A Rockin' New Year Concert – MADJB!

In the year just past, I discovered the Middle Aged Dad Jam Band on YouTube, which mostly does covers of "dad rock" and other power pop songs. Formed during COVID, it's led by comedians Ed Marino and David Wain, members of The State comedy troupe. The band includes friends, musicians, and other actors and comedians, with guests frequently sitting in and singing in their videos and live shows. They obviously love the music and have pretty good music chops, but as the band's name suggests, and they being who they are, it's all about the fun and they don't take themselves too seriously.

So when they announced they were having a New Year's Eve concert, at a small second floor club called the Lodge Room in Highland Park, just north of downtown Los Angeles, we couldn't resist the opportunity to see them! 

They performed a diverse set list that ranged from covers of songs by Billy Joel (three!) the Doors, the Squeeze, Talking Heads, Tom Petty, Tommy Tutone, ABBA, Springsteen, the Who, Paul McCartney, the B-52s, Barry Manilow, and others—they also performed a full cover of Conjunction Junction!Among their guests were comedian/actors Kerri Kenney, Errin Hayes and Joe Truglio. There also were lots of laughs and comedy bits between songs. Their kids also took the stage at one point, performing covers of songs from Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo. At three hours (with a break), we certainly got our money's worth (tickets were surprisingly not expensive at all). It was a great way to ring in the new year.

At the end of the show, Marino mingled a little with the crowd, so I was able to thank him for a great show!