We have finally seen The Banjo Man (aka Frank Cassel) live! When we first walked in to Jammin’ Java this morning, I was decidedly underwhelmed — it’s just a man and his banjo, after all. Beware of first impressions, though, and give the banjo a chance! As soon as we got settled we began to get caught up in his music. The kids danced. I sat back, tapped my fingers, and enjoyed being one of the few moms not juggling a toddler or babe in arms and actually able to sip coffee. I was so empty handed I was asked to help hand out shakers. Soon the shakers were louder than the banjo and the dancing reached a new level.
Despite a little chaos on the dance floor, it was probably one of the least over-stimulating toddler events I have attended. At one point The Banjo Man started playing a Guy Clark song I’m familiar with and I was hooked, but then it was back to kids’ classics like B-I-N-G-O. The show ended before any one of the two dozen plus toddlers melted down. (Smart man!)
After the performance portion was over, Banjo Man let each kid strum the banjo. When my two year-old called her beloved Grammy this afternoon, all she could talk about was how she touched the banjo, so it must have made an impact. We definitely look forward to catching The Banjo Man at another show in the future. In the meantime, we’ll be adding some of his performances to our community calendar for you.
