Over The Weekend: Care Bears On Fire At House of Blues

Care Bears On Fire
July 19
House of Blues

First off, I am a father of a 9-year-old daughter and, as such, I sometimes have to succumb to the musical tastes of a girl whose obsession with Taylor Swift is beginning to become disconcerting.

So when my daughter asked me to take her to see something called Care Bears on Fire, I was dreading an experience that might rival Disney on Ice for sheer inanity.

That said, I was surprised and shocked to walk into the House of Blues on Saturday (at 4:30 in the afternoon no less) and witness the three young teens that make music under the moniker Care Bears on Fire.

Sloppy three-chord punk was the order of the afternoon. No gloss. No attempt to be the female Jonas Brothers (even though they are on the same record label). Just three snotty teenagers making a joyful noise.

By the third song, the wonderfully demented “Barbie Eat a Sandwich,” I, like my daughter, was hooked. About 200 parents and kids (many of whom were there to see the headliner, Nat & Alex Wolf) stared at Sophie (13), Izzy (14) and Jena (15) with both awe and a bit of alarm. This wasn’t the slick and soulless kiddie music everyone (including me) had expected. It was raw, sneering punk (with atrocious sound, though–thanks HOB).

Sure the lyrics were a bit silly to me, but according to my young daughter, the songs mirrored the concerns of a, well, a young daughter. “Super Teen” and “Everybody Else” were two examples of cuts that resonated with both teens and old farts like me.

At the end of the show, the three New York teens hugged in a moment of normalcy that didn’t seem corny or rehearsed.

Care Bears on Fire’s second album is called Get Over It; and for the last couple of days I haven’t been able to do that.

Judge me if you will.