Related Items
Girl Talk at First Avenue
Well, my ears are ringing, I'm a sweaty mess and I'm pretty sure I'm missing my newest lipstick purchase. But all is well as I return from my first Girl Talk concert at a sold-out First Avenue.
The crowd was filled with an array of characters sporting everything from mullets to moose sweaters to neon spandex from American Apparel -- all there to dance their butts off to the tunes from the king of mashups.
And that's exactly what the sold-out crowd at First Avenue did. In fact, any effort I had of looking cute was lost within 10 minutes of Max Tundra's opening set. I mean, how could you not dance like a maniac to a remix of The Sound Of Music's "So Long, Farewell"? You know the one...where all the Von Trapp children line up to sing on the staircase. Genius! And so my descent into a sweaty mess ensued.
Then Girl Talk took the stage. A half dressed, shaggy haired man in maroon sweatpants commanded the entire venue with just his laptop. Gregg Gillis - an engineer by day and electro mashup king by night - had us singing along to the mixes we've all played at house parties or used as treadmill motivation for the past few years.
On stage, Girl Talk was surrounded by crazy dancing fans while he played mixes from both his recent album, "All Day," and his past two albums, "Feed the Animals" and "Night Ripper." All mashing up artists like the Ramones, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and Peter Gabriel in a way you'd never imagine could sound so good.
A highlight of the night was Girl Talk's ability to make his show visually entertaining. With toilet paper guns, balloon drops, beach balls shot out into the crowd and a lightshow to accompany his tunes, it was as fun to watch as it was to listen and dance.
My favorite moment? Probably when the final tune from his latest album played which showcased John Lennon's "Imagine" and the crowd was showered with a sea of colorful balloons.
It was a beautifully calming way to wind down a night of bass pumping tuneage and wild dancing.
Handling all things events, marketing and social media, Katie Schutrop is Metromix's plan-and-execute samurai. Find her online: @kshoop.
