Months ago, DadJovi and I had an exciting realization — a band that we really like was coming to Orlando and they were here when my mom was in town. Know what that means? Free babysitting!

Concerts have definitely been the biggest casualty of having a child. We used to go to shows nearly every weekend, but when you’re having to pay $10 an hour to do it, it tends to make you think hard about which bands are worth shelling out the extra money to go see. Plus, since so many shows start late at night, it’s hard to find a babysitter that is willing to stay past midnight.

We always look for shows when we know my mom will be here, but there don’t tend to be too many around the holidays. So when we saw Bonerama, a brass funk band from New Orleans that we’ve seen (and loved!) before, was here, it felt like the Music Gods were finally throwing us a, well, bone!

OK, every time I tell someone that we’re seeing Bonerama they give me a weird look. No, it’s not some strange sex band. The “bone” refers to their trombones, and these guys make trombones look HAWT!

This was our first show at the Plaza Live Theatre. They sent DadJovi a survey about where we see local shows, and as a thank you for completing it, we got $5 tickets for the show! I need to find a way to do more surveys!

When we first arrived, it was a bizarro scene. Apparently they have two theaters within The Plaza Live and right next door is the Russian Ballet. In the Plaza, one of the theaters was featuring the play “C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters.” So as we were walking up, we saw a shuttle from a local nursing home and a lot of dressed up gray-haireds. Somehow I didn’t think they were for the Bonerama show.

When we finally figured out which theater was the right theater, it was another strange scene. It felt a bit like a high school recital. Folding chairs for a funk band?

But once they took the stage, there was no stopping the beat. People immediately started trickling to the area in front of the stage to shake it, New Orleans-style.

I’m pretty convinced the lead singer is actually Lt. McNulty from The Wire. And if it’s not him, he should totally be his stunt double.

The show was so much fun. They did a lot of their own music and two amazing covers — Led Zeppelin’s “The Ocean” and Allman Brothers’ “Whipping Post.” I had no idea a trombone could match Robert Plant’s voice exactly. It was pretty awesome.

The crowd wasn’t huge (I’d say no more than a couple hundred) but the energy was great. And someday, I hope to learn to dance like a Cajun woman. There were a few women dancing in front of us, and let’s just say they would have totally fit right into the wedding reception scene from “Steel Magnolias.” They were working it!

At one point, the band sang Happy Birthday to the lead guitarist.

The handkercheifs were waving and it reminded me of my own 30th birthday celebration in New Orleans. Best birthday ever, by the way.

Sadly, we’re lame and left the show at about 12:15, only a few songs into their second set. But it’d been a long day already (DadJovi had gone to the Champs Bowl before the show!) and he had to get up early for work today. Thanks for the great show, guys!

We also wanted to get a good night’s sleep because today is road trip day! This afternoon, we’re heading to Naples for an impromptu New Year’s celebration with my brother-in-law. I’ll be spending the last day of 2011 tooling around the Gulf on a boat. Not bad, huh?

And E. has made a miraculous recovery from her trip to the ER. Seriously, this child acts as if nothing was ever wrong with her. If I didn’t love her more than life itself, I’d be really angry with how much that trip is going to cost us when the bills come. But, what are you going to do?

Wishing you and yours lots of music, laughter and moments worth savoring in the New Year! See you next year!