Rock-n-Romp

Some folks have been commenting over at Chez Chockley about the show, and I appreciate it! Feel free to comment here with suggestions/feedback too. Additionally, if you are on the RnR list, we will be mailing a survey out within the next few days...

Saturday was our last show of the 2008 Rock-n-Romp season and if I do say so myself, it was badass. I can't tell you how many people were actually at the Metal Museum, but it definitely looked like our largest crowd ever. It was great having the Mississippi as a backdrop and the kids loved having so much space to run around in...and sculptures to climb on! (It was also a nice study in the futility of using Police Tape to deter children.)



First up, we had the Nellie Olesons. They came dressed to the nines and had the best face paint I have ever seen. They played old-time country music mixed with some 70s and 80s covers and were very rockin. Two of the Nellies are former teachers at the monkeys' school and one is also a parent/RnR regular. They are fast becoming one of my favorite bands.



The Barbaras always put on a good show and Saturday was no exception. They definitely got the kids' and parents' attention. Bennett Foster, who was singing lead, was super high energy and I think the kids could really relate to him! Warren and I have known Bennett since he was a youngster and it was especially fun for us to see him in action.



The True Sons of Thunder were a little more hardcore than the Nellies and the Barbaras, so we had to break out the earplugs. They came to rock, and rock they did.



I have been really really wanting Harlan T. Bobo to play since we started RnR three years ago and Saturday, I got my wish. Sort of. Harlan played with the Luv Clowns, which was definitely a treat, and they definitely stole the show.



We've never had an act geared so much towards the kids, and I think they really enjoyed it. I mean they actually sat down and listened! There was definitely a "I'm too cool for clowns and puppets" contingency which unfortunately included both Satchel and Jiro, but I did manage to get both of them to sit down for a few minutes and watch. They had horns, ladders, big noses, puppets, monkey masks...and all kinds of super fun stuff. They ended the show with Bob Dylan's "Everybody must get stoned" but with the lyrics "Everybody must have kids." I was thrilled.



As an organizer of RnR I couldn't help feeling awfully proud of what we've accomplished. We've had 15 shows at 12 different locations and had 34 bands/DJs play to hundreds of Memphis families. The price has always been a very reasonable $5 per adult and since our second season we have been able to pay all of the bands as well as provide our hosts with a $50 restaurant gift card.



Thank you Robby, Dan, Wendy, Kelli, Mike, Shiloh, and Chip for taking me seriously and making this all happen! We have a lot to be proud of!

To see more pictures from the show(s), visit our Flickr Pool.