Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! – Honda Center – November 24, 2012

Yo Gabba Gabba is probably the only television show for toddlers that inspires a kind of giddy loyalty not just from its target audience, but from their parents as well. It would be a chore to go to a Dora the Explorer live show, but Yo Gabba Gabba? I was as excited at the prospect of watching Brobee, Toody, Foofa, Plex and Muno dance on stage as I was at the idea of a Smiths reunion. 

And that's the beauty of Yo Gabba Gabba. The brainchild of Aquabats lead singer Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz, the show transcends the three-feet-and-under market with its sense of cool. Guest appearances by Weezer, Jack Black and Tony Hawk give it cred; regular appearances by Biz Markie and Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh shoot it to the top of the hipster parenting kit. It doesn't hurt that the show is especially popular in OC because it's made here; its creators and much of its cast are OC residents.

See Also:
*[Slide Show]: Yo Gabba Gabba Live! at Honda Center
*Top Five Nostalgic Cartoon Bands
*No Doubt Talk About Being Rockstar Parents

So no, I didn't feel out of place when I skipped over to Will Call
to get my ticket. My almost-two-year-old Jah looked bewildered when I
told him we were going to watch “Yo Gabba Gabba” and yet I didn't turn
on the TV (instead ushering him into the car), so I'm pretty sure he had
no idea what was going on. Still, from the moment the lights went out
and the orange-clad DJ Lance Rock whistled onto the stage, Jah — like
every other kid in the venue– was transfixed. 

The
cool factor — the reason parents watch the show in the first place —
translated into the live show, of course. Biz Markie led an amazingly
interactive beat box segment. DJ/producer Daedelus provided some chill
out grooves. Leslie Hall stepped out in her fringe-laden, glittery body
suit to ham it up with DJ Lance. Life-sized bugs and vegetables from the
show made an appearance to high-five with toddlers in the audience.
Paul Rodriguez, the skater, led the dancey-dance move.

So
maybe music was a little bit too loud (or maybe I'm just too old?), and
the bubbles and the confetti shooting out of the stage didn't reach our
seats, and there was really no space to dance, but it made me feel a
little less weird to see all these parents heartily singing the words to
“Party in My Tummy,” the same way I do at home. And I had a lot of fun.
A LOT. It was much more enjoyable than the last 10 for-adults shows
I've seen, if only because the sight of my son having fun at a concert
was so precious.

Critic's bias:
I'm a fan of the Jacobs family and all their creative endeavors. Also,
Yo Gabba Gabba is on for at least three hours a day, everyday, at my
home.

Overheard: “Dabba Dabba!” from my almost two-year-old Jah, who spread his arms out wide like DJ Lance Rock everytime he said it. 

Crowd: Little people everywhere, with tattooed parents.

I wanted to buy everything at the merch table.

16. Goodbye

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