Gregg Gillis, a.k.a. Girl Talk, knows how to bring the party on stage. Photo from .
Halloween is a time for adults (and in this case, almost-adults) to pretend they are someone else for an evening, dressing up in gory/satirical/tramp-ish costumes, often getting wasted in said costume, and then making total fools out of themselves. Coincidentally, this is the perfect formula for a successful show too.
As always, the GT show at the Friday night was sold out, and before his performance had even begun, drunk 18-year-old sexy disco queens, sexy Dorothys and sexy Snow Whites were puking in the bathroom, falling all over each other and losing their phones to the water-logged tile floor. Antsy with a belly full of Red Bull, I stood in line for a stall with my furry-booted legs crossed and a Teletubby strapped to my back, watching and wondering how many inebriated young ones would make it through the night.
The Ogden Theatre’s security staff was the most prepared I have ever seen a venue be in the six times I’ve seen Girl Talk, a makeshift set of stairs leading up to the roped-off stage put in place to keep the crowd temporarily at bay. If you’re unfamiliar with a typical Girl Talk event, the not-DJ mashes dozens of songs together into one beautifully danceable mess, and invites his fans to dance around him while he creates the sonic masterpieces in real time.
Girl Talk, a.k.a Gregg Gillis, quietly appeared in a burst of confetti as scary clowns coated the crowd in rolls of toilet paper shot out of hand-cannons. Security quickly removed the rope barrier, and a wave a panic washed over me as the swell of kids moved my body up the front stairs. But once we were all on stage together, the feeling of danger ceased and the dance party began, Gillis dropping everything from Yo Majesty to Stardust, MIA to the Ramones.
GT kept his set fresh but familiar, playing to the energy of the masses with his usual happy demeanor and mixing of ’90s alternative radio tracks and recent hip-hop hits. He played his insta-classic mash-up of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” and Notorious B.I.G’s “Juicy” to the raucous audience, as well as some Blackstreet, T.I., Quiet Riot and dozens of other favorites. Gillis even brought in some Halloween clips like MJ’s “Thriller,” Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters” and the theme from “Psycho,” turning the crowd into a feverish pit of fun.
To close the 90-minute-plus-set, Gillis played the Birdman/Lil’ Wayne banger “Pop Bottles” over and over as he tossed his hands at the crowd, the track melting away into a gorgeous sludgy mess. Another successful Girl Talk show had come to an end, and hundreds of sweaty bananas, tango dancers and surgeons spilled out of the Ogden, the uncharacteristically warm Halloween evening leaving a costumed residual all over Colfax.
is a Denver writer and regular Reverb contributor. Check out her and .
