I went into Girl Talk with very high hopes, and I think I was in the minority there. Unfortunately, nothing quite lived up to my expectations, from the minimal turnout to the mediocre openers and lack of crowd etiquette, things were not what I was hoping they would be. The music lived up to my expectations, but that was about it.
I knew the first band The Ready Set for that obnoxiously catchy “Love Like Whoa” song, but I always pictured them as a Big Time Rush-style group, not an actual band. Their energy considering the tiny crowd was impressive and they put on a good show, it just wasn’t anything memorable.
Breathe Carolina was a bit more memorable, if only because of the crowd surfing hot dog and the way that one of the main singers kept mysteriously popping up in the crowd and ruffling people’s hair. The music was fun to dance to but it reminded me of something I would listen to in high school while looking at pictures of an ill begotten crush and feeling cool because there are curse words in it. They were loud, they had a keytar and strobe lights. That was pretty much the only thing I got from that besides a sore neck from attempting to head bang.
Girl Talk took the stage with a lot of momentum and excitement. Down in the front row, the shoving started the second the lights went on and continued for most of the set, but it was nice that the arena had filled up enough to actually have a crowd. The show came with a ton of special effects that made it feel like the massive party it was supposed to be, with modified leaf blowers sending confetti and toilet paper flying over the audience and a balloon drop as the show opened. The music was great, but since Girl Talk doesn’t mix live the quality was expected.
Overall, it was worth my ten dollars but would have been better had I not been quite so sober. People who went had a good time, and people who stayed home shouldn’t regret their choice, although a bigger crowd would have made the whole thing better.