Gustafer Yellowgold Live!

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of seeing GustaferYellowgold perform at Jammin Java. At almost 2 years old, this was Orion’s first concert. I wasn't sure if he would be too young to enjoy the show but this doubt soon turned out to be unfunded even though he did seem to be the youngest of the mobile babies (there were one or two infants).  We paid $39 total for 3 tickets and then I spent $20 on a plush Gustafer and a plush Slim the Eel and it was worth every penny.

When we arrived, Orion was asleep in the car so we hung out in the parking.  Doors opened at 10am with the show starting at 10:30am.  I have been to many a show and know they never start on time. We woke him up at 10:30 and went inside.  I had never been to Jammin Java before which has a coffee shop up front with tables and benches taking up about ¼ of the space.  Behind a heavy curtain is a large room with chairs, a stage, a small merch nook, and an area with table and chairs.  Orion wanted to explore and quickly decided that up front climbing on the benches was the place to be.

I noticed the merch area and the plush dolls which I never knew existed.  Even though I was very much in the not going to buy Orion anything because his birthday is coming up, I had to buy him a Gustafer and then Slim looked so cute, so done and done.  Orion was happy to hold his new friends, one for each hand.  It wasn't until the gentleman who sold me the toys got on stage that I realized he was Gustafer, Morgan Taylor.

Orion wanted to explore and ended up climbing the stairs all the way to the top to say hello to Jimi. The show was about to start and I did not want to miss anything. The last two rows were empty and some tables as well, there was also space to sit on the floor in front of the stage.  Patrick took a seat in the back, I attempted to get Orion to sit on the floor with me but he would not be contained.  When the music started it seemed to startle Orion.  He sought comfort in his father’s lap clutching his new friends until he figured out what was going on.  This made quite a cute sight!

I have lost a bit of hearing during my early concert going years and have a hard time hearing a person if they are not facing me.  The volume was not too loud and the sound was really quite good.  I have to say I think he sounded better live that day than when we listen to him on Pandora.  I really like his voice and you could hear the texture it had, good job sound guys!  The music is mellow and he asked who was “ready to soft rock” which I thought was very cute.

One reason I thought Orion would enjoy the show aside from his love of music and dance is that Morgan Taylor is an illustrator and all of the songs have very cute illustrated videos.  Orion loves TV almost as much as he father does and if a TV is on he will usually watch it. We have watched the Mellow Fever DVD a few times (checked out from our local library!) and it has held his interest.

The music is very cute and sweet with a great sense of humor. Mr. Taylor did a great job interacting with the crowd, asking questions, waiting for replies, telling little anecdotes, and even did a live commercial for eel chow (so cute!).  It did not take very long for Orion to warm up and climb down from daddy’s lap.  He started to walk closer to the stage and then I was able to sit on the floor with him in my lap.  Eventually he got out of my lap and stood closer to the stage and danced a bit.  He also wanted to explore the cables on stage and the tall tripod with the projector on top.  Thankfully is was easy to redirect him away from these things and he did not cry about it.  He was the only kid who wanted to explore these items, I was amazed by how good everyone acted!

The show was about 45 minutes (or so) which was about the perfect length as lunch time was fast approaching.  Mr. Taylor raffled off an original handmade GY drawing which yours truly won!  Which Orion immediately creased and I still need to get framed.  Orion seemed very energized after the show and since the place was emptying out, I let him run around. I wanted to get a picture with Mr. Taylor and wanted to wait for the line to be nonexistent.  He was really nice about getting a picture and apologized for butchering my name and Orion’s when he announced the raffle winner. 

It really was a wonderful outing which I highly recommend.  Orion might be too young to remember this outing but I will and we have pictures to prove it! He is playing tomorrow in McLean but we will not make it because we have the great Cloth Diaper Change and I do not want to come off as a Gustafer Groupie (even though I am).  I hope we get to see him again when Orion is a bit older and might remember the experience.  Now I really need to own all 5 of their DVD/CDs which might become my standard birthday gift for a while.