'Yo Gabba Gabba Live' Gets Us Dancing

The hottest multi-generational ticket in town this weekend may have been the Yo Gabba Gabba Live! show at L.A. Live's Nokia Theatre. I do believe that the Gen X parents in the crowd may have been more excited to be there than their offspring. While many kids were dressed up as their favorite "Yo Gabba Gabba" character, parents were dressed up too.

And why not? Part of the appeal of "Yo Gaba Gabba" is the fact that it gives adults plenty to enjoy as well, from the indie rock bands to the catchy dance lessons and larger-than-life costume characters. But the highlight may have very well been the one and only diabolical Biz Markie. Biz, of course, instructs tots on "Yo Gabba Gabba" about how to beat box. He has also joined "Yo Gabba Gabba" on tour (350 dates and counting) and pumps up the crowd via music, beat boxing and interaction with a handful of kids on stage. The best part: Without instructing the audience of the words, he gets the entire crowd to sing the chorus of "Just a Friend." Yep, this is a Gen X crowd, all right.

The Blogger Kid at first felt he was too old for the show-- but he got into it, of course. And this represented the first concert experience for the Blogger Toddler 2.0, who seemed overwhelmed at first but eventually clapped along.

We've been big "Yo Gabba Gabba" fans from the beginning. Check out our post from when we saw the live show in 2009, and here's when we visited the show as it was in production in 2008. Meanwhile, here some more pics from the "Yo Gabba Gabba" live show on Saturday:


Hey kids, gather 'round -- it's time for Biz's Beat of the Day!


My name is Brobee!


DJ Lance Rock.


The Gabba gang on stage.


Tori Spelling and husband Dean (fresh off accidentally Tweeting his wife's boobs) do the Dancey Dance.


Blogger Kid and Blogger Toddler 2.0 play with balloons, as Foofa poses for photos in the background.

Big Winner From the VMAs: The Set Designer and Graphics Guru

The critics weren't kind to Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards -- especially host Chelsea Handler's performance. I say she was simply miscast for the role; her audience is not the MTV audience.

It didn't help that the awards show didn't pull off a defining pop culture moment the way it did last year, when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech. (I still say Kanye was right... but that's just me, I guess.)

The reviews didn't matter; ratings were huge. And if there's a rave to be had from Sunday's show, it's for the amazing set -- turning the sterile Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live into something cool and contemporary -- and the graphics package from the show, which looked sharp.

Also, the show's cut away to a sundown performance by Linkin Park at the Griffith Observatory nicely highlighted that venue, the L.A. skyline at dusk and the orange horizon.

Some shots from inside the Nokia:

"American Idol" vs. the Lakers

I can't remember a time when two major, nationally televised events were taking place across the street from one another. But Wednesday night, "American Idol" fans mixed with Lakers fans, as the "Idol" finale went live at the Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live, across the street from Staples Center -- where the Lakers met the Spurs for Game 1 of the Western Conference championships.

I managed to find $10 parking (not an easy feat, but there it was, not to far from $30 and $25 lots), and parked mostly among Lakers fans. Hiking to the Nokia, guys selling Lakers caps were standing near others passing out free T-shirts touting "Idol" finalist David Cook (still not sure why, or who those people were).

Inside, I got my first taste of the Nokia. Damn, it's huge. And lacking in much character. Two Kodak Theatres could fit in there, and that's not necessarily a good thing. The theatre may have been built to be acoustically perfect, but it's quite plain inside.

I got there late, but still caught the Idols as they performed with Bryan Adams, Graham Nash, One Republic and George Michael. I swear the screaming was loudest for the Jonas Brothers, and clearly I'm now old, because I have no patience for them.

In the end, the right contestant won -- David Cook, the "rocker" who provided much of the season's more interesting performances. Oh, and across the street, the right team won as well. Traffic heading home was a breeze as well, as both the Lakers playoff and Dodgers game were still going on.

(Above, the L.A. Times home page looks a lot like downtown did Wednesday night, with "Idol" and the Lakers side-by-side.)

"American Idol's" Leaving Hollywood, Dawg!

L.A. Live's Nokia Theatre has just lurred away another major TV event, but this time from another recent development -- Hollywood and Highland's Kodak Theatre.

"American Idol" announced Wednesday that its two-night finale would be broadcast live this year from the Nokia -- after six years at the Kodak.

Announcement comes just a few days after the TV academy announced that the Emmys were officially leaving the Shrine Auditorium for the Nokia.

Seacrest stalkers, take note: "Idol's" finale will air Tuesday, May 20 and Wednesday, May 21. Fox says more than 7,000 people will squeeze into the Nokia to watch.

Whither the Shrine Auditorium?

(Flickr pic by Alan Light.)

Now that it's official that the Emmys are moving to L.A. Live's Nokia Theatre, that makes yet another major event that has vacated the Shrine Auditorium.

The Shrine first opened in 1926 as the headquarters for the Shriners' Al Malaikah Temple. Architect G. Albert Lansburgh designed the building, along with local architects John C. Austin and A. M. Edelman, according to Wikipedia.

The Academy Awards, the Grammys and the Emmys all once made the Shrine their usual home. Slowly, that's changed, as the Oscars moved to its signature Kodak Theatre home, while the Grammys (which used to swap coasts, but now mostly airs from L.A.) expanded into the Staples Center. Among the holy trinity of Hollywood awards shows, that left the Emmys.

Now, of course, the Emmys move to the Nokia starting this year (with the Governors' Ball at the Convention Center next door). Another event that also broadcast from the Shrine, the American Music Awards, moved to the Nokia last fall.

To be sure, the Shrine still holds many big events, such as the SAG Awards, and is the venue for USC graduations, among other celebrations. The venerable auditorium isn't going anywhere. And it's not like the Shrine has always held these events anyway; the Oscars only moved to the Shrine in the late 1980s after a run at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and the Emmys just moved to the Shrine a decade ago after a stint at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

But at the same time, people in the rest of the country will be hearing those booming words -- "LIVE! From the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles!" -- less often in the future. And the Shrine may be destined to join sites such as the Forum, the L.A. Memorial Sports Arena and the Grand Olympic Auditorium as classic L.A. venues whose glory days may be behind them.