DT reader Suzanne point to this excellent DCist (it's like Gothamist, only with more sensible outfits) review of a Saturday morning Ralph's World show in Arlington, VA.
The show was sold out, but, just like with Deadheads, the real party was in the parking lot, where Ralph and the band played a fifteen minute set for the kids who couldn't get in.
And true Ralph groupie that she apparently is, Suzanne also fwd'ed these Joe's Pub reviews from the Semi-Official Ralph's World Message Board:
The show was great! My daughter really enjoyed it. Especially going on stage at the end. She was mesmerized up there (I think she has a crush on the drummer). Turns out it is a very small place and it was very sold out. She shied away from Ralph's autograph though. Doesn't she know that could be worth millions someday?Ralph's World All-Ages Appeal [dcist]...
Yeah, it was a great gig. Joe's Pub holds about 150 people, so it's a pretty intimate venue. Tables, and velvet covered booths and banquettes (which we were not fortunate enough to have reserved in advance) on two levels, plus a bar at the rear of the upper level (it is a pub, after all!). Nice sound system. Ralph performed many of our favorites: At the Bottom of the Sea, the Coffee Song, Peggy's Pie Parlor Polka, Surfin' in My Imagination, Freddy Bear, We Are Ants, etc. The band was very tight (Tommy O'Brien on guitar, Brian Sheridan on bass, and I don't remember the drummer). We took our nearly 17 mo. old to the show, and he had a blast, after the initial tears and freak-out at the loudness--it was his first concert. We got our copy of *Kid Astro* autographed, and a picture with Ralph (plus pics of me with our son onstage), and even forked over $20 for a t-shirt.
Semi-official Ralph's World Message Board
Previously: Ralph's World: Nursery School of Rock
It was sort of heartbreaking that Ralph sold out Joe's Pub so quickly and that he couldn't do another show. But the Joe's Pub gig was really special. The band is one of the tightest I've seen for ANY kind of show, and my kids were right up front dancing and ogling the Man. Too bad it was 11 a.m. and I didn't feel it appropriate to have a double bourbon and dance along with them. Ralph will be back at the Knitting Factory in May.
It *was* very sad that the show sold out so quickly, and that many kids were left disappointed. There was apparently some misunderstanding regarding the ticket sales. When the show was first advertised, tickets were supposed to be sold only at the door, but at some point Joe's Pub began selling them in advance. We probably couldn't have gone if we hadn't been able to buy advance tix. At any rate, that second review quoted above is mine. BTW...for the record, one *can* breastfeed while seated on a barstool. ;-)