@ZackTeibloom Gregg “Girl Talk” Gillis told a sold-out crowd in Chicago last November that it was the “biggest show of his life.”  Then Bonnaroo happened. At 2:30 a.m., right after the Pittsburgh native’s Penguins won the Stanley Cup, Girl Talk took the stage at the wildly overpacked tent and threw the party of his life.

He started late, but stayed late and left us sticky and ready to pass out. The mash-up master doesn’t pull any surprises (if you’ve seen him 5 times in the last year.) 

He just brings the most consistent dance party I’ve ever seen this side of Daft Punk. Never a dull moment, never a tired sample. The stage was overflowing with dancers, the tent stuffed to the gills with others just trying to get a glimpse.  

“Stanky Leg” got a lot of play, but for the most part is was your typical mixed bag of mash-ups. Your “No Diggity,” “ABC, 123” “It’s Magic.” and Somehow “Since You’ve Been Gone” still manage to make me smile.

Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” and Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy” found their groove, the sound cut out as overzealous stage dancers knocked over a chord to Girl Talk’s laptop. Gillis begged the crowd to ease up a bit as people were getting crushed, but a minute later it was “on once again, Patron once again” with a drink and a two-step.

Watching the crowd on-stage, it made me yearn to be  up there again, being part of the show, dripping sweat everywhere as I peer over Gregg’s computer to try to figure out how he does what he does so well. There’s nothing like being on stage at a Girl Talk show, but dancing your way closer feels like a constant chasing of cool. The constant feeling of “what’s next?” It was a sharp contrast coming from Phish, which was more a feeling of “THIS is next. This is it. There’s nothing else I want.”

As I watched the toilet paper roll shooters at Girl Talk, it made me think of the Jonas Brothers’ foam guns. If you haven’t seen a clip of it, The J-Bros have massive guns that spray a white foam all over their overwhelmingly female audience. To be at a Jonas Brothers show is to have the virgin boy-band cum on your face.

At Girl Talk, the fans are shooting the toilet paper rolls on themselves. To be at a Jonas Brothers show is to have the virgin boy-band cum on your face. To be at a Girl Talk show is to cum on yourself. I don’t know how to feel about that. It’s fun, though.

I used to put Girl Talk at a 9.9, right below Phish and Neil Young, but I can’t justify giving a guy who doesn’t play instruments a solid A. 9.2/10

Photo by Andy Shore. Not from Bonnaroo.

Related posts:

1. Girl Talk at Lollapalooza
2. Crashing Girl Talk in Chicago
3. Bonnaroo additions: Wood Brothers and Stephen Marley
4. Girl Talk is my Christmas
5. Girl Talk: Amazing “name that tune” dance party