When people ask me what to see when they visit Arizona (and the Valley of the Sun in particular) with their families, I have previously been at somewhat of a loss. I mean, the standard family and cultural activities here -- the Zoo, the Children's Museum, etc. -- are good, but if you're coming from another metropolitan area, you probably have something of similar quality in your own town. While baseball spring training is great, it's just one month a year. And a lot of the activities/locations that are unique to Arizona -- I'm thinking of our excellent Native American museum The Heard Museum and the Desert Botanical Garden -- are not necessarily the most friendly for families. Not unfriendly, mind you, just not much of a wow for young kids. I usually just end up telling folks to loll around the grounds and pools of a resort if they're staying there, enjoy the weather (except during this time of year), and make sure to get up to Sedona or the Grand Canyon to enjoy different non-desert sights.
But I've got something to tell 'em now.
I've been following the progress of the
Musical Instrument Museum in north Phoenix for awhile now, long before it opened its doors this spring. I first had a chance to get a small peek earlier this summer when
Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem came through Phoenix to play a concert at the MIM's sweet 299-seat theatre. But there wasn't time (not with two kids at least) to add a museum visit on top of the show (which, I might add, was really good. Go, folks, and see 'em in concert!)
So a couple weeks ago the whole family (plus the official mom of Zooglobble, in town for a visit) went up to north Phoenix to see the museum itself. The verdict? Well, cut to the chase -- the museum's kinda awesome.
The building itself is about 190,000 square feet spread over 2 stories. The heart of the museum, taking up most of the second story, is five separate rooms covering
every country in the world. That's right, there's an exhibit featuring instruments for each and every one of the world's countries. The commitment to showing all of the world's instruments is inherent in the museum's design, which directs most visitors to start their visit in the African and Middle East portion of the exhibits, rather than the more familiar (for most visitors) North American or European rooms.
Reviewing the Grammy-winningBill Harley in concert seems a little bit like reviewing Bruce Springsteen. He's been playing shows for so long -- thirty-plus years, as he noted early on in his show this weekend at Phoenix's Musical Instrument Museum -- that his proficiency at doing his thing live isn't questioned at all, and trying to find new things to say about songs your family may have heard dozens of times before can prove vexing.
Better, then, for the reviewer, to try to find new things to appreciate, like Harley's nifty guitarwork on "Down in the Backpack." Or his commitment to being in the moment -- always a good thing as a parent to being reminded of -- such as his decision to turn his guitar into a mbira of sorts for the Ghanian song "Tuuweh" (poor spelling entirely my fault), rarely performed by Harley. Or even his ability, physicially, to make himself appear small when necessary so as to make himself more credible as a kid-sized narrator.
The set list focused more on Harley's classics, such as his long story "Teachers' Lounge," "Pea on My Plate," and "Is Not Is Too." He wrapped up the show with "Somos El Barco," recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary, among others. I would've been happy to have Harley extend his 75-minute set a little bit longer, but it's probably a good length for the younger folks in the crowd. As with any good storyteller, Harley's gift of being able to communicate -- listen and share -- with others is best experienced live. A fun time.
By the way, here's my recap of Harley at Kindiefest. And while I don't have any video from the MIM, here's Harley at Kindiefest performing "Pea on My Plate," which he also did here in Phoenix.
Disclosure: I was provided tickets for the show. Photo of Bill Harley at Cincinnati Playhouse by Thom Luce.
It's been about a month since 
I tend not to talk too much about my work bringing kids music to the Phoenix area here on the site, except in the occasional post-concert summary. After all, most of my readers are, well, not here. But I'm still putting together kids shows for the 
When I was putting together my 
I probably would have made a bigger deal about the whole 
