For a while now, I've been including all the Peanut Butter & Jams' kids' concerts held almost every Saturday at World Cafe Live, on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, in the calendar section of PARENTS EXPRESS. But it wasn't until my friend and coworker, Frank (the editor of Ticket, the entertainment section of 15 Montgomery Newspapers) asked me to write a story about the concert that i finally decided to go see one.

After all, it was Beatles' music, for cryin' out loud! Who wouldn't want to enjoy some John-Paul-George-Ringo tunes? And with so many Beatles' events happening (including "Rain" at the Kimmel Center), it was time to get Aidan, 6, deeply involved in the integral music. So far, he know a handful of their songs, but not nearly enough to be considered MY son.

I did the interview for Frank, talking to the very friendly and very cool Dave Foster (lead singer and Bubble co-founder) and that story can be found in the Ticket section of www.montgomerynews.com. Dave made me want to attend even more, mainly because he did the interview with a toddler yelling joyfully in the background, without Dave getting upset once.

So Wendy, Aidan and me, jumped in the car and went down to the concert. World Cafe Live - at 11 a.m. on a Saturday - is a fairly quiet place. But you can see that the joint must be a jumping good time other nights of the week. They have an eclectic concert schedule chock full of acts you probably don't know yet, but will. But then, they also have bigger names from the past that are sure to delight all comers.

As soon as we got downstairs, sat on the floor (yes, we all could stretch out on a clean, wood floor) the lights went off and the band came out. For more than an hour, it was a wonderful trip down memory lane. The band highlighted all the songs from "Revolver," a favorite record of mine, and did their versions wonderfully, adhering to the boys' versions. The sound was great, the music fun and lovely, and the sight of seeing so many children, babies and new parents laughing, singing and dancing was terrific. Aidan didn't want to leave until the last song was played, and that is a definite testament to the band and the Beatles.

If you get a chance, go to www.Bubbleland.com to learn more about Bubble, and be sure to go to World Cafe Live to see a great concert in a great venue. You'll go back again and again. Oh, and then rent "A Hard Day's Night." Aidan and I watched it the next morning and it was a silly, funny blast.

Labels: beatles, bubble, kids, music, peanut butter and jams, pennsylvania, singing, world cafe live

With a child, there's something especially fun about introducing them to new things. Aidan, 5, loves new things, always trying to figure out what they do or mean, how they work, and what comes next. He does it with a smile and that infectious, earnest attitude that is cute in a child and annoying in an adult.

A few years back, They Might Be Giants (that fantastic band from my college years that never got its due) began putting out kids CDs. They had dabbled with kids' music for a while but now had created this music/video learning concept that married their imaginative sounds with some great animation. Of course, I bought whatever they came out with and excitedly looked forward to the next installment.

When Aidan started to get very interested in science a little while ago (he went out as a mad scientist for Halloween), I started looking for science-related kids' stuff for him. When I found that TMBG had just released an item called "Here Comes Science," I couldn't believe the luck. And then, when I found out they were coming to the Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia, I knew we were going to thier concert. I mean, we HAD to!

So that's where you could find us, November 21, at the TLA, crammed in with hundreds of other parents, grandparents, teachers and - of course, kids - jumping, singing, clapping and laughing along with this wonderful, smart band and their wonderful, smart music.

They even gave out stickers to the audience afterwards, and we got them handed to us by John Flansburgh! (We were looking for John Linnell, but he wasn't around just then.)

The long and the short of it is that, if you have a kid that loves music and learning, or just music...or just learning, go out and get any of the kids' music from They Might Be Giants - "Here Comes the ABCs," "Here Comes the 1, 2, 3s" or "Here Comes Science." The children will learn things (and you will, too) and everyone will love the music.

And if you ever get a chance to see them do their kids' concert, go. I mean it - just go. They are wonderful.

Labels: concert, learning, music, science, Theatre of the Living Arts, They Might Be Giants, TLA, TMBG