They came, they sang, they conquered (almost everyone).
Little eyes widened and applause filled Arco Arena as each of the four Wiggles made their appearance on the stage, greeting the audience with huge smiles and waves.
While the first song - an upbeat instrumental tune reminiscent of a modernized classical piece - entertained and the Wiggly dancers wowed the crowd with their acrobatics, the second, the Wiggles classic "Big Red Car" instantly sent the crowd into sing-along mode.
The roughly one-and-a-half hour concert was the first of two shows Jeff Fatt, Murray Cook, Sam Moran and Anthony Field, a.k.a. the Wiggles, played at the Sacramento venue Tuesday, part of the northern California leg of their American "Go Bananas" tour.
The preschool rock band is scheduled to play San Jose today, then on to San Diego Thursday and Universal City this weekend.
Rupert and Terri Johnson, of Sacramento, brought their 20-month-old son Dylan, an avid Wiggles watcher, to the concert along with his grandparents, Jim and Donna Sochor.
The family was a little disappointed their son's favorite song, "Wobby Camel," wasn't among the songs performed Tuesday, but he still "loved the concert," Rupert Johnson said.
"The concert was amazing," he said. "It reminded me a lot of Paul McCartney in the way they take the Hollywood wall down. It's spontaneous and very human."
About midway through the show, the Wiggles took a break from singing and Murray Cook (the Red Wiggle) read handmade signs held up by children and parents in the audience.
Nicole McArthur and her daughter Chloe, 2, came to the concert with friends.
While Chloe "spent zero attention to the Wiggles" during the concert - instead choosing to climb the stairs - McArthur said she enjoyed the music.
"I was dreading it, but it actually was very nice," McArthur said.
My two children, both Wiggles fans, were captivated during the first 45 minutes of the concert, and were particularly entertained by the Wiggly dancers' gymnastic feats. It became hard to keep them engaged, however, the final 30 minutes of the show, making me second-guess their readiness for a live concert.
But for Jordan LaBranch, 5, who ventured to the concert with four other friends - and parents - from Carson City, Nev., the concert's length and content was just right (Jordan, left, is shown taking a break after the show with friends Alva and Devin Zervoulakos, Hunter Machal and Dylan Clinger).
Jordan's favorite part?
"When they said 'cold spaghetti, cold spaghetti," Jordan said, referring to the song "Hot Potato," the final one performed Tuesday. "It was like TV."
To read more about the Wiggles phenomenon and how to navigate a live Wiggles concert, check out my story, which appeared in The Bee's Family section last month.
