The Dirty Sock Funtime Band is a pretty well known band at this point: they have a tv show on PBS, have their songs on Noggin’ and are now they are putting out a DVD. There’s a reason that this kids’ rock band is drawing fans. Last weekend they performed at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts. The kids whooped and laughed throughout and I was surprised when I looked down at my watch to see that an hour had gone by. The DSFB had us engaged by playing catchy songs, teaching dance steps and call and response sequences that got everyone involved. The band is comprised of top-notch musicians who relentlessly but charmingly work the crowd while managing to come across as caring people. Their engagement with the audience starts pre-show and doesn’t end with the last song. Pre-show, Annie and Mr. Clown greeted kids with high fives and took photos and post-show, the band members patiently and enthusiastically said hello to every last family. This band genuinely likes their gig and it shows in every aspect of their performance.
Although The Dirty Sock Funtime Band‘s music is varied, there’s a good helping of funk. And, it’s good funk. Because they are excellent musicians, it sounds like a perfectly rhythmic call to dance instead of cheesy cliché. When I looked around the auditorium, during a particularly spirited funk number, almost all of the seats had been abandoned. No could ignore the beat; kids and adults were dancing in the aisles.
The show was part of the Target FamilyFun Series at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts which we love: not only because it’s only a 10 minute walk (with kids) from our house. It’s also because, thanks to Target, tickets are only $6 a piece. We love going out to shows as a family, but with tickets at $20 to $25 a piece, we often end up just staying at home together, rather than having to decide who gets to go! The theater was recently remodeled and the redesign makes every seat feel close to the action. It’s been announced that the family series would continue next year…… so take advantage of it!
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Charles is part of the dynamic duo Fati & Charles, called Abbasubi. They perform songs for children in Spanish from their original CD, El Baile del Sombrero. Their show is very interactive and uses movement and dance to get their audiences involved whether they are Spanish speakers or not! Fati, originally from Argentina & Charles, a native of Brooklyn, live in Midwood, Brooklyn with their two children who they are raising bilingually and who were the inspiration for the CD.