My Morning Headache

Girl Talk (f$#k yeah!)

I know I still have to tell you all about Thursday night, Friday, and Saturday. But before I go to bed tonight, I just want to share with you the experience of one show I saw today. It was actually the last show I saw at SXSW '07. The 1am showcase for Girl Talk at Elysium. Girl Talk is a hip-hop mash-up artist from Pittsburgh that seems to do a good job appealing to the alt/hipster hiding in all the people that attend events like SXSW. I actually didn't know about this guy until Gus told me that I had to see him. I saw him on Friday at a day show at Emo's. He did an awesome job getting the crowd excited at that show. I still didn't expect what happened at his showcase today.


Elysium was packed. The crowd was ready to let loose. Four days of music, beer, lines, more music, more lines, free beer, and not enough vocal in the monitor all helped create a crowd of worn out, yet ready to let loose, live music fans. The show was running late, so Girl Talk felt the anticipation. He talked to the crowd while setting up his equipment (i.e. laptop and saran wrap).


His quips with the crows only added to the anticipation. I was near the front of the crowd, which began to sway with nervous energy. Chants of 'Girl Talk' could be heard in various locations throughout the club. "Just give me 3 minutes," he said. It seemed like an eternity.


As he started to play his incredible mixture of hip-hop and alternative music, the crowd exhaled and let out all the remaining energy they had. It was as if every one was saving just a tiny bit of energy for this show, and it was all being let out at once.

About ten minutes into the show people started jumping up on stage. It didn't take long for the bouncers to realize that this was actually a good thing.


We all danced our farking arses off!!! I remember turning around in the middle of the show and noticing that there were actually people in the club not dancing. What the hell was wrong with you people! Over half the club was dancing, and no one was actually doing it well. Why were you too embarrassed to join the fun?!?

I have to say that not only was this show the most fun thing I saw at SXSW '07, it was likely the best way to end a SXSW festival that I will ever experience. For everyone that was at that show with me (especially Gus) thanks for creating an amazing experience, and see you all in '08!

posted by Ruhmann @ 3/18/2007 03:46:00 AM