We shuffled off to Buffalo to groove it up with some Tantrums

We enjoy going to concerts, it's no secret.  If there's an opportunity to bring the kiddos along, even better!  So today, when one of Daddy Crumb's favourite bands was playing an early evening show in a city not too far away {ahem} we thought "Absolutely! We must go!"

See, Fitz & the Tantrums are playing a few Canadian dates in the next few weeks but we are away and will miss them.  Boo.

But when we saw they were playing Buffalo, NY, and it was an outdoor venue, we figured it would be a great excuse to sneak the kids out of school for a few hours and have a little family adventure.

And an adventure it was.

All day long we were anxiously watching the weather forecast.  Storms were a-coming and honestly, it looked as though the worst of it was scheduled to hit right on top of little ol' Buffalo exactly when Fitz would hit the stage.  Great.

It was touch and go but at last we loaded up the van, let the kids choose their DVDs (what, you think we can entertain them for three hours in a vehicle without a DVD?!) and off we went. A three hour drive into downtown Buffalo from our Southern Ontario suburbia wasn't exactly around the corner.  It poured heavily as we approached the city but we came prepared with our umbrellas, our raincoats and a change of clothing if we got soaked.

But then the rain slowed.  And stopped.  {insert clouds parting and angelic singing here}

Before long we were groovin' along to the fantastic sounds of Fitz & the Tantrums.  I might add that the sun even came out almost precisely when they started to play.  Mother Nature knows good music when she hears it!

Finnegan entertained with his shaky shake dance moves for a while.  Of course, he and Max started goofing around and, well, beating on each other as good brothers should.  I figured as long as they were still showing me the occasional dance move or singing a lyric, I'd let them off relatively easy.

Suvi kept tapping my arm to point out things going on in the show. {Not annoying at all. Ahem.}  Like that James King was so very cool playing both saxophone and flute (and I discovered that he used to back up De La Soul?  Hello?  That's some 3 feet high and rising coolness!).  Or that Fitz does this funky thing with his hand - "that flick thing" as she calls it - and "what does that mean, Mom?" and "I love that his hair has that awesome streak in it!"

Or that Noelle Scaggs was simply amazing.  "Look at her dress, Mom!" and "I love her voice!" and "She's so pretty and I love how she dances!" Yep, Suvi's a little smitten with Noelle so it was a treat to have a quick photo with her after the show.  Here are a few shots of the evening:

They couldn't sit still... (almost a tantrum right here in the audience before the real Tantrums came on!)

Fitz and his Tantrums hit the stage.

Hardworking Fitz post-show.

James King.  He plays the saxomophone.  (did you say that with your Homer voice on?)

The lovely Noelle.

And, of course, they all signed our vinyl.  We love.

Next on the agenda?  Getting those darned Kids Ear Muffs for our wee concert goers' ears!  We always remember that once we are at the shows and forget immediately afterwards!

Remember: Take your kids to live performances.  I promise that the effort and the craziness is totally worth it.  And get the new Fitz & the Tantrums album.  It's fantastic.