Yo Gabba Gabba! @ The Riverside Theater

Since its debut on Nick Jr. in 2007,“Yo Gabba Gabba!” has joined the ranks of countless other kid shows that, byaccident or design, seem to appeal primarily to the very young and habitualusers of psychedelic drugs. But the program also seems intent on drawing inanother demographic: music nerds. The series' past guests include such modernmusic favorites as Cornelius, Of Montreal, The Shins, The Roots, Rahzel andEnon, and it features regular segments starring Biz Markie and MarkMothersbaugh.  The diversity (andrelative obscurity) of the guests is easier to understand in light of the factthat co-creator Christian Jacobs was a founding member of the long-standing(and rather wacky) pop-punk/ska group The Aquabats, who appeared along withMarkie Sunday as part of the touring live show.

The program's candy-colored visualstyle falls somewhere between Sid and Marty Krofft's 1970s creations and theclean lines of Japanese designer toys. Since the show features a live-actioncast consisting of host DJ Lance Rock and a quintet of costumed creaturesinteracting with animated backgrounds, it achieves a rather seamless transitionfrom screen to stage with the help of some rear projection.

Although there were a few gentle popsongs with kid-friendly themeslike how it's OK to be scared or what haveyouthe majority of the event consisted of agreeably frantic, up-tempo dancetunes accompanied by a lot of silly shouting. The high-energy vibe, along withthe flashing lights, bubbles and peace-love-and-understanding platitudes,suggested something not unlike a rave (but, you know, for kids).

The guest stars' appearances werefrustratingly short. The Aquabats burned through a pop-punk ode to pool partiesin a few minutes flat, and Biz Markie, whose “Clown Prince of Hip Hop” imagemakes him a natural fit with the kiddie set, never really flexed hisconsiderable beat-boxing skills. He did, however, turn the mic over to thetykes and let them give it their best shot, with hilarious results.

One thing is beyond any doubt, though:The kids went wild for it all. The adultssome of whom could be seen indulgingin the Pabst Foundation venues' “legendary” $3 PBR tall boysdidn't seem to behaving too bad of a time either. That's not too surprising: You'd have to bemade of stone not to at least crack a smile at something this exuberantlyridiculous.