Wiggle Why You Work (a review of the Wiggles concert)

This was my kids first concert, and it being the Wiggles, I thought my own two children (two year old boy who lives/breathes Wiggles videos, and a four year old daughter) would be super hyped about it—what with Wags the Dog, Capt'n Feathersword, Henry the Octopus and the regular cast all going to be on stage singing their favorite songs. However, I don't think my kids really understood what "live concert" meant until we got there and found our seats. Only then did they realize that something cool was afoot.

As a parent, my last concert was B.B. King live at the Shoreline and before that Barenaked Ladies, and Metallica, so seeing the Wiggles was going to be a bit of a departure, and wasn't sure what to expect.

The stage was pretty bare for a multi-million dollar franchise like the Wiggles. A blow-up circus backdrop, and some steel frames, along with Jeff's keyboard was all that was there. Once the show started, however, it became obvious why so little props were needed—there was too much dancing and cavorting, and the dancers and the Wiggles needed all the spare room they could get hold of.

The show had a Cirque de Soleil feel to it, with lots of human tricks, and dancers dressed as medieval performers and Parisian street players. What the show didn't lack was energy—dancers and piroueters and acrobats jammed and jimmied and jumped and summersaulted all through their repertoire of our childrens' favorite Wiggles tunes, including one of my favorites, "Old Man Tucker" (not sure why, just dig it a lot). Sidelong glances at my two children showed them bobbing their heads and mouthing the words, and wide-eyed joy when they recognized one of their own favorite songs playing.

As a forty-year old man, I must say I was a bit jealous when I saw the actual Wiggles—Sam, Jeff, Murray, and Anthony—do so much physical work, usually along with the professional dancers, for four guys getting close to their fifties. To say they were fit would be an understatement, especially Anthony, who was jumping and playing on the monkey bars like a twelve-year old.

Overall it was a great show, one of those shows where the time flies and the lights go on before you realize it. My two-year old son lit up when Wags came on stage (we brought the prerequisite dog bones for him), and my daughter was digging the dancers. Can't wait to catch them next time around!