The most hilarious event in midtown went down at RecordBar last night, and we're betting that you weren't there. Koo Koo Kanga Roo and the Minstrel Periods treated a small crowd to playground throwbacks and choreographed dance numbers that literally left crowd members' cheeks sore from smiling and laughing.
The Minstrel Periods opened the night with their cabaret brand of cover songs, including accordion renditions of "Myriad Harbor" by the New Pornographers, "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode, and "Last Dance With Mary Jane" by Tom Petty. The highlight of their set, however, came when singer Kate O'Neill set down her accordion, drummer Dave Martin stepped out from behind his drum kit, and the trio (along with lead singer Michael Bunn) performed a choreographed dance number to Mickey Avalon's "Jane Fonda."
As Minstrel Periods put their instruments away, Koo Koo Kanga Roo began setting up a stage show complete with a logo backdrop, a lighting rig, and LED light boxes that flashed different colors. When they took to the stage, they started the night off by stretching -- and it's a good thing they did. There may not have been a packed crowd, but I have never seen so many people in Westport lose their inhibitions and dance in sync to a live show. Every song Koo Koo Kanga Roo performed was an interactive sing-along, and as the night went on, people found themselves doing disco dances, acting like ninjas in a ninja class, chomping like dinosaurs, doing a futuristic hokeypokey, and (my personal-favorite moment of the night) dancing under a multicolored parachute while singing about their favorite colors of the rainbow.
Koo Koo Kanga Roo only had two rules: Everyone had to dance, and there was to be absolutely no cussing. Just good, clean fun -- with a lot of alcohol thrown in for good measure. The duo is backed onstage by two other members, who dress in various costumes throughout the show, including a hot dog and a bottle of mustard. (Bryan Atchison, the lead singer, told me after the show that his mother ordered them this particular set of costumes and that it was supposed to include a bottle of ketchup, too, but it hadn't arrived in the mail yet.)
Throughout the night, fans treated themselves to a free friendship-bracelet-making station at their merch table, as well as an interactive webcam that snapped fan pictures, which the band posted on their Facebook page the next day. (You can check out pictures from the Koo Koo Kamera at RecordBar show here).
You can also download their new album, The Golden Staircase of Destiny, for free from their website. And if you do, be prepared to uncontrollably sing along to songs about "LMNOP" (the best letters of the alphabet) and how PB&J sandwiches are clearly better without crusts. Will somebody give these guys a kids' television show, please?
Set list: I have to be honest here. I was pretty drunk and too busy doing choreographed dinosaur dance moves to pay attention. But they did say they just play through their whole album at every show, so you can check that track list on their website.
Critic's bias: I am partial to group dancing. And parachutes. And mustaches on sticks.
Overheard in the crowd: Nothing but hysterical laughing. So much laughing.
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