So I have been working once again this summer as I did last summer with the Oregon Parks & Rec Dept at the Oregon State Fair. This season I am doing just the concerts which thus far has been very interesting and entertaining.

Watching who the demographics drawn for various concerts thus far has been interesting to observe.

Today it was a double shot with the DoodleBops this afternoon. Its a kids/preschool demo for these shows for the most part with a couple of exceptions that I will mention in a moment. Tonight was Gary Allen with a total cowboy and hottie demo for that show.

We have some parents here so please explain to me who and what makes these/this act so popular with the kids cause I don't understand it or is it just because I am living under a rock? I did do however my good deed for the day in that I helped out this develomentaly delayed adult a happy camper (in fact this may have been this guys highlight of the year.) In that he was a DoodleBop fan but he nor his family knew that they were performing at the fair until the got there today. So his mother/guardian went and bought him a ticket. And because he was in a wheelchair got up front first row tickets. That makes me happy to know that no matter what he walks away being able to hopefully remember and talk about that show to his family and friends for the rest of the year!

Tommorrow night is Weird Al Yankovic which I am looking forward to (tho less than Willie Nelson next Friday)

Perks of this job are once in a lifetime oppurtunities to listen\see soundchecks.

Awesome job even if at times your pulling your hair out in frustration and or sweating your balls off!

Oh man. Don't even get me started on The Doodlebops.

The Doodlebops are mix between The Kroft Supershow ( but with inferior production values ) and The Village People ( but with superior homosexual tendencies ).

Lethal.

For those of you that have young kids, you know those times when your child says something in a fashion that makes them sound like an adult? Like, you know, when they use a word for the first time in front of you that you didn't know they knew how to use correctly?

My son, when he was 2 - TWO! - actually said, while watching The Doodlebops - and I quote " Dad, this show is absolutely terrible. Let's never watch this show again."

Then we went to Dairy Queen as a reward...for both of us.

CJ thats why there were all those butch lookin' lady couples there without the child in tow!

And it sounds as if your son actually has at the very least his fathers common sense and taste?

The Doodlebops will never be allowed in my house.

Chicken, I'm still waiting for my 10-year old cousin to finally admit she's outgrown her Hannah Montana phase.....

(I usually end up having to babysit [read: raise] her at odd points throughout the week while her recently divorced mother is out bar-hopping and going ape-wild all over Portland and Vancouver.)

But then again, chances are the next thing she'd be into might only end up being at least 1,000 times worse. Maybe I should savour these moments while they last....

Several months ago I was pressured [read: extorted] by her and her mother into seeing the godawful HM film with her. All in all, I only saw about ten minutes of it.....the other 70 were spent repairing my bike and coming in and out for a few monutes at a time, all under the guise of "I have an upset stomach." Well, I probably would have had I actually sat and listened to the whole damn thing.......

The only thing that was really in it for me, it seems, was that I am now $30 poorer than I was before I set foot in that movie theatre, when you count admission and concessions.

So help me, if Cousin's promiscuous mother ends up popping out another kid and I end up raising it too, Doodlebops will *never* be allowed in my apartment at all, for any reason. Nor Teletubbies. Nor the Wiggles. Nor
"The Elmo Show" formerly known as "Sesame Street", all due to what I perceive as an apparent lack of any real educational value. Sorry, but Hap Palmer, Mister Rogers, Raffi and Sharon, Lois & Bram will be standard fare whether kid likes it or not!!

I recently had to put a moratorium on Bratz and Winx Club (much to little cousin's despair but to my and Dennis' relief) because I think young children should *never* be exposed to that stuff due to the messages they send!

Yes, I know I'm being a bit trite with that statement. All I know is if I really *did* have a daughter I wouldn't want her to believe the portrayal of how women and people in general should appear, as those kind of shows tend to portray, is in any way arepresentative to how they should appear in real life. Yes, there's far more to life than sex and making yourself look obscenely glamourous.

(That, and those Bratz things do look freakishly demonic........)

Well, a couple of years ago she outgrew her Disney Princess phase, so maybe this thing is getting close to the end of its course......I can only hope........

My mother has been doing early childhood development since before I was born (over 30 years).

I listen to her when she says something is suitable versus non suitable for the younger children.

Although I have never seen it one of her top of the list shows currently is Max & Ruby. And one of the shows movies that she never tires of and always approves of is anything Winnie the Pooh.

I asked her if she or any of her kids had ever heard of the Doodlebops and she had not.

The one thing that terrifies me: Boohbah.
Like an acid trip gone horribly,horribly wrong.

Oh God yes.

I swear there is some subliminal shit going on in these shows. Not the obvious " Buy me " stuff. But more along the lines of " We want to prepare you for our alien invasion...everything will be fine...Soylent Green...Baba Booey!"

So tonight was "Weird" Al Yankovic. I only saw the first set but what a great stage show! I was very pleasantly surprised. To top it all off it was a near sellout. I am mesmerized, and impressed with the fact that he doesn't for the most part get any radio play, and he isn't a fixture on television yet he managed to sell around 5000 tickets in a very small market. WOW is all I can say. He literally works the crowd by leaving the stage and going into the crowd which is great for his fanbase. Alot of interaction with the crowd along with alot of video, and even some streamer pyro. And in the first set he literally did around 10 costume changes.

I came to the conclusion that I would actually buy a ticket to see the entire show. Cool concert experience.

Surprisingly a very mixed demographic. IF I were a parent I would not have a problem taking older children to this show as it is in fact a clean act with nothing even approaching inappropriate behavior (ie 12plus)

BTW I am very lucky to be positioned perfectly for these shows at just feet from stage left. Awesome priceless view!

Shyguy, I grew up with Winnie The Pooh. At 24 I'm still growing up with WP. The original Disney Winnie the Pooh trilogy from the '60s is still one of my very favourite film series to this day. It's one of those things, I think, that tends to be a favourite amongst many multiple demographics and age groups.......even my Gran'ma likes "Pooh Bear." Kinda' like Mr. Rogers, in a way.

Oh yeah, first concert I ever went to was Weird Al's "Bad Hair Day" concert at the Clark County Fair, circa 1997 or 1998 (some point around that time period, anyways.) I was in junior high at the time. Yup, that was the one which had the controversial "guest appearance" by Santa Claus, armed with a BFG9000. Oh yes. ;o)

F--in' awesome!!

My nursery as a child was all Winnie the Pooh. My first birthday party featured a Winnie the Pooh cake. We had the Winnie the Pooh phone at the house as kid, and my mothers business was called "Pooh Villa".

Hey Shyguy, we decided at essentially the last minute (the night before) to go see Weird Al - my 13 year old son has been a fan for years, and his 11 year old sister came along. As you said, it was a great show, and I wish I had thought to go earlier so I could have gotten better seats. I know that the enjoyment my kids would have gotten from the experience (and they enjoyed it very much would have been triple had we been on the floor within confetti range of the stage.

We were taken with his showmanship, and his ability to shift from genre to genre so effortlessly. And talk about a tight show! Ran almost exactly two hours without a break in the music or the action.

Edselehr glad that you enjoyed the show. IMHO with the pavillion the bowl/general admission seats are better than the floor seats when you figure the first-third rows being promotional giveaways. But best overall section is Sections 1&2 of the bowl and Sections 9 through 13. Any of these sections rows A through E. All these seats are better than most if not all of the floor seats.

Tonight was another great show with the Creedence Clearwater Revisited. There lead sounds very similar to John Foggerty. Good sound and decent stage and lighting effects.

Tonight was Garrison Kellior sp? and the Prarie Home Companion tour. The only recognizable name included in the 3 hour show was country female Suzy Bogess again sp? Mellow geritol and or an educated crowd. Logistical disaster but well behaved crowd but that was known ahead of time to be a no-brainer.