Girl Talk, with Penguin Prison
Saturday, January 29 at The National
You know that feeling you get after you take part in something great and overwhelmingly positive? It is hard to reason with yourself afterwards--what do you do next? I doubt I was the only one who had these questions running through my mind this past Saturday. Gregg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, visited the National for the first time this past weekend, and was greeted by a sold-out crowd. Having been fortunate enough to see Girl Talk perform several times before, I thought I knew what I was going to be in for. I couldn’t have been farther wrong. Touring to support his latest full-length, All Day, Girl Talk finally brought to tour what other established musicians have done countless times before him--he enlisted the help of a lighting and sound crew. If you missed this show but have seen him in the past, there is no more portable "picnic table" provided by the venue for him to play on. He comes toting his own durable table setup that seems able to support the weight of many Gregg Gillises. In addition to the upgraded table, a gigantic multi-story lighting rig, complete with a changing display of illusions and bright colors, took Girl Talk’s performance to a level we have waited years for. This is how you are supposed to see Girl Talk.
Penguin Prison, a four-piece dance-heavy live band from New York, seemed like the perfect opener. They were able to warm the crowd up and get people moving. Ten o’clock struck and they were gone, but not forgotten. Girl Talk was imminent and the anticipation level inside the sold-out National rose to a new high. In the crowd, I was surrounded by new and old Girl Talk fans alike. There were old couples, teenagers, and everyone in between. Girl Talk’s universal appeal and wide range of genre usage make his concert experience a guaranteed win. There were a few other seasoned Girl Talk “veterans” like myself, who had witnessed Girl Talk play the now-extinct Toad's Place here in Richmond in 2008. That show was a turning point in Richmond dance culture. It seemed like after that show, people were fiending like never before.
The lights dimmed, and after a short intro, Gregg was revealed by a spotlight in his signature sweat suit, to the deafening excitement of the crowd. He did not skip a beat, and immediately positioned himself behind his instrument of choice, a laptop. A guitar riff from Black Sabbath’s "War Pigs," combined with perfectly timed strobe lighting, revealed Gregg’s latest gift to us: his light show. And then the mash-up machine was off. He played some of the newer samples we heard on All Day, but arranged them in new ways, introducing more unheard samples and cult favorites. I have been to numerous sold-out shows, but very rarely have I been in attendance at a performance that had every person in attendance singing along with every part of every song played. Nonstop, for over an hour, people were screaming the lyrics to everything, with the biggest smiles on their face. It is the closest some of us will get to seeing people like Aphex Twin or Outkast. Not many performances can encompass these types of feelings and emotions.
While most concerts satisfy two main senses--hearing and sight--Girl Talk was able to introduce another sense: touch. Throughout his performance, we were overwhelmed by confetti showers, balloon drops, snake-like plastic tubing filled with confetti, toilet paper, beach balls, and huge 10+ foot inflatable square balloons. Never have I been so aesthetically involved in any performance in my entire life. Towards the end of his set, Gregg informed the crowd that Richmond was very special to him. While he had never played the National before, Richmond was the site of “more shows during 2000-2006 than probably my hometown of Pittsburgh.” He thanked us for the continuous support over the years, and you could tell he meant it. Richmond helped put this guy on the map, and now we should be grateful to see him rise to the level that he has long deserved.
A little after midnight, one final confetti shower marked the end of this wonderful experience. Everyone stood there for a minute or two in disbelief. What do we do now? We exited and tried to do something that could keep the adrenaline going. A house party followed, but paled in comparison to the level of excitement we had just surrounded ourselves with. I hope those that were unable to see Girl Talk this go-round do not sleep on the opportunity the next time it presents itself. Richmond loves Girl Talk and Girl Talk loves Richmond. He’ll be back.
** Check out the next issue of RVA Magazine for my exclusive in-depth interview with Girl Talk!**