Yo Gabba Gabba Live! There's A Party In My City: The DadCentric Review

The hottest ticket in LA this weekend? Yo Gabba Gabba Live. Four shows at the Shrine Expo Hall, two on Saturday, two on Sunday. The PR firm that works with the show hooked me up with some free tickets for the last show on Sunday. We were excited: perhaps we'd sit next to the Brangelina Family! I could ask them some serious questions: "Brad, do you remember when you were in Fight Club? That was pretty cool." Perhaps I'd get invite backstage and witness life on the Yo Gabba Gabba Tour: Muno snorting Pixie Stix lines off of Foofa's back; Plex punching out a Rolling Stone photographer, Brobee shaving off his monobrow and throwing a TV through the window while a terrified groupie looks on; DJ Lance Rock rushing to the stage to warn the kids not to eat the brown M&M's. 

Sunday: the lines wrapped around the building, the hip and the non-hip with kids in tow. We made our way to our seats: second row, center. Inside the atmosphere was festive, glowsticks and LED toys and smiling people everywhere, like a Phish concert, only without the stench of weed and patchouli, and the beards were less hippie, more Ironic. I immediately started looking for famous people. There was Gina Torres, sitting in front of us (ok, you may not know who she is, but Firefly and Alias fans, ya feel me?). And next to us was someone who looked like she might be an actress or a musician (Beth later recognized her as Monet Mazur from NCIS: Los Angeles). The lines to the t-shirt and concession booths and changing tables(!) were already stretching the length of the hall; there was going to be trouble if the kids wanted a snack, or if Zoe had a diaper issue. Zoe hadn't napped; she squirmed and cried as we waited for the lights to dim. Lucas mumbled something about being bored and hungry. I donned my complimentary cardboard DJ Lance glasses and tried to get the kids to do the same; Lucas acquiesced, but Zoe gave me a baleful look, one that I expect to get at every concert I take her to over the next 14 years.

The lights dimmed, the video screen played the familiar opening sequence, and DJ Lance Rock (Lance Robinson) himself took to the stage, and was quickly joined by the rest of the big foam-suited Yo Gabba Gabba characters. Most of the kids went nuts, Lucas included. "Dad! It's the real DJ Lance!" Zoe had a rapt expression on her face, looking like the NASA guys at the end of Close Encounters. She'd seen into The Beyond, and it was big-eyed, blue and spongy. I wrote a note on my iPhone: "I bet those guys are wearing Camelbaks under those costumes, because damn." 

Of course the characters didn't actually sing; the vocals and music were prerecorded. DJ Lance appeared to have a case of laryngitis; he gamely did some of the show on his own, but was clearly struggling with a raspy voice, and ultimately resorted to lipsyncing his lines. The kids didn't notice, or if they did didn't particularly care. Mix Master Mike, he of Beastie Boys fame, came onstage and did a mashup of many of the show's songs. The grownups thought this was cool; the kids weren't sure what to make of Mix Master Mike's spinning. (You try explaining how a turntable works to a five year old.) There was an intermission; Lucas and I ventured to the concession line, and here I will suggest what might seem to be something right out of Kiddie Concert Planning 101. When putting on a kids' concert, have more than two people working the food stand, and make sure you don't run out of animal crackers. Yes, Veggie Platters are a healthy alternative. I agree with offering them as a concert snack - in principal. (You try explaining to your kid why he gets broccoli while the kid next to him gets cookies.) While we were waiting in the epic line, the lights dimmed and the show resumed - I was right pissed that we weren't in our seats to watch Jon Heder, he of Napoleon Dynamite fame, take the stage and do a Dancey Dance with the Yo Gabba Gabba crew. (It was my own fault, of course, for getting in that line to begin with. Idiot!) And just as we bought our juice and water, Biz Markie came out to drop some of his beats. We had to battle back through the crowd to get to our seats, and Lucas missed his chance to join Biz to do some of his own beatboxing. (Biz was pulling kids out of the crowd and passing the mic to them; it was pretty flippin' cute.)

Minor quibbles aside, the show was a lot of fun. My kids had a great time singing and dancing to the show's now-familiar tunes (yes, they did "Party In My Tummy", and yes, I went to sleep with that damn song still bouncing around in my head). It's hard not to enjoy oneself when the kids are enjoying themselves. The Yo Gabba Gabba Live! tour has three more stops over the next few weeks - as of this writing, the New York City shows are sold out, but there are still tickets to the Dallas and Chicago shows.