Concert Recap: The Terrible Twos (Phoenix, August 2008)

A week after the fact, but I thought I'd share a few pictures and thoughts from the Terrible Twos I helped put on here in Phoenix.

First, Matt Pryor and his Terrible Twos bassist Eric McCann are, unsurprisingly, really nice guys. That's one of the nice things about this genre -- I have this mental picture of the music scene for adults being rife with ugly personalities, and I just haven't seen that at all in this genre. Anyway, Matt and Eric are down-to-earth guys; some people you know are lawyers, some are teachers, and some happen to write or play music for a living. Matt and Eric are in that last category.
Matt decided to forgo amplification for the show, and so he and Eric stood in front of the stage. It brought the decently-sized crowd a little closer together, which I think helped a lot later on in the show.
I love big bass and I cannot lie. (My son, Little Boy Blue, loved seeing it, too, since he's currently obsessing over my violin and its bow.)
For a while I sat in the middle of the crowd, right behind all the jostling kids. The floorboards in that part of Modified are particularly loose, which meant I was bouncing around quite a bit. This is my favorite photo from the show.
There's a live video of "Pizza and Chocolate Milk" taken at, I think, an adult show where Pryor cusses out the crowd for not clapping along. I tell you, if there was any song I wish I'd captured on video, it was this one, because the whole crowd was into it, following Pryor's clapping commands on cue ("Double time!").
About 50 minutes after it started, the show ended with "Math Stomp." A fun time had by all. Hopefully all the kids slept soundly that night as Pryor promised... Thanks to Matt and Eric for making time for the early show.

Videos from the show are available here.

WooTwoZooTube! (Or, The Terrible Twos in Phoenix, Now on Video)

The Terrible Twos (or, at least, Matt Pryor and Eric McCann) put on a great show last night at Phoenix's Modified Arts. I'll have a recap with photos up soon, I hope, but in the meantime, here's 19 minutes of video from the show, featuring songs from both their albums, split up into 8 tiny nuggets.

The Terrible Twos - "Old Man Miller"

"A song about a porcupine..."
The Terrible Twos - "When I Get To Eleven"

They actually kicked off the concert with this, then did "Old Man Miller." Everything from here on out is chronological order. Why you'd care I'm not really sure, but I feel compelled to mention it.

The Terrible Twos - "Ladybug"

The Terrible Twos - "Big Baby J"

The Terrible Twos - "Olly Olly Oxen Free"

So, yeah, I was sitting down at this point and the floorboards in that part of Modified aren't the most secure. If you've got the audience dancing and jumping.

The Terrible Twos - "Jump Jump Jump"

I like the way Pryor adlibs his way out of some chord issues. Also, see prior note re: floorboards. Finally, listen to the very tuneful "yeah, yeah, yeah."

The Terrible Twos - "We Can All Get Along With Dinosaurs"

Dinosaurs screech, apparently.

The Terrible Twos - "Jerzy the Giant"

I can't whistle for more than one verse, so I filled in with some "la la la"s.

Have I Told You Lately the Terrible Twos Are In Town?

OK, I probably have. But, you know, I tell you all about shows like Kidzapalooza or the KC Jiggle Jam and nobody seems to mind that much, so why should I be so worried about telling you about a Phoenix show most of you won't get to see (live, anyway).

So for those of you who might not care about tomorrow's show because they're, like, 1,000 miles away, here's a stellar interview with Terrible Twos main man Matt Pryor. It's only maybe a quarter about the Twos (as opposed to Pryor's solo album), but there's also some great stuff on there about what it's like to be a working musician with family. Oh, and there are some mp3s from the first album plus some demos definitely worth checking out.

And just so you don't forget: Wednesday, Aug. 20th -- the Terrible Twos at Modified Arts (407 E. Roosevelt) in Phoenix. Doors at 5:30; show at 6:00. Tickets just $5 for adults, $3 for kids...

Ralph's World In Arizona, Presented By...

OK, not me. Next time, I hope. I can't help present every show. (Time for the unsubtle reminder that the Terrible Twos show, presented by, yes, Zooglobble, is next Wednesday, August 20th at 6 PM. Details here.)

But I am happy that Ralph Covert is heading down to Tucson with his band. That's right, on Saturday, November 8th, Tucson's Rialto Theatre will host Ralph's World in concert, doors at 10:30, show at 11:00, tickets $16 each. The show is being presented by Mrs. Tiggy Winkles, a Tucson toy store which carries a nice selection of kids music. Plus, they also have link for the bathroom.

And, apropos of nothing other than I saw the embedded video, which I'd somehow not seen before, for Ralph's wonderful "We Are Ants," here's a video.

Ralph's World - "We Are Ants"

Recess Monkey - Live At Modified Arts

OK, it's not quite Live At Budokan, and I'm definitely no Scorcese or Demme, but I've got 12+ minutes of video from Recess Monkey's show at Phoenix's Modified Arts. One's below, four more after the jump.

Recess Monkey - "S-L-Double-E-P-Over"

Drew's foot reminds me, vaguely, of the Robert Klein "I can't stop my leg" bit.
Recess Monkey - "Down Down Down"

OK, so I admit the video quality isn't particularly clear. Next time I'll be, like, 4 feet away.

Recess Monkey - "My Pet Rock"

Still, you have to admit I'm pretty steady with the camera.

Recess Monkey - "Rainbow Road"

The band actually led off the set with this, and so it might've been appropriate to lead this entry with this, but now Miss Mary Mack has taken to randomly singing "Yellow Trike!" and it's sort of gotten annoying, so I'm burying it here, despite the fact that it's a sweet little song.

Recess Monkey - "Boogie Monster"

Apologies for the weird sideways thing near the end -- my son, who I was following throughout the club, decided he needed to push down his shorts.