The Knitting Factory, NYC, 11 AM, 1/21/06

A matinee at the alt club. Ralph's World -- with Ralph growing his hair out a la Ric Ocasek -- takes the stage. On the floor, 150-175 odd moms, dads, and kids ranging from 1 to 8 sit Indian-style, waiting for the star.

And the band takes the stage all power pop, major keys, clean harmonies, and lyrics like: "la lal la la la la, I love lemonaid" and the like. Pure sweetness. A little louder than I would have thought. But it's frickin awesome. Kids pogoing up and down, acting along with Ralph's directions for such classics as the Barnyard Blues. One little 4-year old stood there with his mini-uke the whole time, not even smiling.

How odd, I thought, all this positivity in such an alt rock space, a space dedicated to noise, smoke, booze, and discord. And yet, there was perfect continuity. The parents had all lived through the alt aesthetic and come round, and, really, the apparent negativity and self-destructive introspection of the post-punk days always implied that it was at least worth caring, where the Top 40 chose to surf the shimmering surface of mass cultural vacuity. So it all made sense.

Natalie was shy at first sitting next to Beth, before the latter ferried Sadie out. Natalie stayed in place for a while in the crowded middle of the floor, took the hand of the 3-year old next to her, then held the girl's dad's hand for a while , danced danced danced, and then finally took my suggestion and joined the mosh pit with a bunch of other "older kids". She was fully in her element when Ralph hit a power chord and called out "Ring around the Rosie!" As if they had been planning it their whole lives, 10 little girls joined hands and went round and round, with big smiles.