Hiawatha tonight: Caspar Babypants onstage, Conan in the crowd

Famous as tonight’s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha headliner was, he was a bit upstaged in terms of crowd buzz, by the TV celebrity who’s now been sighted twice in West Seattle in the past three nights – Conan O’Brien. Tuesday, it was his visit to Cactus on Alki (as seen on Facebook); tonight, “Coco” (dad of 2) was among the hundreds going gaga over Caspar Babypants, who got a jump on things:

Yes, we have video too:

Without concertgoers even realizing they had a chance at an extra celebrity sighting, Team Babypants drew perhaps the biggest crowd ever for the Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s hot series of free concerts:

Mr. Babypants was of course joined offstage by his wife/creative partner, artist Kate Endle, whose work is on his CD covers (among other collaborations, plus her own solo projects):

One more Hiawatha concert – next Thursday, 6:30 pm, another very hot ticket, Star Anna, who you might recall rocked Easy Street Records in The Junction earlier this summer. Free – come early, and bring your own blanket/chair. (WSB is proud to be among the series co-sponsors, as we have been for each of the series’ three seasons.)

ADDED FRIDAY: A couple more Conan-at-the-concert photos from WSB’ers:

From Krista (who’s chatting with him, in the photo):

And from Jay – that’s Caspar B in the yellow shirt:

Thanks again to everyone who shares photos, news tips, etc. – here are the ways to reach WSB, any time.

30 Replies to "Hiawatha tonight: Caspar Babypants onstage, Conan in the crowd"

  • Cait August 25, 2011 (10:52 pm)

    Um. This is the coolest thing EVER!

  • JanS August 25, 2011 (10:56 pm)

    nice…maybe we can make Conan an honorary West Seattleite :D

  • Mike August 25, 2011 (11:05 pm)

    Very cool, my 2 year old daughter danced like crazy and we had a good time listening to ‘good’ kid music + being with our daughter outdoors.

  • upfromeasystreet August 25, 2011 (11:13 pm)

    it would be so neat,if the folks at kong 6/16 gave caspar babypants (chris ballew) his own morning kids show. washington could use another captain puget, j.p. patches or brakeman bill. it’s sad that our younger ones will never experience anything better than nickelodeon or cartoon network.

  • visitor August 26, 2011 (3:07 am)

    He is married to a woman from Seattle and his in-laws still live here. He visits often.

  • arbora August 26, 2011 (4:18 am)

    I sat next to him at the concert and kept wondering if that was Eddie Vedder. Do you know?

    • WSB August 26, 2011 (7:02 am)

      Arbora – somebody on our FB page wondered the same thing. Our photo was taken from something of a distance due to the crowd – Patrick wasn’t even sure if he’d gotten a picture showing him, till he got home and downloaded everything for review. So we don’t know. As for the mentions that his wife is from here, that’s fairly common knowledge (they were married here too) but it’s just interesting that he has been spotted in West Seattle – maybe just since it’s finally truly summery, and of course our side of the city is the most beautiful side of the city, they’re hanging out here?

  • Mike August 26, 2011 (5:44 am)

    upfromeasystreet, there are probably few people that might remember Captain Puget (Don McCune), so here’s a link for them http://donmccunelibrary.com/
    .
    He was my Scout Master way back when, great guy with a great family. Not sure if they (Don’s family) were at Caspar Babypants last night but their love for music and family would fit right in with Chris Ballew’s latest work.

  • Stu August 26, 2011 (6:05 am)

    I believe that Conan’s wife is from the Seattle area. He was probably visiting his in laws.

  • Wally August 26, 2011 (6:42 am)

    That was really fun last night- great job to the organizers.

  • westseattledood August 26, 2011 (6:46 am)

    Wow! Look at that crowd!

    Upfromeasystreet,that is a really brilliant idea. Hope somebody runs with it.

  • PJ August 26, 2011 (6:58 am)

    some one also told me they saw one of wes c addle’s famous musician residents, but i didn’t see him.

  • Lorelee August 26, 2011 (7:32 am)

    Our picnic was set up right behind him (unintended) I thought it was a true testament to WS folk that no one barraged him for autographs or even came up to talk to him- WS peeps just let him hang with his kids & friends. Great event, as always!

  • lg August 26, 2011 (7:53 am)

    What a great crowd! It was a great show–thanks to the Admiral Neighborhood Assoc. and all of the great sponsors, including WSB. Our 3 year old had a blast dancing, and we even saw Conan, who was sitting near friends.

  • Genessee neighbor August 26, 2011 (8:14 am)

    Where will Conan be spotted next????

  • CurlyQ August 26, 2011 (8:14 am)

    I am almost 100% positive that is not Eddie Vedder. But even if it was, I concur with Lorelei that our community is terrific at being relatively mellow around celebrities. Let’s keep it that way!

  • kmn August 26, 2011 (8:41 am)

    Chatted with Conan a while. He is a standup guy! He easily could have blown me and my friend off but he stayed and talked with us about Seattle and his vacation. He is a funny guy and MUCH taller than one would expect!

  • kmn August 26, 2011 (8:41 am)

    btw, that was NOT Eddie Vedder.

  • Christopher Boffoli August 26, 2011 (8:49 am)

    I’d have a hard time being mellow around local celebrity artist Kate Endle who is super cool and so nice. That’s a great picture of Chris and Kate, BTW.
    .
    A few months ago, Conan gave the commencement speech at Dartmouth and it was one of the best I have seen. Though part of what made it great was a bunch of inside Dartmouth references (impressive as Conan was a Harvard guy) it still had many laughs even for those unfamiliar with the College on the Hill:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmDYXaaT9sA

  • Tony August 26, 2011 (9:47 am)

    maybe eddie at 50lbs heavier and a couple inchs taller

  • seantildawn August 26, 2011 (10:10 am)

    The only way I’d see this guy play is either I’d have to be drunk or stoned.

  • Kim August 26, 2011 (12:46 pm)

    upfromeasystreet – as a Patches Pal, I love your idea!

  • cmc August 26, 2011 (12:53 pm)

    Yep, that is DEFINITELY not Eddie!

  • caspar babypants August 26, 2011 (1:28 pm)

    WOW WOW WOW! that was a fun show and I was really touched by the turnout and the happy kids bouncing up front!! Thanks WS for being my hometown heros. It was nice to stretch out and play for almost an hour and a half…!
    I am actually talking with someone about getting a show for TV together that will maintain the simple quality of the Caspar thing…stay tuned! Cheers to the West Seattle blog for the great coverage! It was really nice to catch up with Conan. We were on his show back in the 90’s and we did a couple other events together. He’s a good man and I am super glad he has connections to WS.
    Cheers!
    capsar

  • 44th Neighbor August 26, 2011 (3:12 pm)

    Awesome night! What a treat when Caspar came into the pit o’ dancing kids. My 3 year old just stood there with his mouth hanging open.

  • RJB August 26, 2011 (4:06 pm)

    West Seattle is so cool…..

  • Mary T August 26, 2011 (4:34 pm)

    Here’s a photo of Eddie just one week ago — dude in top photo definitely not Eddie.
    http://grungereport.net/?p=6597

    I still stand by my assertion that I saw Eddie at West Seattle Fest, though. LET ME HAVE MY DREAM.

  • Bryan C. August 26, 2011 (9:26 pm)

    He walked in right behind us and sat just to our right with his familly. I saw him having a great time with his kids and interview his son on his phone. He stood over my wife and daughter and made faces at her when she screamed in his face. Awesome night.

  • Marty August 27, 2011 (11:18 pm)

    The concert was great and so fun to see so many families out for a great night. As for Conan, he was approached by a quite a few people which I found irritating. He should be able to enjoy a concert in a neighborhood park with his family without people asking for pictures and autographs. Come on West Seattle folks…walk your talk.

  • sam-c September 1, 2011 (5:04 pm)

    ok marty said it- yeah, at first when we (our family ) realized he was there, we were pleased to see him sitting enjoying the concert without getting bothered. then he had a hard time leaving when so many people asked him for photos on his way out. his family was standing at the top of the hill, watching and waiting for him to be able to get away…..

Sorry, comment time is over.