Concert Recap: Family Music Meltdown 2 (Austin, September 2008)

Well, it's been a little while, but the good times of Family Music Meltdown 2 are still in my memory and before they leave my memory, allow me to recap an excellent night of Austin-based kids music. It ended with a whole bunch of kids rockin' out with Joe McDermott and his band, but before we got there...
First up was a quasi-acoustic set from Super Pal Universe, who played a bunch of originals, plus their cover of the always fun Sara Hickman singalong tune, "Your Red Wagon." In the YouTube below they do one of their originals, "Microphone." (I think that was the name. I was bad at taking notes at this stage of the weekend.)

Next up was Mr. Leebot, who brought his awesome guitar and assorted electronic doohickeys for a bouncy show. You know, it still kills me every time he refers to "Mrs. Leebot." Not sure why it does, but there ya go. The YouTube below is one of my favorite Leebot tunes "Come On Along."

So the Jimmies -- or three quarters of 'em anyway -- made a special guest appearance and did a version of "Cool To Be Uncool." The Leebot guitar, or one of the cords, went silent near the end so it was a particularly stripped-down version. "Unplugged," indeed.

The Telephone Company appeared on stage next, with the kids in prime paying-attention mode. (I just wanted to hear "Mustache," which they did. They also put giant animal heads on. Here's "Little Mermaid Time," from their forthcoming CD (though when it's coming forth is a bit of a mystery).

Uncle Rock was also kind enough to make a guest appearance -- here he is with his son Jack giving us "Rock 'n' Roll Babysitter."

Laura Freeman was joined by her bassist Heather Jarry and continued to keep the kids entertained, a fact for which I have photographic evidence but, unfortunately, not video evidence. Oh, and I was occasionally following my nephew and/or daughter around.

Finally, Joe McDermott and the Smart Little Creatures took the stage and played a great set, as usual. The shot of the weekend for me, frankly, was when Joe invited kids on stage to play air guitar and a whole bunch of kids hopped up and rocked out. Joe ended with a slow-ish songs, the kids grabbed partners, and by 9 PM we were all tired but happy and ready to go home.

So thanks to all the artists, Bill for co-sponsoring, and all of you who showed up to listen and dance. Hope your kids fell asleep promptly.

Family Music Meltdown 2 Preview

I've written a lot about the Austin Kiddie Limits stage at this weekend's Austin City Limits Festival, but I'd be derelict if I didn't mention Family Music Meltdown 2, the show Bill and I are throwing early Saturday night at Ruta Maya Coffeehouse. Five great Austin bands for just five bucks. That's a great band per buck (or for free if you're an infant). Regardless of how you spell it, it will rock.

The set order will be as follows:
Super Pal Universe (acoustic)
Mr. Leebot
Telephone Company
Laura Freeman
Joe McDermott and the Smart Little Creatures

There's no better excuse to keep your kiddos up late than to have 'em dancing 'til 9 PM. Heck, even if you can only stay for an hour or so, it's a heckuva deal. For more details on these fine Austin artists, read on...
Super Pal Universe, the brainchild of the wonderful Sara Hickman, are a group of kids that rock out (seriously, I saw 'em at AKL last year, and they were loud). But for this show, they're gonna drop it down a notch and play acoustic. You can watch a bunch of videos of the band here, or watch the stop-motion video for their theme song below:

Mr. Leebot brings together the sounds of They Might Be Giants, Devo, and Diana Krall... uh, OK, just TMBG and Devo. He's also the creator of this program's name. Check out his tunes on his Myspace page or YouTube page, or just watch the live video of "Ants in my Pants" from the same Ruta Maya stage he'll playing Saturday...

I wish I could describe the Telephone Company's music, but it's, just, difficult. Surreal and fun. Go to their website to watch their video for "Mustache," or, if you'd prefer, watch the documentary below. They played this show last year, and we're glad to have 'em back!

Laura Freeman played this show last year, but this year I think she's also bringing along Heather Jarry, so I think there will be some puppetry involved. It's a bit too simplistic to call Laura's music folk music... but I'm feeling lazy at the moment. Check out this live version of the awesome "Orange":

And last but not least, Joe McDermott and the Smart Little Creatures. I've seen Joe play a couple times (including this show last year), and he's a great showman. His kids-pop music sounds great with the full band. The video below shows some snippets of Joe playing solo, but he and the band are a great way to end the night of music.

Family Music Meltdown 2: Return of the Poster

Everybody loves cupcakes, blowing out the birthday candle, and most of all, great music.

Jay from Lunch Money outdoes himself (last year's poster) with this, the poster for this year's Family Music Meltdown. (Though the type is sorta hard to read in this JPG version, it looks awesome in its 18 MB glory.)

Saturday, Sept. 27th -- doors at 5, show at 6, and tickets just $5 (infants free). With Super Pal Universe, Joe McDermott and the Smart Little Creatures, Laura Freeman, Telephone Company, and Family Music Meltdown name-creator Mr. Leebot. (And who knows who else might show up?)

Woo. Hoo.

Back To Austin

It's true, folks, we'll be heading back to Austin in late September for this year's Austin City Limits Festival, and in particular, the Austin Kiddie Limits stage. Now I can engage in my own schedule-balancing as I try to figure out how to maximize my time at the AKL stage while not missing good shows elsewhere around the festival and simultaneously making sure my daughter is having a good time and not getting too tired.

That's right, Miss Mary Mack will be joining me again, and I'm hoping she'll help her dad out a little more this year, what with her new-found experience as a returning festival-goer.

We'll be staying with the Official Brother, Sister-in-Law, and Nephew of Zooglobble, since the Official Mom of Zooglobble will be out of town that weekend. We'll also be flying into Austin instead of Dallas, thereby saving us 3 hours of driving each. Yay!

And, no, I am not the secret replacement for Brian Eno in David Byrne's set (probably my most-anticipated non-AKL set).

But wait, there's more!
Yes, as Bill mentioned a couple weeks ago, there will be another Family Music Meltdown, with a lineup that we (Bill and I, your humble hosts) think will include:

Mr. Leebot
Telephone Company
Laura Freeman
Joe McDermott
Super Pal Universe

Those of you around the Austin -- especially those who aren't going to ACL -- won't want to miss this. $5/head, infants free. The fun starts at 6 PM Saturday Sept. 27th at Ruta Maya Coffehouse in South Austin.

For Those Of You Worried About Saturday's Family Music Meltdown

Even though the White Stripes have cancelled their Saturday night show at the Austin City Limits Festival, there is absolutely no truth to the rumor that the Deedle Deedle Dees will abandon their 8 PM-ish slot at the Family Music Meltdown to fill the Stripes' 8:30 slot.

Again, to repeat, the Deedle Deedle Dees will be playing at the Family Music Meltdown Saturday night, not at Austin City Limits.

Thank you for your concern.

(Oh, and thanks Jumping Monkeys for the plug. They had nothing to do with the whole Deedle Deedle Dees rumor.)