Children Entertain With Rollicking Folk

Thursday, October 11

If Jump, Little Children's latest album was an emotional roller coaster ride through the ups and downs of love, then the band took its audience on the same unpredictable journey at the Cat's Cradle.

Playing before a sold-out crowd at the Cradle, the acoustic-funk popsters alternated between tracks from Vertigo and older material, mixing high-energy tunes with introspective ballads for a show that seemed to leave the audience in a carnival-esque feeling of dizzy exhilaration.

The eclectic Charleston, S.C.-based quintet moved easily and with little banter from a passionate, drums-heavy version of "Lover's Greed" to a comical performance of "You Can Look."

The band upped the energy on songs such as "Vertigo" and "Come Out Clean," with edgier vocals, added guitar solos and a more prominent role for drummer Evan Bivins.

For a group of young guys, Jump, Little Children appeared increasingly humble throughout the night, lacking the boyish bravado of past performances and repeatedly thanking the audience for attending.

"We were just saying today how lucky we are to be such good friends and playing good music," said lead vocalist Jay Clifford. The band members, including brothers Evan and Matt Bivins, have been performing together since their days at the N.C. School of the Arts in the '90s.

But despite its obvious maturity, the band seemed to leave the audience hanging midway through the show after playing a string of pulsing guitar tunes.

After rocking out on a harder version of "Don't Take My Advice" that included what Bivins called "full sonic explosion electric guitar," the band launched into solemn version of "Mother's Eyes." While the lengthy track from Vertigo took full advantage of Clifford's haunting, emotional voice, audience members began shushing each other as if restless and not yet ready to come down from the adrenaline high of the previous songs.

The group followed up "Mother's Eyes" with two more introspective tunes from Vertigo, "Words of Wisdom," a tribute to the Bivins brothers' father, and "Singer," a darker look at romance. Luckily, the band knew how to captivate its audience. It returned from pensive, mid-tempo tunes with five rollicking, blues-tinged songs that left the crowd begging for more.

And the band members were eager to satisfy, closing the show with a rollicking cover of "Jump, Little Children," the Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee blues tune from which they drew their name.

While audience members didn't immediately recognize the tune, the band soon had them bouncing along to its happy-go-lucky lyrics -- proving that Jump, Little Children definitely lives up to its name.

The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.