Kindiefest 2010: Mr. Leebot

I remember Mr. Leebot was playing a small gig Bill and I set up and now he's playing the big-time Kindiefest conference. Lee turned in a fun, energetic set (especially considering he's, y'know, a robot), but perhaps the liveliest part of the performance was when Tito Uquillas, Chris Wiser, and Tor Hyams came out to join Leebot for some robot dancing on, er, "Robot Dance." "Sensory overload," indeed -- they had some dancing skills heretofore unknown to us... Mr. Leebot - "Good Bot" (Live at Kindiefest 2010) [YouTube]

Nickolodeon's Mega Music Fest: Biggest Mashup Ever

What do you get when you cross Yo Gabba Gabba! with the Laurie Berkner Band and Colbie Caillat? Synergy! Or, at least, that's what Nickolodeon believes, as they announced yesterday the first-ever "Mega Music Fest." (Note to self: "Mega" is no longer a prefix, apparently. It's a word unto itself.) On May 22 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the channel will be hosting the concert and taping it for a prime-time special this summer. In addition to the folks above, the concert will feature Wycleaf Jean, the Roots, Dora the Explorer, and the Fresh Beat Band, along with Sherri Shepherd and John Leguziamo. Caillat, Jean, and the Roots will apparently be performing duets with the other folks. For those of you thinking that this would make for a fun live concert experience, you're going to have to know people -- there's no mention of the concert on the BAM calendar even though it's just ten days before the concert. I'm 99% sure that Caillat, Jean, and the Roots will be performing with the Nickolodeon folks, but would it be too much to ask for at least a Roots/Berkner performance? (Yes, apparently it would.) Photo credit: Todd Owyoung

Kindiefest 2010: Sugar Free Allstars

At some point during the Sugar Free Allstars set at Kindiefest, I turned to the person standing next to me -- at that point in the set we were all standing -- and said, "Hard to believe they generate that much from just two guys." And it's true -- it's not that Chris Wiser and Rob Martin are playing 3 instruments each, it's just that they get the maximum sound out of their organ and drums. They both also worked hard, Wiser especially, to get the crowd dancing, Wiser exhorting folks to stand up and wringing every last bit of energy out of their funky 17-minute (20-minute?) set. How much energy did they have? They finished the set quickly enough that they had time for an extra song. They also had time to pull Jeni Cosgrove, Mindy Thomas, and Jeff Bogle up to show their disco moves on "SFA Disco Dance Party" (picture below). Sugar Free Allstars - "Cars and Trucks" [YouTube] (watch Mr. Leebot and the guys from Recess Monkey, among others, follow along to Wiser's instructions)

Video: "My Family" - Laurie Berkner (with Elizabeth Mitchell, Suzi Shelton, Dirty Sock Funtime Band)

When Laurie Berkner pulls Elizabeth Mitchell, Suzi Shelton, and the Dirty Sock Funtime Band onto the stage during her set at the Haiti benefit they all performed at last weekend at Joe's Pub in New York City, well, that demands YouTubery. It's like The Last Waltz, but shorter and with lower video quality. Laurie Berkner Band (and a cast of a dozen) - "My Family" (Live) [YouTube]

Video: "The Llama Dance" - Patrick & Eugene

Most stuff I get pitched by publicists who don't appear to have spent more than 1 minute on my site is kinda stupid. This is kinda stupid, too, but not so much so that you won't enjoy it slightly while your kids go nuts over it. I mean, c'mon, there's animation of an overweight hippo -- is there any other kind -- shakin' their tuchus at the viewer. Still, you do learn what an "ungulate" is. It's from the British duo Patrick and Eugene and I'm gonna describe it as 70% vaudeville / 40% techno / 30% pop-folk. What's that? That's 140%? Oh. Patrick & Eugene - "The Llama Dance" [YouTube]

New Album from Ella Jenkins On Its Way

It's a little hard to get a handle on exactly how many albums Ella Jenkins has released for the Smithsonian Folkways label. I've seen 28 mentioned; her Wikipedia discography suggests 30, if you include 2004's cELLAbration!. Really, the last proper Ella Jenkins album -- Sharing Cultures with Ella Jenkins was released in 2003, and I think we can agree than 7 years is too long to hear from her. But we don't have much longer to wait, as Smithsonian Folkways confirms it is indeed releasing a new Ella Jenkins album of, yes, newly recorded material. It's recorded, but the other stuff (art design, etc.) is yet to be finished. And so it'll probably take a little while longer, but between this and that new Pete Seeger album, 2010 is looking to be a very good year for the oldest of old school artists. Count me in that camp. (Photo courtesy Adventures in Rhythm)