Thanks to BrooklynVegan's tip, I entered in a photo contest and won a camera and a pair of tickets to a private Girl Talk show at Hiro Ballroom. The 2nd prize winning photo can be found here, and you can see that it's a pretty amateur fan shot. Nonetheless, it won something and I happily danced to Girl Talk for the fourth time in two years. A significantly smaller and older crowd (21+ only) made the experience much more enjoyable, although I was a little disappointed to see so many people not dancing as if they didn't know what to do at a Girl Talk concert. Girl Talk shows are always a good time to let loose and jump around to songs that you may remember from Jock Jams (Volume 1).
By now, you should know that Girl Talk shows are crazy, complete with inflatable balls, bubble machines, and a DJ who will not stop moving around. I wouldn’t say that I’m the most dance-happy person, but I will get down to Girl Talk because it really is a shame not to have a good time. Although the grand prize winners were supposed to dance onstage for one song, the crowd rushed the stage during the first song in true GT-show fashion. This time I didn’t get crushed by eager dancers, but my friend J. and I opted for more breathing space and left the stage after a few songs. I pretty much lose it every time Gregg samples anything Daft Punk (especially “Aerodynamic”), but I wish he would bring back the Grizzly Bear “Knife” sample. I’m still holding onto my memory of Grizzly Bear joining Gillis onstage at Pitchfork Music Festival ’07.
Girl Talk shows have always been a bonding experience for my friends and me. I listen to music that they’ve never heard of, and I flabbergast them by barely knowing any Top 100. These differences aside, my friends and I know how to have a good time and we have Gregg Gillis to thank for providing a happy medium. Girl Talk: Bringing weird indie kids and mainstreamers together since 2006’s epic Night Ripper.
Violens, who has also been given love on Made a Blog, opened for Girl Talk. Their performance of “Already Over” was divine, and I can’t wait for their forthcoming album.
Thanks to Spin and Canon for sponsoring the event and Absolut for the complimentary open bar.
Violens
Onstage view of Gregg Gillis
Already Over - Violens
In Step - Girl Talk
Purchase Feed the Animals here.
May 29, 2009
Girl Talk, Violens - Hiro Ballroom 05.28.09
November 17, 2008
Girl Talk - Terminal 5 11.16.08
The remains of an inflatable basketball
I went to Girl Talk last night, and now I'm paying for it. My entire body hurts. Stiff neck, sore arms, pulled calf muscles. That's right, I've been limping around the entire day. People asked me what had happened to me. Too much dancing at Girl Talk. That's what happened.
The minutes before they left people go onstage, I thought that there was a possibility that I might die. I'd never been in such a packed crowd, and I've had my fair share of deathly crowds. When I was finally pushed up the stairs to the stage, three girls or so fell on top of me. I was legitimately scared that people would just start stepping on me, so I had to quickly squirm my way from under them. I made it out alive, and I danced my heart out. If you know me in real life, then you know that I consider myself to be a little shy and reserved. But, last night, I had no problems looking like a fool in front of 3000 people.
All in all, I would say this was the most uneventful Girl Talk show I've been to. In a way, that is a good thing since this was the first GT show that I'd been to that wasn't shut down by the cops or security. Rude Bear was at the Saturday night show, but he did not make an appearance yesterday. How disappointing since I've sorta been in love with him since I saw him at the Parenthetical Girls/Evangelicals show at Cake Shop. Also, no surprise guests made an appearance. I guess it was a very rare thing I witnessed at Pitchfork Music Festival '07 Grizzly Bear joined Girl Talk onstage for the mash-up of "Knife."
Regardless, Girl Talk is still hands-down the most fun dance show that I've ever attended. I just need to remember to stretch before starting to dance.
EDIT: I forgot to add that I noticed that Girl Talk covers his laptop in Saran Wrap. Does he do this to protect his computer from his dripping sweat and the sweat of the surrounding dancers?
Grand Buffet and Hearts of Darknesses supported Gregg Gillis at this show. Hearts of Darknesses is the solo project of Frank Musarra, who collabs with Gregg Gillis under Trey Told 'Em. Gregg also has a production credit for one of Grand Buffet's EPs. Both Grand Buffet and Hearts of Darknesses have been sampled by Trey Told 'Em on their In-DEED mix.
Dutch Hex (Trey Told 'Em Remix) - Professor Murder
Bounce That - Girl Talk
Legally download Feed the Animals here.
November 16, 2008
Girl Talk - "Give Me a Beat"
via Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good
It sucks to be home on a Saturday night with the beginnings of what I predict will be a nasty cold. The kind that will turn into bronchitis and force me to see a doctor. Knowing this, I knew that there was no way I could go to Girl Talk both Saturday and Sunday nights. So, I parted with my Saturday tickets via Craigslist a couple days ago so that I could rest up for Sunday night. Tomorrow night, I will be going with the same group of friends that accompanied me to the GT show at Webster Hall last Fall. That night, people in the crowd were giving us more room to dance because we were going crazy. A "before" picture here and "after" here to show how much dancing I did at the show. I hope the Terminal 5 crowd will be less violent than it was at the Ratatat show.
I just got off the phone with Trash For Your Eyes and Ears, and he had an amazing time at the show. If you've been to Terminal 5, then I'm sure you're aware that there is a gap between the gate and the stage. However, if you want to go onstage to dance, you must rush up the stairs (located stage-right left) during the first 10 minutes of Girl Talk's set. Gregg went on around 10:45 PM last night.
See you tomorrow! I've seen Gregg Gillis three times in the last year or so, and his shows are always so much fun for me. I hope there's a mix of Night Ripper, Feed the Animals, and some new stuff. For now, enjoy "Give Me a Beat." Gregg is a genius for mashing up Of Montreal's "Gronlandic Edit" and Ali's "Breathe In, Breathe Out." Yes, I listened to the St. Lunatics. I'm from the Midwest, what do you expect?
NOTE: Tickets for tonight's show (11/16) have gone back on sale!
Give Me a Beat - Girl Talk
And my favorite off Feed the Animals:
In Step - Girl Talk
Legally download Feed the Animals here.
November 18, 2007
Covers of "Knife" by Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear is a Brooklyn-based band that I saw at Pitchfork Music Festival over the summer. Their single, "Knife," may be the most covered song in the indie music scene. Beirut covers it while drunk in Paris, which is pretty entertaining. Even a high school a cappella group covers the song. Hell, even Grizzly Bear does their own song a cappella on the streets of Paris in a La Blogotheque Takeaway Show.
So, who does "Knife" the best? Grizzly Bear? CSS? Beirut? You decide.
My favorite version of the song is Girl Talk's remix of "Knife" and Clipse's "Wamp Wamp." I saw Girl Talk perform the remix at Pitchfork Music Fest, and Grizzly Bear appeared onstage to sing their part! Video footage is below.
Knife (Girl Talk Remix) - Grizzly Bear feat. Clipse
Knife (Grizzly Bear Cover) - CSS
Knife - Grizzly Bear
