DJ Lance Rock, Moxie, Leslie Hall and me
Yo Gabba Gabba! returned to Austin and this time I was prepared. When we took our little friends Ryanne and Corrin last year, I noticed there was an after-show party. I was thinking, how did I miss that opportunity? Maybe it was for the best, Ryanne was on the cusp of being too old since six-to-seven is when kids graduate to the more sophisticated fare like The Electric Company or worse…Hannah Montana, I’m certainly showing my age through those offerings.
Thankfully the production company decided to swing through Austin again. Tickets went on sale last Summer and somehow I found the VIP opportunity. Then came the rushed negotiations between Somara, me and Kate. My wife’s approval was needed due to the cost as per the Maggi Republic’s charter (I was bummed she didn’t want to go) which made her a party to this; we had to agree on this being a gift. Since Ryanne and Corrin went last time (and they ended up moving away in the Fall), I quickly contacted Kate who has a three-year-old daughter named Moxie. I was in luck, Moxie is nuts about the show. The hardest part was keeping it a secret from a little kid, I’ve been told their sense of time and patience isn’t well developed.
How was the show? As DJ Lance Rock says…AWESOME! I had been so caught up in the VIP/after-party element, I forgot about where the seats were actually going to be. I recalled something around the center section. Nope, second row!
Moxie and Kate, my guests and "beard" for the show.
Contrary to the costumes giving the dancers limited vision, we were close enough for them to interact with the audience: they waved to particular dancing children! Technology has come a long way since I went to a theme park. The other cool element was how the show was different from last year. I didn’t cynically think it was going to be literally the same, maybe core elements. The only things they kept the same were the intro, closing, a couple exercise-based songs and Brobee’s signature number “Party in my Tummy.” If the latter were skipped, it would be equal to seeing David Bowie and he didn’t sing “Space Oddity” or “Heroes.” I enjoyed the musical guest more, a one-man act literally called That1Guy, definitely need to find some CDs of him. Maybe a musician/co-worker can explain to me how his pipe device works.
Second row! Suck it Hipsters!
Of course, the key guest to my invitation was having a great time…Moxie. As expected with a little person her age, there were intermittent mood swings while the show progressed. Shifts from shyness to crazy dancing and back. I know I got a work out, this explains my sweaty hair in the photos, namely after holding Moxie while I did the freeze song. She tricked me. I thought it was a good compromise; Moxie got me into doing all the “work.” I’d do it again though.
Biz Markie layin' down the beats
They handle Biz Markie’s bit more efficiently too. Instead of bringing up various kids to sit on his lap, a small group were picked earlier and escorted to the stage. Most were hilarious and darling when Biz asked him to imitate the beat/noise he demonstrated. Sadly, there were a couple little wiseasses yet the Biz maintained his composure:
Biz: What’s your name?
Wiseass Kid 1: Boom.
Biz: OK (on to the next kid). What’s your name?
Wiseass Kid 2: Ka-Boom.
There was some confusion on how to get to the after-show party. Thumbs up to the always helpful, friendly CPC staff because the written instructions were puzzling.
When we arrived, it had a small assembly-line feeling. There were different stations to get a photograph with each character. The party wasn’t really so impersonal though, they mainly wanted to get the key request completed for the families who needed to get home (it was almost 7 PM, bed time was approaching with many). Kate and I have many photos, I just decided to go with the key ones below. Muno and Brobee loved my shoes! Those diehards (like us) were rewarded if we stuck around. DJ Lance Rock and his guest Leslie Hall appeared to read a story to the children.
Moxie got a front-row seat due to her fandom
Moxie, Kate and me closed the party. It wasn’t our original plan but I wanted to get DJ Lance Rock’s autograph for a friend’s son (he really wanted to come yet it wasn’t possible). The staff said it was alright after all the pictures were taken. When I explained the request, DJ Lance Rock was very happy to oblige. We talked a bit too. Seems he is a very busy and in-demand guy, he was unaware of this Summer’s New York Times piece about him. I gave DJLR my business card, hopefully I’ll hear from him and I can forward the link.
Call me a dork all you want but the three of us had an AWESOME YO GABBA GABBA-tastic evening. I probably dig this to overcompensate for what happened on my sixth birthday. To celebrate, my family went to Six Flags near St. Louis. In the early Seventies, the Kroft Brothers’ characters were present. I freaked out and hid when H R Puffenstuff greeted the guests, thus blowing the chance of a lifetime.
I can only hope Moxie grows up to have such great memories as she evolves into a smart, independent little lady.
Doing the robot with Plex, Bender's "good" counterpart.
Toodie is my favorite so I got a big hug!