Author: Cindy Tang
Girl Talk’s animated appearance at The Fonda on Saturday, Oct. 25 was more of a sweaty dance party than your typical concert.
CX KiDTRONiK opened the show in a flurry of masks and hard hip hop beats. An enthusiastic CX KiDTRONiK, accompanied by a fellow singer/rapper, leapt into the crowd, grabbed fellow concert goers, and encouraged audience participation throughout the set, despite the half empty concert hall.
Toward the end, they grabbed four voluntary women from the audience for the song “Big Girl Skinny Girl.” The ladies lowered their pants to reveal a “krak attack” and shook what little their mommas gave them. The gyration of flat, pale asses wasn’t quite the routine that I was hoping would end CX KiDTRONiK’s act, but it was definitely the most memorable.
CX KiDTRONiK’s set was undoubtedly fun to watch because the performers seemed to genuinely love what they were doing and that’s all an audience can really ask for.
Unfortunately, the second opener, The Death Set, obviously did not heed this concept. Their abominable performance reeked of teenage brat rebellion. They introduced themselves by spraying the audience with cheap beer while screaming, “Wake up!”
The three man band laughably jumped around playing what might have been considered punk rock at one time, but now just sounded like suburban drivel. In short, The Death Set made me wish to see those flat, pale asses again.
While watching the crew set up Girl Talk’s equipment, the security guard in front of me threatened that anyone who dared to climb on stage would be escorted out immediately. This was the second night that Girl Talk was performing at The Fonda and the security guards already knew what to expect. However, when the lights dimmed and Girl Talk took to his small platform, the security guard looked at me and asked, “You want to go on stage?”
Hells yeah, I do! I jumped onto the platform, pressed up against Girl Talk himself, and danced as he opened the show with my personal favorite, “Once Again.”
For those who don’t know, Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis) is a mashup artist – often using at least ten different songs, most or all being unauthorized samples, to make a whole new song. His music is usually listed under the genre of illegal art.
The crowd erupted as Girl Talk fiddled with his laptop, screamed into the microphone, and cut a rug on his platform. Stage hands dressed like futuristic mimes shot sheets of toilet paper and confetti into the rapturous crowd. Massive, inflatable plastic bags were released into the venue halfway through the show.
Dancing next to him and staring out into the packed concert hall gave me an adrenaline rush . . . and then the camera whores invaded. Girls left and right, sporting too much makeup and too little clothes, cattily jostled the entire platform to achieve that perfect Facebook self portrait with Girl Talk. At one point, the entire set table began to tip over and a security guard had to storm the stage only to be nearly shoved right off.After thirty minutes of dancing my heart out, I tired of being drenched in strangers’ sweat and made my way down front. It was there that I realized I had more room to move on stage. There was no dancing here, just sweaty surging.
And what’s the point of going to a Girl Talk concert if it’s not to dance? It’s not like he’s playing an instrument so it’s not obligatory to constantly watch him. The man has the tracks programmed to his laptop. All he needs to do is click a few buttons.
That’s when I discovered the supposed senior section. Just forty feet from the stage you’ll find thirty-somethings awkwardly grinding on one another, squealing when a sample of Rick Springfield’s “Jesse’s Girl” is heard.
Girl Talk played heaps from his newest album Feed the Animals such as “Here’s the Thing” and “Don’t Stop.” He also managed to whip up some old favorites like “Smash Your Head” and “Hand Clap” from Night Ripper. However, most of his set seemed to be a lot of dynamic improvising as he switched up his usual album tracks and played off the crowd’s energy.
The show closed with “Play Your Part (Pt. 2),” a mashup of Journey’s “Faithfully” and UGK’s “International Player’s Anthem,” which was ostensibly a fan favorite as lighters punctuated the swaying crowd. Girl Talk left a sweaty but satisfied crowd, and a smile on everyone’s lips.
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