Live from the Short Attention Span Audio Theater Tour!!

by David Jeffries The CD/DVD combo Live from the Short Attention Span Audio Theater is exciting and fun, offering the listener/viewer great insight into Kid Koala's creative process, but it's way too short. With only 16 minutes on the CD and just about half an hour on the DVD, the "leave 'em wanting more" cliché is taken to the extreme. Still, while it's a frustratingly skimpy affair, there's just enough of that winning Koala quirk to recommend it to hardcore fans. The live performances -- captured from here and there on the Kid's conceptual sit-down dinner-theater tour -- come off as ramshackle on the CD, but seeing it all on the DVD makes things much more interesting. Watching how all these freaky grooves are assembled by the Kid and his cohorts -- P-Love and DJ Jester -- beats just listening to the tracks, and a visual taste of Koala's cabaret attitude toward live shows should have everyone in the ticket line next time around. The four short films by Monkmus -- including his video for "Basin Street Blues" -- are fantastic and otherworldly, and the liner notes and included drawings from Koala are hilarious. Add a bingo game that utilizes the DVD player's forced shuffle function and you've got clever package, but there's only one bingo card supplied, so enjoy going it alone. Missed opportunities abound, but what's here is highly entertaining and necessary for Koala addicts.