If Kindiefest's Saturday night showcase was about introducing new(-ish) names (and one longtime favorite) to a new crowd, the Sunday afternoon public concert was more about a lineup guaranteed to draw in, you know, the public.
There was indeed a nice crowd, both of conference attendees as well as local families. (It's not a coincidence that the conference is held in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope, famous (and perhaps occasionally reviled) for the sheer number of families who live around there. And unlike the showcase, with its brief 20-minute sets that may subconciously lead artists to forgo contemplation for excitement, the public concert, with 30-minute sets, and a more passive audience, allows for more variation in styles.
For example, the concert kicked off with a set from Oran Etkin, who tells stories (either more traditional stories or about the instruments themselves) via jazz. He was very engaging with his young audience. Most of his songs are originals, but here he is with a take on a piece Dizzy Gillespie made famous...
Oran Etkin - "Salt Peanuts" [YouTube]
Next up was the delightful Heidi Swedberg and the Sukey Jump Band. The Brooklyn iteration of the band included Phillippa Thompson (who sometimes plays with Elizabeth Mitchell) and multi-instrumentalist Dean Jones. The set was similar to the one she played here in Phoenix in January, but the more enclosed nature of the performance here led to something occasionally hushed. I spoke with Elizabeth Mitchell a little bit later and she, too, enjoyed it...
Heidi Swedberg and the Sukey Jump Band - "When You Get Old" [YouTube]
And that was just two down...
It's been awhile since the last album from Suzi Shelton, but she's getting ready for a new release, and for Mother's Day she's doing another concert through StageIt, which lets artists broadcast their concerts and stream them wherever people want to see them and have an internet connection. She's doing a 20-minute concert this Mother's Day, May 8th at 2 PM (NY time) -- go here to purchase tickets, $2 per computer.
And, if you're a divorced parent, your kid(s) may find this free download from No Ordinary Day speaks to the situation they're in and the emotions it generates. It's not quite a Mother's Day song, but it kinda is, a little bit.
We're in the run up to Mother's Day, and so it's time for a few seasonably-appropriate songs. First up is a song from The Nields. It was written for MotherWoman, a Massachusetts-based non-profit which "supports and empowers mothers to create positive personal and social change." It's a sweet, sweet song, and a lovely video. I'm not one of those teary-eyed people, but if you are, I suggest that you have tissues nearby. ("Your lap was love to me.")
The Nields - "Your House is Strong" [YouTube]
Be it SXSW or Kindiefest, there are different reasons to see an artists' showcase at a music conference. You can see your favorite bands, or perhaps bands you're familiar with but are curious to see and hear them live. And sometimes you stumble upon a new favorite. The Kindiefest 2011 artists' showcase on Saturday night was for me a combination of all three, which suggests how well the lineup was put together. Now, I should note that though the lineup featured several artists I'd consider my favorites, I'd never actually seen any of them perform live. (That would have to wait for Sunday's public performance, for whom I'd seen half the lineup live.) But as someone who puts together shows here in the Phoenix area, that live aspect is important to me.
This summary is long, but I encourage you to skim the entire thing, you never know when you'll find your new favorite artist.
The lineup kicked off with Billy Kelly and the Blah Blah Blahs, faced with the unenviable task of starting the show while everybody filed back from dinner or a run to their hotel rooms. That and selecting from a bunch of great songs. They went meta ("This Is The First Song" -- they should close with that one day), sweet ("Family Garden"), doubly sweet ("Pen Pal," duetting with Lunch Money's Molly Ledford), and classic ("The Legend of Johnny Box"). The last song featured none other than Johnny Box himself, played by... well, let's just say by someone very familiar to Zooglobble readers. Good stuff.
From there it was on to The Pop Ups, whose set was basically a very abbreviated version of their PASTA! musical. Were there puppets? Yes! Were there apes in capes? Yes! Was there lots of hand-clapping? Yes! Was there lots of pasta? Well, you'll just have to see the musical for yourself to see the answer. But it's hard not to see how the musical would be very popular with the 5-year-old set.
The Pop Ups - "Pasta" [YouTube]
But we were just getting started, with six more artists to go...
Longtime readers will know of my love for the soundtrack to Hoodwinked, an excellent soundtrack that was out of print for awhile but is now easily available.
So now the long-delayed sequel, Hoodwinked Too!, is in theatres, and I'm wondering whether I should go with the family to see it. (We've subsequently acquired a copy of the original on DVD, and we like it quite a bit.) I was nervous because despite the original's director and creator Cory Edwards' assurances that the sequel was good (he's a co-writer on the new movie), I wasn't getting a good vibe from the trailer, and, what's worse, Todd Edwards, who was responsible for the soundtrack, is nowhere to be found on this film.
Instead, what we have is this, courtesy of Hayden Panettiere, brought in to replace Anne Hathaway as the voice of Red:
Hayden Panettiere - "I Can Do It Alone" (from Hoodwinked Too!) [YouTube]
Sigh. So... generic. And so not intriguing to me. (Oh, and the video would appear to give away a major plot twist, so foo on that, too.)
Finding clips of the first movie online is obviously a little difficult, but I would just direct you to...
If Kindiefest's Saturday night showcase was about introducing new(-ish) names (and one longtime favorite) to a new crowd, the Sunday afternoon public concert was more about a lineup guaranteed to draw in, you know, the public.
There was indeed a nice crowd, both of conference attendees as well as local families. (It's not a coincidence that the conference is held in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope, famous (and perhaps occasionally reviled) for the sheer number of families who live around there. And unlike the showcase, with its brief 20-minute sets that may subconciously lead artists to forgo contemplation for excitement, the public concert, with 30-minute sets, and a more passive audience, allows for more variation in styles.
For example, the concert kicked off with a set from Oran Etkin, who tells stories (either more traditional stories or about the instruments themselves) via jazz. He was very engaging with his young audience. Most of his songs are originals, but here he is with a take on a piece Dizzy Gillespie made famous...
Oran Etkin - "Salt Peanuts" [YouTube]
Next up was the delightful Heidi Swedberg and the Sukey Jump Band. The Brooklyn iteration of the band included Phillippa Thompson (who sometimes plays with Elizabeth Mitchell) and multi-instrumentalist Dean Jones. The set was similar to the one she played here in Phoenix in January, but the more enclosed nature of the performance here led to something occasionally hushed. I spoke with Elizabeth Mitchell a little bit later and she, too, enjoyed it...
Heidi Swedberg and the Sukey Jump Band - "When You Get Old" [YouTube]
And that was just two down...
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Longtime readers will know of my love for the soundtrack to Hoodwinked, an 
