Babies love James Murphy
A guide to this week’s kid-friendly concerts in Chicago
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Babies love LCD Soundsystem too.
The children’s music scene is, let’s face it, pretty fucking bleak. From The Wiggles to Justin Bieber, songs and artists have a tendency to be so sugary sweet that most grown ups can’t take more than a few seconds of that schlock.
There are absolutely purveyors of sensible children’s music—Yo Gabba Gabba, Wee Hairy Beasties, Sesame Street and others spring to mind—but sometimes it’s just easier to get kids into some quality grown up shit. All the better to groom them into becoming cool adults, right?
In the spirit of this week’s Chicago International Children’s Film Festival feature in which The A.V. Club picks kids movies for adults, let’s flip the switch and run through this week’s events with an eye on the youth market. There’s plenty out there that kids would like, and we’re not talking about GWAR (Tuesday, House of Blues) or Deadmau5 (Friday, Congress Theater), even if they do wear cool costumes.
Jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela (Friday, Chicago Symphony Center) played with Sesame favorite Paul Simon during his flurry of Graceland activity in South Africa, as well as at this summer’s World Cup concert. His energetic playing and grandpa style make him incredibly endearing to young and old. Kids would love this show, for real, and adults won’t go crazy being there either.
LCD Soundsytem (Monday, Aragon Ballroom; Tuesday, The Riviera) might be a little progressive for some kids, but when they’ve got ants in their pants and are ready to dance, there’s nothing better. Little guys might not know a ton about “Drunk Girls” or who Daft Punk are when they’re coming to play at their house, but if Daft Punk did show up, helmets and all, those kids would probably be freaking psyched. Plus, if several adorable YouTube videos are to be believed, kids absolutely love dancing to openers Hot Chip.
With Mayer Hawthorne (Wednesday, Park West) and Max Weinberg’s Big Band (Sunday, Old Town School of Folk Music) in town, kids can groove on some old-style soul and big band. Heck, maybe they can even go with their grandparents. Weinberg’s best known for his E-Street Band membership and now ex-role as Conan’s bandleader, but dude loves the classics. He’ll lead a 15-piece orchestra through some swing standards, and it’s bound to be a kid-pleaser. Hawthorne’s got classic soul styling with a modern twist, and with his natty suits and dapper attitude, he’s a total people pleaser, age boundaries be damned.
