Concert Review: The Hold Steady (Phoenix, June 2007)

The Hold Steady are not kids' musicians.

This will come as a shock to absolutely nobody, but I felt like stating that before explaining exactly why I thought a brief review of The Hold Steady's Saturday night show at the Brickhouse in Phoenix was appropriate for this site.

Goodness knows that the lyrical content of the band's songs are NSFK. If Craig Finn had lent his hand to popular kids' songs, Mary would have developed a nasty heroin habit after Little Boy Blue sold her lamb to pay off a gambling debt incurred somewhere in St. Anthony Falls. (It would've sounded awesome, though.) As Finn quipped when noting that they'd be playing Vegas the next night, a city they'd never played before, "I enjoy a lot of vices, but gambling's not one of them. But here's a song about it." And then they launched into "Chips Ahoy!"

I'm rapidly approaching that point in my life where rock concertgoing involves serious cost-benefit analysis, and of course I treat it in such a way that my younger self would've mocked. Avoid the alcohol because it'll mess up my sleep? Check. Wear comfortable shoes? Check. Use earplugs? Check. My younger self? Heck, the band would've mocked me. (Except for the earplugs part.)

But the show was worth it, in large part due to Finn's energetic showmanship, muttering to himself, leading the crowd in singalongs, encouraging them to clap along, dragged the crowd by force of will alone. It was oddly reminiscent of... wait for it... Dan Zanes.

Really.

Remember that concert down in Tucson? Yeah, well, for the first twenty minutes Zanes, like Finn, pleaded, cajoled, and begged the crowd to get into the show, and by the end of the show, they were completely part of the experience. (Finn isn't hurt by having four very talented musicians helping him to put his words into energetic songs.)

I doubt the Hold Steady and Dan Zanes, even though they both call Brooklyn home, would get together to just play music. Heck, keyboardist Franz Nicolay founded the "Anti-Social Music" collective, while Zanes almost called his Catch That Train! album "Social Music."

But they do share an infectious joy in performing, something that Finn noted from the stage. I'm sure it's something he says at the end of many shows, but seeing Finn grin for most of the concert made it easy to believe him when he said that "There's a lot of joy in performing up here." It's a sentiment that Zanes would agree with completely.

And one of these days when Finn settles down a bit and decides to write about people becoming (probably bad) parents, perhaps he can sing about getting home from the club at 1 AM and being woken up at 5:30 AM by the kids.

Harrowing, I tell you.

Review: Prelude to Mutiny - Captain Bogg & Salty

I will be upfront and say that although pirate mania seems to be taking over the world, I, thus far, have been immune. No eyepatches, no using pirate lingo, and only on the rarest of occasions do I drop an "Aaarrrrrrgggghhh." (Though that does give me tremendous satisfaction.)

I do, however, make an exception for the charms -- yes, charms -- of Captain Bogg & Salty, which for nearly 10 years has been performing kids and families in their home port of Portland, Oregon and in other parts of the world. They are a pirate band, though I think it's probably more truthful to call them a pop/rock/theatrical band with a very piratical attitude.

This is definitely noticeable on their third album Prelude to Mutiny, which was released in 2006. The album starts out with a more traditional vibe, led off by a rousing version of "Drunken Sailor." The next track, "Bosun Whistle," has a traditional sound, but also sounds a little bit like trip-hop -- call it "ship-hop." And its unsettled lyrics about an uneasy sky lead nicely into the third track, "Mutiny of the Hispaniola," which, as you might expect from the title, is an elaborate story song about a pirate mutiny. Captain Feathersword, this ain't.

The rest of the album, while not totally happy and cheerful, backs off from the darker side explored in those first three tracks. "The Loneliest Sailor" is a love song, believe it or not. "Doldrums," while exploring the not-so-happy occurrence of being trapped in idle waters, is married to a straight-ahead rock melody. "Dead Men Tell No Tales" is the best song AC/DC never wrote. And the good captain's deranged take on "Part of Your World," from Disney's The Little Mermaid is in its own special category of "must-be-heard-to-be-believed."

Darker in tone than its predecessor, the album lyrically is appropriate for a slightly older audience, perhaps kids ages 6 through 10+. Which isn't to say that younger kids wouldn't appreciate some of the tracks here, just that if you've got a three-year-old, I'd probably start out with Pegleg Tango perhaps rather than this. You can hear samples here.

If you hate pirates, then I wouldn't recommend this. (Though I'd ask you, why'd you make it this far in the first place?) If you or someone in your family loves pirates, or even if, like me, they're just fans of well-crafted rock/pop songs and stories in song, then Prelude to Mutiny is worth your time. Recommended.

Record Collection: Top 10 Desert Island Disks

Longtime readers know that while I love to write lists of songs (and I promise I will finish that Top 50 Kids Songs list very soon), I haven't done much in the way of lists of albums.

Well, with these occasional "Record Collection" entries, I hope to remedy that ever-so-slightly.

The not-quite-out-of-beta Education.com asked me to write some articles on on kids music for them, and the first entry has just been posted: "Ten Kids CDs to Take to a Desert Island." You could probably ask me for a Top 10 list 10 different ways or at 10 different times and I'd come up with 10 different lists. This particular list is "a list of CDs (in no particular order) whose enjoyment has stood the test of time in our household." I bet a few of the CDs on my list would be on yours, too -- feel free to tell me which ones I've cruelly omitted.

For a taste, here's my comment on one of the albums:

They Might Be Giants, No! – You can't go wrong with either of the two kids albums from They Might Be Giants, who've been turning out quirky pop songs for adults for more than 20 years. This collection, the first of two for kids, gets the nod over its successor Here Come the ABCs for sheer consistency of material, but, really, either would be a great addition for your sandy retreat.

More pieces of mine will be running there in the weeks and months ahead. In the meantime, if you've got a preschool through grade-12-aged child, you should stop by the site. Reference articles, community features, and expert advice. Not much for the snark, but man cannot live by snark alone.

Chicago Loves the Kids, Too (Kidzapalooza Lineup Announced)

So even though Lollapalooza is a good six weeks after the Austin City Limits Festival, those good folks in the City of Broad Shoulders just got around to announcing their Kidzapalooza lineup. Slowpokes.

As with the Austin Kiddie Limits lineup, this one too can be divided into two camps:
1) Adults Playing For Kids
2) Kids Playing For Adults

In the first category, you have the following (artists playing ACL Fest noted with a happy *):
-- Peter Himmelman: Kids' singer-songwriter of the highest order
-- Wee Hairy Beasties: Americana/insect-based rock from Jon Langford, Sally Timms, and other Bloodshot Records staples
-- The Sippy Cups* -- Psychedelic-inspired rock and pop
-- CandyBand: Punk music from four Detroit-area moms
-- The Hipwaders: Occasionally retro power-pop
-- Q Brothers* -- Hip-hop
-- Peter DiStefano & Perry Farrell: This has nothing to do with their appearance here (replicating their appearance last year), but that new Satellite Party album cover is one of the weirdest I've seen in some time. (Note: "Weirdest" is a gentle term for "bizarre." Or "awful.")

In the second category are bands made up of youngsters or recently-adulted young folks. Again, I don't know much about these bands, though I believe the Blisters and the Alvin Ailey Dance School both showed up at last year's Lollapalooza.
-- Paul Green School of Rock All-Stars*
-- The Blisters: Oddly enough, Jeff Tweedy's kid is playing Lollapalooza while his dad isn't. (Even though Wilco -- but not the blisters -- are playing the ACL Fest. Weird.)
-- Rock For Kids Youth Jam Band: I keep having this feeling that they're gonna break into an extended version of My Morning Jacket's "Mageetah."
-- Alvin Ailey Dance School
-- John Yost's Rhythm Revolution

Lollapalooza is August 3-5, 2007 in Chicago's Grant Park.

And for those of you looking to score some free tickets, the Paul Frank Store in Chicago is hosting a party this Saturday, June 2, from 11 AM to 1 PM. You can tell me how those Paul Green's School of Rock All-Stars sound, and maybe win some free tickets.

Austin Kiddie Limits: The Early Guide

Anyone who's read Neal Pollack's Alternadad knows that Neal's family's experience 2 or 3 years agao at the Austin City Limits Festival, though not a debacle on the level of Woodstock '99, wasn't a familial high point, either.

Still, that's not gonna bring the fine friends at the ACL Festival down, because once again they're organizing Austin Kiddie Limits, a separate stage just for the young folk at this year's edition scheduled for September 14 through 16, 2007. (Note: that's "young folk," not "Young Folks" -- Peter Bjorn & John are on an entirely different stage.)

In any case, I'll leave the obsessive "this lineup is awesome/this lineup is sucks" discussion for the 93% of the lineup not specifically for the kids to other websites; this is the place for the obsessive "this lineup is awesome/this lineup is sucks" discussion pertaining to kids music.

Now, the lineup can be basically divided into two categories:
1) Adults Playing For Kids
2) Kids Playing For Adults

In the former category, you have the following:
-- The Sippy Cups -- Psychedelic-inspired kids rock, with a hint of punk and Replacements tossed in. Also, costumes. As a result, those attending ACL for Bob Dylan and Bjork might find them slightly amusing.
-- Daddy A Go Go -- Straight-ahead rock 'n' roll with a side of smart-aleckness. It's exactly as if ACL artist LCD Soundsystem played Southern-fried rock with teenagers. OK, it's nothing like that, but until Jimmy Buffett plays ACL Fest, I got nothin'.
-- Farmer Jason -- Countryfied rock without a trace of irony. The obvious parental equivalent would be Jason and the Scorchers, but no dice.
-- Sara Hickman -- I understand from the folks in charge that she'll be pulling double-duty, playing both an adult and the kids stage.
-- Q Brothers -- Good-time hip-hop and rap. (Is there any other kind for kids? I mean, is gangsta rap for youngsters doomed to be forever untapped?
-- Jambo Kidz -- Bluesy stuff from LA
-- Bummkinn Band -- Gentle country for the kids. Not Shania Twain country, much more traditional.
-- Jellydots -- If you've been reading this website for any length of time, you're familiar with Doug Snyder and his band, The Jellydots. Awesome stuff.

In the second category are bands made up of youngsters or recently-adulted young folks. I really got nothing on these three except that the School of Rock has a Police song up on AKL's Myspace page (a perfectly acceptable version, and timely to boot), and the Steps is an Austin-based band.
-- Paul Green School of Rock All-Stars
-- The Steps
-- We Go To 11

As 2 1/2 afternoons of music go, pretty good. (And the evenings, not for the kiddos, might have a band or two worth catching...) If we can avoid chucking juice boxes onto the stage, then even better.

More details to come.