Sunday, January 17, 2010

Jamming With the Jimmies

High Energy Kid's Rock

We've seen a gamut of shows at New York's Symphony Space, from the acoustic storytelling of Randy Kaplan and Tom Chapin to last Saturday's rocking performance by The Jimmies. If the Leonard Nimoy auditorium conjures up images of lectures and alt-jazz, free your mind and your feet will follow.

Lead singer Ashley Albert and musicians Dan Weiner (drums), Josh Myers (bass), and Oscar Bautista (guitar) delivered nearly one hour of positively-charged rock that pleased parents as well as a preschool mosh pit that formed at the front of the stage.



Starting with "Tea Party in the Sun," the band went from a slow pace to medium and then full-on rocking out with "Cool To Be Uncool" and "Bedhead" (the latter was turned into a game of 'freeze quack.'

The Jimmies started three years ago as almost a concept project, as Ashley recorded the album, "Make Your Own Someday" with studio musician Steve Gordon and her father, Howard Albert. Ashley returned to New York and filled out the original lineup, which began playing concerts in the metropolitan area. We first saw the band play at Stinkfest, a children's music gathering in Brooklyn in 2008. Since then, the band has also released a DVD/CD combo called "Trying Funny Stuff" and has a second album in the works.



The January 16 show featured a mix of recorded material and tracks from the next release, including, "Soaper the Scaredy Bot," about a timid robot, and the upcoming title track, "Every Day's a Holiday With You." Children in the audience ranged from infants to 50-somethings, and all participated in batting around giant beach balls, finger-snapping, hand-waving, and other sundry rock concert activities.

Symphony Space continues its family programming throughout the winter and into the spring. Definitely check out Secret Agent 23 Skidoo on Saturday, February 6, Ralph's World on Saturday, February 20, and The Sippy Cups on Saturday, March 27.

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