A Day at the Museum With They Might Be Giants
A few weeks ago, I was delighted to find out that They Might Be Giants was performing a free concert at the Museum of Natural History. For those who are not aware, a few years ago, TMBG, having enjoyed a great deal of success in the indie rock circuit, decided to branch out into children's music. So I have the distinct pleasure of playing music for Benjamin recorded by the band that's been my favorite band since I became conscious of my own taste in music.
We're both particularly enamored with their latest effort, "Here Comes Science." I especially appreciate the fact that this effort actually makes a better effort at education, rather than "Here Come the ABC's" and "Here Come the 123's" which are kind of "Quirky Songs That Have Random Letters and Numbers In Them." Personal faves include the highly danceable "I Am a Paleontologist" and "Why Does the Sun Really Shine" which corrects many of the scientific errata of "Why Does The Sun Shine (The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)," of which there is yet another version on this album.
So we get to the Museum at 10 AM, and there's already a line around the block. It was all going okay, until some moron security guard upended the entire line by telling us that we had to queue up downstairs, and then telling us that we could only queue up there if we'd already purchased museum tickets, causing a huge two-way mass exodus chaos. (Although he did help Benjamin learn gerunds by shouting, "No running!" which Benjamin then extrapolated into "No jumping!", "No hopping!", and "No skipping!")
We were too late for the 11 AM show, but we got tickets for the 2 PM show. We spent the intervening time eating lunch, and then looking at the dinosaur fossils.
They let us into the show at 1:30, and we got seats in the third row. The concert took place in the Hall of Ocean Life, under the giant whale... I was hoping they'd have put up a giant squid to battle it, but they did not. Benjamin was diggin' the whole atmosphere right away. He wouldn't stay in his seat, 'cause he was boogying down to the pre-show music.
Then TMBG took the stage, and they asked everyone to fill in the empty dance area in front of the stage. Now I certainly wouldn't force Benjamin to go there, but since he was up and boogying anyway, I took him down there.
I've been to many, many, many TMBG concerts in my day, so as excited as I was, this show wasn't about me. I was perfectly prepared for a meltdown, especially since we were pretty close to the front speakers. I was entirely ready to leave on a moment's notice if he suddenly broke out into, "I too scared!" his favorite catch-all exclamation of unhappiness.
I didn't have to worry. He was totally, completely enthralled. He was up there, dancing up a storm. He loved hearing the songs he knew, and he was even getting into the songs he didn't know. (Surprisingly, they did a few non-kid-oriented songs: The Famous Polka, Older, Dr. Worm, Particle Man, and Istanbul (Not Constantinople).)
And when Flans lowered his guitar into the audience for the kids to strum at the beginning of "Older," Benjamin was one of the first kids to reach out and strum it. (I think having a daddy and a grandpa who play guitar helped...)
He crashed almost immediately after the show, but when he woke from his nap, he was still totally psyched. Benjamin started using a balloon animal he'd gotten as a guitar, and was singing songs from the show. I think I've minted a new fan. I couldn't be more proud.
We're both particularly enamored with their latest effort, "Here Comes Science." I especially appreciate the fact that this effort actually makes a better effort at education, rather than "Here Come the ABC's" and "Here Come the 123's" which are kind of "Quirky Songs That Have Random Letters and Numbers In Them." Personal faves include the highly danceable "I Am a Paleontologist" and "Why Does the Sun Really Shine" which corrects many of the scientific errata of "Why Does The Sun Shine (The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)," of which there is yet another version on this album.
So we get to the Museum at 10 AM, and there's already a line around the block. It was all going okay, until some moron security guard upended the entire line by telling us that we had to queue up downstairs, and then telling us that we could only queue up there if we'd already purchased museum tickets, causing a huge two-way mass exodus chaos. (Although he did help Benjamin learn gerunds by shouting, "No running!" which Benjamin then extrapolated into "No jumping!", "No hopping!", and "No skipping!")
We were too late for the 11 AM show, but we got tickets for the 2 PM show. We spent the intervening time eating lunch, and then looking at the dinosaur fossils.
They let us into the show at 1:30, and we got seats in the third row. The concert took place in the Hall of Ocean Life, under the giant whale... I was hoping they'd have put up a giant squid to battle it, but they did not. Benjamin was diggin' the whole atmosphere right away. He wouldn't stay in his seat, 'cause he was boogying down to the pre-show music.
Then TMBG took the stage, and they asked everyone to fill in the empty dance area in front of the stage. Now I certainly wouldn't force Benjamin to go there, but since he was up and boogying anyway, I took him down there.
I've been to many, many, many TMBG concerts in my day, so as excited as I was, this show wasn't about me. I was perfectly prepared for a meltdown, especially since we were pretty close to the front speakers. I was entirely ready to leave on a moment's notice if he suddenly broke out into, "I too scared!" his favorite catch-all exclamation of unhappiness.
I didn't have to worry. He was totally, completely enthralled. He was up there, dancing up a storm. He loved hearing the songs he knew, and he was even getting into the songs he didn't know. (Surprisingly, they did a few non-kid-oriented songs: The Famous Polka, Older, Dr. Worm, Particle Man, and Istanbul (Not Constantinople).)
And when Flans lowered his guitar into the audience for the kids to strum at the beginning of "Older," Benjamin was one of the first kids to reach out and strum it. (I think having a daddy and a grandpa who play guitar helped...)
He crashed almost immediately after the show, but when he woke from his nap, he was still totally psyched. Benjamin started using a balloon animal he'd gotten as a guitar, and was singing songs from the show. I think I've minted a new fan. I couldn't be more proud.