Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! at 1STBANK, 11/07/10

Photo: Aaron Thackeray

YO GABBA GABBA! LIVE
11.07.10 | 1STBANK Center, Broomfield
See the full slideshow

It would kind of rule if all concerts were split into two half-hour sets with a twenty-minute break between -- but unfortunately, not all shows are geared toward four-year-olds. Yesterday's Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! was, however, and most of my concert-going contemporaries maintained an impressively mature cool through the afternoon event featuring (the real) DJ Lance Rock and friends. Meaning, I was only whacked in the head twice by a super excited kid with a balloon, and only one eardrum-piercing scream was uttered from behind me during the whole of the show.

Photo: Aaron Thackeray

​In our interview with Yo Gabba Gabba! co-creator Christian Jacobs last week, he stressed the importance of having the "real" DJ Lance Rock lead his foam and latex friends through dancy dances. This, in fact, was the key ingredient to the success of the live show -- Lance Rock held it all together, keeping the legions of devoted preschoolers from getting distracted by sometimes blaring and unreal voices of Foofa, Plex, Toodee, Muno, and Brobee.

View a full slideshow from the concert.

Opening with a shower of paper from confetti cannons and "The Name Game," Lance and the brightly colored characters wiggled together on the flashing dance floor -- which looked like a literal discothèque, a step back in time that pulsed with all the modern LCD brightness. "Peek-A-Boo" brought the booty bass beats, glow sticks and frantically lit baubles shaking throughout the crowd, as the first of several special musical guests of the evening, Kyle Hollingsworth of String Cheese Incident, appeared with Special K, dressed as dogs and cats.

The band was then enveloped in the two floor-to-ceiling digital screens, Lance and friends reappearing to lead a series of songs about celebrating everyone's differences, not being afraid of the dark, and triumphing over self esteem issues. Brobee (the fuzzy green one) was lifted in the air by a handful of giant balloons, inciting tiny "aahs" from the rows of kids, who were then covered in balloons released from nets above. A short break was announced, and kids were free to crawl the seats and stretch out.