretty sure that this marks the first time that a band's kids music album is inevitably going to be used for a "Behind the Music" episode, as on Snacktime! Page sings "Bad Day, a particularly sad but ultimately tender song about a kid having a bad day (natch). With lines like "I'm having a bad day / There's nothing you can do or say / To help me through this bad day / I think I'll just stay in my room," it's just a little too close for comfort, y'know?

But sometimes kids music isn't just for kids...

Video: "Pollywog in a Bog" - Barenaked Ladies

I can't say that "Pollywog in a Bog" ranks near the top of my favorite tracks on Barenaked Ladies' excellent Snacktime disk, but a good video can change one's impression of a song, no?

This is a good video.

Barenaked Ladies - "Pollywog in a Bog"

(featuring Kevin Hearn as the possum, Steve Page the owl, Ed Robertson the flying squirrel, Tyler Stewart the otter, and Jim and Andy Creeggan as the fox brothers. Puppets by Noah Ginex, directed by JP Riley.)

Disney Music Block Party Tour. Finally.

The Disney Music Block Party Tour took for. freakin'. ever. to get their site up and running. I mean, news of the tour has been floating around for at least a couple months now, and it became almost amusing to see the "Full Site Launches May [insert date here]" change every couple days, but midday today they finally came through on their promise.

Dan Zanes, They Might Be Giants, Barenaked Ladies, Imagination Movers, and Choo Choo Soul is a pretty sweet lineup, though they won't all be appearing at each concert. $36 a person is a bit steep, though kids under the age of 3 are free, and some of the other activities (the PLAYSKOOL play areas, NAMM-sponsored areas with musical instruments for the kiddos) look nice. (I'm a little dubious about having a tent with nothing but Playhouse Disney TV -- just stay at home if you're gonna do that -- but, hey, don't tell me that place won't be packed after the kids have been there an hour or two.)

No, They Might Be Giants and Barenaked Ladies will not be playing at the same show. Value for money, the last show in the Nassau Coliseum is your best bet. As for you Canadians, the good news is that you get a show. The bad news? The Toronto show gets one less act than everyone else.

Aaaand, of course Phoenix (not to mention the entire country west of the Mississippi) doesn't get a single show.

Full details (dates, locations, hours) after the jump.
Fri 7/25 - Sun 7/27 Tom's River, NJ Tom's River North High School: Choo Choo Soul, Dan Zanes and Friends, Ralph's World, They Might Be Giants (doors 2p, shows 3p)

Tue 7/29 - Wed 7/30 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion: Choo Choo Soul, Dan Zanes and Friends, Ralph's World, They Might Be Giants, Hosted by Raven~Symoné (doors 2:30p, shows 3:30p)

Fri 8/1 - Sun 8/3 Philadelphia, PA Fairmount Park: Choo Choo Soul, Dan Zanes and Friends, Imagination Movers, Ralph's World, Hosted by Raven~Symoné (doors F/Sa 2p, shows 3p; doors Su 1p, shows 2p)

Tue 8/5 - Wed 8/6 East Hartford, CT Rentschler Field: Choo Choo Soul, Dan Zanes and Friends, Imagination Movers, Ralph's World (doors 2:30p, shows 3:30p)

Fri 8/8 - Sun 8/10 Bridgeview, IL Toyota Park: Choo Choo Soul, Dan Zanes and Friends, Imagination Movers, Ralph's World, Hosted by Raven~Symoné (doors F 3p, shows 4p; doors Sa/Su 2p, shows 3p)

Tue 8/12 - Wed 8/13 Columbus, OH Crew Stadium: Choo Choo Soul, Dan Zanes and Friends, Imagination Movers, Ralph's World, Hosted by Raven~Symoné (doors 2:30p, shows 3:30p)

Fri 8/15 - Sun 8/17 Toronto, ON Downsview Park: Choo Choo Soul, Imagination Movers, Ralph's World, Hosted by Raven~Symoné (doors 2p, shows 3p)

Tue 8/19 - Wed 8/20 Rochester, MI Meadow Brook Music Festival: Choo Choo Soul, Dan Zanes and Friends, Imagination Movers, Ralph's World (doors 2:30p, shows 3:30p)

Fri 8/22 - Sun 8/24 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum Parking Lot: Barenaked Ladies, Choo Choo Soul, Dan Zanes and Friends, Imagination Movers, Ralph's World, Hosted by Raven~Symoné (doors 2p, shows 3p)

Video: "Drawing" - Barenaked Ladies

While I can't say that the '80s synth-pop of "Drawing," off Barenaked Ladies' new kids music CD Snacktime is my favorite track off the album, the new video for the song, featuring bandmember Kevin Hearn's visuals, is certainly distinct. (Go Team "DRAW"!)

But I think we need to put a moratorium on animated kids' music videos. Time for the live action, folks!

Barenaked Ladies - "Drawing"

Online Videos by Veoh.com

That's A Pretty Big Snack

I was wondering how Barenaked Ladies would do sales-wise with their excellent new CD Snacktime.

Turns out, pretty darn good. The album debuted at #2 on Billboard's Top Kid Audio chart, trailing only (who else?) Hannah Montana and her live disk.

Beyond that, the album hit #61 on Billboard's main albums chart, the Billboard 200. Given that Maroon 5's latest CD came in at #58 and sold 13,000 copies, that gives you a pretty good idea of how well it sold, just below the new Elvis Costello CD and smack-dab between Carrie Underwood and Danity Kane [Ed: insert your own joke here.]

To put the result into context, the album didn't do as well their 2006 album Barenaked Ladies Are Me (#17) or 2003's Everything to Everyone (#10), but did outperform their most recent Barenaked Ladies Are Men (#102) and 2004's Barenaked For The Holidays (#64).

And with that, my friends, I pledge not to use math anymore today.