music high above the streets of manhattan

all this travel to hear good music has made me fall behind on recapping the shows!

On Friday afternoon in Manhattan, we headed up from lunch in Bryant Park with my cousin and found our way into 1221 Avenue of the Americas, right there in Rockefeller Center! A bit confused about what to do when we walked in, we were relieved to run smack into Mindy Thomas, program director extraordinaire of Sirius/XM Kids Place Live (and also Chloe’s BFF + .5).

Once we found our way through the various security and scanning things, we hoped on the elevator to the 36th floor where we spotted the recording room, right there in the lobby! What a fishbowl! Rhythm Child was setting up for the show, so we wandered around and took in the sights, which included, amazingly, Peter Gabriel walking by.

As we waited, Norm said hi to us and remarked on how the girls have grown. That really made them feel welcome and part of the show, I think. Finally, we went inside the little fishbowl for the great show! There were about 5 or 6 families there, and we all sat on the floor.

Norm started out with talking to the kids about his drum. Where it originates from, how it is made, how his is environmentally friendly and how he wears it. He even let them all get a little bang on it … I loved it. The kids really felt that the concert was interactive and that they were part of the show. Norm and Duane’ (on guitar) rocked a whole lot of tunes, old favorites and others that we haven’t heard as many times. I loved the interaction and the joy of playing music that shone through, not to mention the talent!

The kids danced, clapped and responded and had a great time! After the show, we took some photos, Kenny got his turn to bang on the drum, we chatted with Mindy for a while, then headed out to more kindiefun in Brooklyn!