While Tuesday’s performance offered everything you would expect of mash-up phenomenon Girl Talk, includinga crowd that resembled the aftermath of an American Apparel explosion, theuniversity venue show was quite different from a usual open-venue show.
The last time GirlTalk’s Gregg Gillis was sweat-glued to his laptop in Milwaukee was electionnight 2008, and Turner Hall Ballroom was a sardine-packed can of neon-tasticMilwaukee hipsters with PBRs in hand. The crowd at that show was familiar withGirl Talk, understood he was one guy and not a group, had a sense of the partythey were in store forand unlike the Marquette students on Tuesday, theyunderstood crowd surfing is out of the question at a mash-up dance-a-thon showlike Girl Talk’s.
The show was inperfect timing with Marquette’s recent distinction by Playboy magazine as the Best Catholic Party School. Tuesday’s showat Marquette’s Alumni Memorial Union drew inebriated freshmen girls and dazedand confused students who took advantage of the day’s “holiday.” It also hostedhostility, which radiated from those who weren’t aware that one of the key ingredientsto a Girl Talk show is simply letting loose and having fun.
Gillis has been traveling from university to university as of late, performinghis hodgepodge mash-ups that mix the most innocent, teen-bop of songs to thecrudest and heaviest rap. One second you’re singing along to “Since U BeenGone” by Kelly Clarkson and the next you could be singing, “What’s YourFantasy?” by Ludacris. Gillis did an utterly sublime job of intermixing songsrecognizable from his previous albums such as “My Drink ’n’ My 2 Step” withnewer songs such as “Tik Tok” and “Rude Boy.” The show affirmed Gillis’ abilityto mix old with the new, and to keep up with the ever-changing charts.
Some critiquesresonating from attendees include the show’s short duration, which only endedup being close to an hour. But for the $15 price tag on tickets, an hour’sworth of innovation and mash-up perfection is nothing to complain about. Timeflies when you’re having fun, especially when it’s with the kingpin of themash-up.
