Concert Review: Dan Zanes (Phoenix, February 2008)

I feel compelled to jot down a few words about the Dan Zanes show we saw a couple weeks ago, and not just because I've got this cool photo of Dan wearing a scarf my daughter gave him (you'll have to click through to see that). I was glad to see that Phoenix managed to turn out a decent-sized crowd, a good 700 people, maybe more, in the gorgeous Orpheum Theatre. Really, for a Friday-night show that might have impeded attendance by families with younger kids, I'm pretty happy. There were clearly families for whom this was not their first DZ show -- I recognized people from the Tucson show last April. But many, including Miss Mary Mack's younger brother, who, let's go ahead and call him Little Boy Blue, were seeing him for the first time.

It's Never Too Early To Start Thinking About Summer Music Festivals

I've hear rumors of particular bands being booked for C3's twin titans of summer kid-friendly music festivals, Kidzapalooza and Austin Kiddie Limits, and some of those rumors would appear to be inching toward the realm of reality. Austin Kiddie Limits has posted some new tracks on its Myspace page. New to the page are The Jimmies, Buck Howdy, Uncle Rock, and Mr. RAY. These artists would all appear to be on the bill for AKL, set for September 26 through 28. (Buck Howdy already has AKL dates on his live calendar.) And The Jimmies have a Kidzapalooza date set on their calendar. (Kidzapalooza is set for August 1 through 3.) These aren't all the bands I've heard rumors of, so more will be announced at some point, to be sure. But, hey, it's only February -- ACL is 7 months away, after all. Now you can plan your summer 2008 road trips accordingly.

Interview: Dan Zanes

With Dan Zanes visiting Phoenix for the first time on tour with Dan Zanes and Friends less than two weeks from now, I thought it'd be a good time to catch up with the singer. I've done both these things before (seeing him perform in Tucson in April 2007 and interviewing him back in summer 2006), but nothing ever stands still in Dan Zanes' world these days. So I called him up in Puerto Rico and chatted a bit. Read on for his views on what makes a good Dan Zanes and Friends concert and what he does the first time he visits a city. (Phoenix-area readers, feel free to chime in with suggestions for what he should do here.) Find out about the upcoming album, ¡Nueva York! And even if you've never even been to Phoenix, you'll want to read the end of the interview where I find out exactly what he was doing in Puerto Rico and what Paul McCartney has to do with it. Trust me, it's worth the time. (And thanks to Dan for making the time.) Zooglobble: How would you describe a Dan Zanes and Friends concert? Dan Zanes: As much like a little Grateful Dead show as possible. I try to make the theatre feel like your living room. There's lots of people singing along, lots of people on stage, and as much roaming around, laughing, and crying as possible. And then the whole dissolves into a whole dance party. I want everybody who comes to feel like we're all in this together. What's your favorite part of the show? Two things: first, how much people throw themselves into singing. Are they singing their heads off? Second, what's the level of the dancing? Are the aisles filled? How many people are upfront? How much chaos? How intense does it get? I can't even remember the last show where people didn't dance. In the world of young people, it's so much how they relate... in a physical way.

Dan Zanes Takes Over Arizona

I try not to get too provincial here at Zooglobble HQ. Physically we're in Arizona, but, hey, I've got readers all over this wonderful country of ours, the world even -- no need to spend so many electrons on my own little corner of the world. But I noticed that Dan Zanes had announced some new tour dates including... three whole concerts in Arizona. That's right, on Friday, Feb. 8, Zanes and friends will hit Phoenix's Orpheum Theatre, then will head two hours south for a concert at Tucson's Rialto Theatre on Saturday the 9th, then back four hours north to Flagstaff's Orpheum Theatre for a concert on Sunday the 10th. (Yeah, I can't figure out that order, either.) Needless to say, I'm excited about this, for a couple reasons, actually. First, obviously, is because it means another chance to see Zanes in concert without having to travel down to Tucson. If we go, I guess the question is whether our son, less than two years old back in April, would join us at a 7 PM Friday night show... Hmmm.... The other reason I'm excited is that it's really the first time that a major kids' musician (excluding the Wiggles, who are in their own category) is making multiple Arizona stops. Heck, it's really the first time that a major kids' musician is coming to Phoenix. (For those of you who want to list their own musician who has, in fact, played the Phoenix area, I'm sorry, "major" includes maybe five or six artists.) So, if you live anywhere near Phoenix, please, please, please make it to this show. If you can't, tell your friends to make it to this show. I think Phoenix is on the verge of no longer being stupidly ignored by kids' music bookers (I hear rumors of other artists looking into the area), but the reluctance of artists to book shows here won't appear so stupid if Zanes plays to a half-full house.

You Are My Something Something

News from Elizabeth Mitchell that she's spending the rest of 2007 finishing her next children's music album. "If you have any song suggestions, now is the time to let us know," Mitchell says. (For the lazy among you, that address is: mail AT youaremyflower DOT org.) If it's half as good as any in her You Are My... trilogy, it should be great. And for those of you around New York City next weekend, Mitchell is playing Symphony Space November 10. How is that different from any of her other shows? Well, Mitchell's Catch the Moon compatriot Lisa Loeb and Laurie Berkner partner-in-crime Susie Lampert will be joining in on the fun. Admit it, those harmonies might be sweet.

Two Songs (and a Catchy Jingle) from Brady Rymer

This has been available for awhile, but I wanted to point out that Brady Rymer has three new songs available for download as part of his Children's Dimetapp Breathe & Boogie Tour. Go here to download "Healthy Livin'" and "Even the Animals Sneeze," a couple mid-tempo folk-rockers that would've sounded fine on his recent Every Day is a Birthday CD. Also available for download is "We are the Sniffles," which also has a video on the site. I'm sorta bummed because it's the best of the three tracks -- propulsive, great harmonies -- but it's got a couple shout-outs to Dimetapp (both in the song and on the video). It's worth a spin, though, because aside from the commercial reference (which kinda kills any repeat-listening value for me), it shows Rymer and his band at their best. Rymer, incidentally, will be releasing his latest album, Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could, on March 4. You can hear one of the songs from the upcoming CD, "Road Trip" by attending one of his final shows on this tour in Rochester (NY), Houston, Dallas, and Madison, New Jersey (details here) and picking up the free six-song Rymer CD they're distributing. So, yeah, I'm just waiting for the edited version...