Bring The Kids

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 21, 2005 7:36PM

Chicagoist is usually against bringing little kids to bars. Not because we’re worried about them being exposed to alcohol but more because they’re usually hogging the jukebox; the hits of Radio Disney should not be the soundtrack to anyone’s alcoholic adventures. While the law in the State of Illinois agrees with us, how are you going to teach your kid proper show etiquette if you can’t bring them with you? Martyr’s may just have the solution with their Music Is Good for Kids show this Saturday at noon. (We are dying to know what Martyr’s looks like in the daylight).

Music Is Good For Kids is a monthly feature at Martyr’s that not only introduces kids to live music but also saves parents the torture of having to listen to say, songs by and about hamsters or songs sung by empty-headed Barbie dolls who are the creation of publicists. No, this is Martyr’s. So you’re getting top-notch entertainment like Julie Frost, an award-winning singer/songwriter and producer whose work through Happy Child has helped educate young people all over the city about music. Plus, at MGFK they spread out paper so you…er, your children can draw all over the floor while sipping juice boxes and eating Mac and Cheese. Man, that’s the next best thing to just crawling back into the womb. Uh, not that we’d want to do that. Nope, no issues here.

If you’ve got kids that are a little older then perhaps they’re ready for Old Town School’s Tribute to Led Zeppelin (and their roots) show on Saturday at 7:30 PM. Promising to explore the “entire canon of 20th Century rock and soul” it’s a perfect show for older youth like Chicagoist’s cousins who are past the Raffi stage but not quite ready for the Pixies. However, we’d hate to be the parent who’s forced to explain exactly what Robert Plant meant when he requested that his lemons be squeezed until the juice runs down his leg. (“Well, you like fresh-squeezed lemonade, don’t you? So does he!”)