Image by Mandy Denby.
In a festival constructed around the concept of darkness, Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! is a manic, colourful surprise. An American children’s TV show about a group of toys brought to life, hosted by a DJ in a bright orange tracksuit, Yo Gabba Gabba has spawned a touring show and the usual merchandise gambit, including beanie babies of all the characters and plastic light-up sticks that strobe all the colours of the rainbow. The touring show has come to Hobart for Dark Mofo, with merch in full attendance, along with popcorn, bright pink fairy floss and balloon animals.
The Yo Gabba Gabba gang, consisting of a robot, a dragon-cat, a flower creature, a cyclopic cactus alien, a furry, long-armed green guy, and presided over by DJ Lance Rock – who is actually a real DJ – live in a magical land filled with dance, music and self-expression. The group is known for giving a nod to the parents and featuring cameos from different musical celebrities, like The Flaming Lips, My Chemical Romance, Weezer and Weird Al. These factors, along with DJ Lance Rock’s thick framed glasses, and vernacular that is leans more towards street than baby talk, Yo Gabba Gabba could almost be called hipster.
The first half of the show, true to its themes, focuses on getting the hundreds of small humans in the audience to quite thoroughly ‘get their wiggle out,’ running through a number of high energy, high participation songs while the kids go nuts at their feet. There is even a cameo from rapper, performance artist and poet Mykki Blanco, who roams the massive stage rapping about witches and cats and other scary things. (Blanco also featured at Dark Faux Mo, The Bronx after party, where themes were a bit more adult.) It’s a dark moment of pause in the otherwise frantic glory of the rest of the show, in particular the intermission, when all the kids, high as kites on fairy floss, suddenly have nothing to hold their focus.
Unlike the television show, which is usually based around a one-word theme like ‘dance’ or ‘friend’ or ‘car’, the live show is a bit like a Yo Gabba Gabba best-of. We get classics like ‘Party in my Tummy’ (which has an interesting ‘eat your veggies’ subtext) and ‘I Like to Dance’, and learn about bugs, diversity, and how not to be afraid of the dark. It’s original, bizarre, colourful and thoroughly entertaining, enrapturing for children, parents, and lone reviewers clutching notebooks alike.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Yo Gabba Gabba! Live!
The Gabba gang with DJ Lance Rock and Mykki Blanco
Odeon Theatre, Watchorn St, Hobart
Dark Mofo Festival
www.darkmofo.net.au
12-22 June
