Yesterday afternoon found us at the Dan Zanes and Friends show at the Harris Theater here in Chicago. We'd been to a couple of their amazing shows in the past and this was equally wonderful.Dan Zanes gives off a vibe that resonates with me so strongly: a positive, upbeat attitude about making the world a better place by making music and dancing together...sort of an "it's okay if you sing off-key as long as you're singing" philosophy. It fits right in with my "go ahead and buy the cupcakes" tendency. And his music is fantastic. I don't think of it as "children's music" but rather "family music" in the way that anything can be family music. It's music that I have been known to leave on in the car when the kids aren't with me. The shows are a big party - children and their grown-ups getting down in the aisles and up front in the mosh pit. I can't recommend it highly enough.
If dancing in the kitchen to The Wonderwheel with my kids gets me right here, imagine my reaction listening to it live, dancing with the boys and my niece, and Matt and his sister, and holding Lyle up right in front of the stage to see the instruments and super hip brightly-garbed band, a mere ten feet from Dan himself, crazy hair sticking out so far that I felt we could reach out and give him a big hug and then start jamming on his harmonica and ukulele.
It's moments like these that I look around and have to ask, "How is it possible that no one else here is crying?" It occurs to me that perhaps I'm simply crazy, but I prefer to think that I've learned to allow myself to feel what I feel and I don't bother trying to repress it. And perhaps I tend to be more emotional than average, who knows?
Or maybe I'm crazy. I would never rule that out.
13 comments:
not crazy! i'm a HUGE crier at those sort of events. the joy! the release! the connection!
so, dance on, eat those cupcakes and cry cry cry.
that seals the deal. i'm taking kyra with me to every concert, play, and class presentation. oh, and church. every sunday morning.
You can count me in on that one too. I'm always the one with tears in my eyes. Thanks for letting us know how it was.
ROFL...I thought **I** was the big cry-baby! Heh, heh...wouldn't want to see a bunch of us mushy-hearted mamas together at something like this! They'd call security on us. LOL
Sounds like a really fabulous time was had by all.
Oh, MAN do I hope we can see Dan Zanes and Friends someday! The girls - especially, right now, Julia - would love it.
That sounds so awesome. Back when I was in college I went to a Dan Zanes concert. He came to our campus and played to a nearly empty baseball field (but as the lead singer of the Del Fuegos!) I would love to see him now and of course, my boys love him too.
I do know exactly what you mean, though. I've felt that joyful leak of tears in the presence of awesome music, or simply in the moment of dancing with my own kids in the kitchen. Cry away!
Yes, Christopher, your family would love it!
KAL, I love that you saw him back when he was in the Del Fuegos! I keep meaning to go back and listen to them and see if I like them.
We saw this concert in NY last year and it was great!! I got weepy too...watching my little guy dance in the aisles. And the best part? After the show, Dan Zanes signed autographs for hours, every kid that wanted to say hi, had a chance.
I cried at a high school Beauty and the Beast on Sunday, Roxie perched on my lap, breathing into my ear, "It's all so very beautiful."
She didn't notice the crumbling set or that Belle had on a ripped prom dress.
I am, as you know, a HUGE believer in the cupcakes, the shows, the big, singsongy life.
LOVED this.
Three cheers for crying! Hip hip (hooray!)! Etc... It sounds like you had a wonderful time! You are not crazy, by the way, either - sounds like all of your Wonderfriends tend toward the weepy, too, or at least understand the impulse! Me, too! :-)
Cara, I know, you are my partner in teary-eyedness on Sunday mornings! What would I do without you?
And: "Wonderfriends"!! I love it! I've always struggled with what to call you all and that's it! You're a Wonderfriend, too, Cara, even though I have the added advantage of having you as a real-life friend.
Oh I love Dan Zanes. His was the very first music I played for Isaac. And, like you, i cry at the drop of a hat, or a pen, or whatever. I think it's good for the soul.
Rock on, Wondergirl.
Oh and my security word is "xruwrshb," which is kind of a sobby sound, don't you think?
Okay, now THAT made me cry! :-)
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