Girl Talk @ Koolhaus
By: Ama Scriver
Every media outlet in the city had something to say about Gregg Gillis coming to town. There was so much attention – both positive and negative – surrounding his show that it was almost too much to take. Postings on Facebook and craigslist saw people scrambling to get tickets (the show sold out in August on Ticketmaster) and paying a ridiculous amount for them. You'd think it was Madonna playing. But it was just Girl Talk. All that hype and yearning for tickets should have given me an indication of what the night would be like.
Having had the opportunity to see Girl Talk live twice before (once at the Detroit Electronic Music Festival and once at The Phoenix), I knew what a proper GT show was like. The Koolhaus was packed to capacity and looking around at the crowd everyone seemed so suburban, and like your typical club crowd. And not in a good way. No matter – it was the music that counted. As Gillis ran out on stage, the crowd went nuts and I knew we were in for a journey.
But, as Girl Talk launched into his set there seemed to be a few things missing. Specifically, the typical GT show spirit and vibe. Gillis normally invites the crowd up onto stage with him, but tonight the kids on stage seemed like hired actors or friends of the promoters who were like, "cool, we're on stage." And what really struck me was the lack of anarchy. When real fans tried to get up on stage, security threw them back into the crowd and told them to fuck off. (Or something along those lines.)
I guess the Koolhaus wasn't ready for that kind of chaos, or maybe Gillis just doesn't want hundreds of girls mobbing him on stage anymore when he's trying to play. But for me, Gillis is a showman. While the music was good and I danced my ass off, it was only what I'd already heard on Night Ripper and Feed the Animals. I get that this is a tour for his album, but I wanted some new material. I wanted some live mashups. I wanted something more. I mean, even the song he did for an encore was as my friend called it, "predictable – he did that last time." He didn't mosh or pull any of his usual stage antics (like handing out Taco Bell to the crowd). What gives?
As a true Girl Talk fan, I'd been looking forward to the show for months. And at the end of the night, while I was somewhat satisfied, I was also disappointed. Maybe there was too much hype surrounding the show. Maybe Gillis was pissed off at the Toronto media for hating on him for being too "mainstream". Maybe he was just tired. Whatever the case may be, this show was not his best. What Girl Talk really needs is a smaller, more intimate club and some true fans. That's what Girl Talk is all about.
