The Verve Pipe at Kindiefest 2011

Where was I? Oh yes - after a brutal drive through traffic caused by the annual Five Boro Bike Tour, Ben and I settled in at Littlefield NYC for Kindiefest 2011.

Elizabeth Mitchell and company did a great, mellow set that featured guest appearances by Dean Jones and Heidi Swedberg.

After a break, it was time for the rockin' Verve Pipe gang. And they did not disappoint. A fun set that had guitar solos, four-part a cappella harmonies, and punny lyrics. Not to mention lots of audience singalong.

Here are some videos from there set to give you an example of what I mean:

Wake Up



You Can Write A Song (featuring Recess Monkey)



Here's how I know that Ben is impressed by someone - he becomes shy. Whether it was a preschool instructor that he had a crush on, or a musician that he really likes. Not that he doesn't like some of the people he's met in person, such as Ashley and the Jimmies or Molly and Lunch Money. When Ben saw that Recess Monkey was in attendance, he grew a big smile - but he did NOT want to approach them after the show.

Ice Cream Man



Kind of hard to follow the iconic Van Halen version, but this was a neat kindie-fied rendition.

Cereal/All You Need Is Love



If there was ever an appropriate way to wrap up a children's music festival, here it was - a kid-friendly anthem about what else but breakfast cereal. Followed by a segue into a Beatles classic, clean-pressed for stage-filling return performers.

I may have additional thoughts on the music festival (I did not attend the Saturday sessions, so I'll leave that to others to contemplate). For next year, we will look at mass transit options (the subway stops about 1/2 mile from Littlefield) if the bike tour conflicts again. And Kindiefest is recommended! Take it from me, I've been to all three (and the STINK show before that). Kudos to the organizers once again.