"Llama Llama Live!," Pink Floyd Cover Band At State Theatre This Wkd.

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — For those looking to escape the winter doldrums — and the extreme cold — there will be two good shows at State Theatre New Jersey this weekend.

At 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, Pink Floyd cover band The Machine performs. Tickets range from $29-$59.

The New York City-based quartet performs a diverse mix of The Floyd's extensive 16-album repertoire, complete with faithful renditions of popular hits as well as obscure gems.

"With stellar musicianship and passionate delivery, The Machine explores collective improvisation rivaling that of an early 1970's Pink Floyd, while their use of expanded theatrical elements and elaborate stage displays and lighting continues The Floyd spirit of the 1980s," writes State Theatre. The band is also known for recreating entire albums as a part of their show and accepting requests from fans.

Then at 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5 State Theatre New Jersey presents the musical "Llama Llama Live!," inspired by the bestselling Llama, Llama Red Pajama series by Anna Dewdney and the new Netflix series.

Tickets range from $19-$29.

The following week, the band Deep Purple ("Smoke on the Water") plays at 8 p.m., Feb. 11 at State Theatre.

State Theatre NJ is located at 15 Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick. You can buy tickets to either show at the door, by calling State Theatre Guest Services at 732-246-SHOW (7469) or at https://www.stnj.org/

Writes State Theatre:

Families can join in the fun when Llama bursts into his bedroom looking frantically for his favorite red pajamas. Mama, hearing the commotion, comes upstairs with Llama’s pajamas in the laundry basket to ask about his day — his very first day at school — and put him to bed. But when she goes downstairs to do the million things that busy mothers have to do at the end of the day, Llama is too wiggly to fall asleep, and besides, he’s thirsty. He howls for Mama to come back up, but she doesn’t arrive. Will she ever return?

“What’s amazing about the Llama Llama books,” said director Nina Meehan, “is that they are telling a story about a normal child who is going through scary moments about growing up and has to learn how to take care of himself in the simplest ways to feel safe, comfortable and become a little bit more independent. What we’re doing with this musical is to bring to life some of those situations, as Llama learns that, if he’s a bit anxious, he can calm down and not have a total mental breakdown at this very moment. Llama is already living in an imaginary world, but sometimes that scary shadow is just an old towel and a baseball bat left on the floor. We’re just helping him deal with the choices he has made.”