[VIDEO & SLIDESHOW] Girl Talk entertains UK by creating monster music mashups

By Roy York

When Girl Talk, the stage name of DJ Greg Gillis, walked on stage, it was as if the crowd had been asleep during the opening act. The audience awakened with roars of approval as Gillis asked if UK was ready to party.

The audience said yes. They were not disappointed.

“It was definitely my best night since I’ve been at UK,” Julian Enochs, a nutrition junior, said. “I wish he could come back every day for the rest of my life.”

As people grooved to the first bass track of Gillis’ hour-long performance, a bonfire of glow sticks burned in the waving hands of the audience. Student voices mixed with speakers playing Gillis’ unique mash-ups when familiar verses were heard over new beats. Each song change or flow shift brought a roar from the crowd and rejuvenated dance moves from sweat drenched dancers.

“We were literally swimming through people,” Enochs said. “The show was way more than we expected.”

A group of students selected by the Student Activities Board were allowed to dance on stage alongside Gillis, who tossed his soaked shirt to a lucky stage dancer.

Students filed into the ballroom on Thursday night an hour before Girl Talk and were showing off dance moves before Gillis took the stage. The energy and excitement at the venue was never less than palpable, and students were not shy about sharing their enthusiasm.

“My friends are all addicted fans,” said Matt Wilhelm, a kinesiology junior. “This is like the best house party ever.”

Gillis said that every show he performs is unique because the mixing of the songs is done on the stage. Gillis stores loops of parts of songs and uses his laptop to mash up a new song in front of the audience’s eyes. He said that creating his music is simply trial and error, but he certainly has more successes than errors onstage.

The UK crowd never stopped moving, and Gillis’ final mix of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” lyrics and melody was mashed with a medley of hip-hop beats.

The exclamation point of the night came when Gillis leapt from the stage and bodysurfed through the crowd.

The night, however, was not without drama. A young student was removed from the party after she was found to have alcohol at the concert.

“She was found with a flask in the bathroom by student security members,” said Officer L­­ipscomb of UK Police. “Her flask was confiscated and she was removed from the event.”

Despite this, SAB Concert Coordinator Chris Duncan said the show went very smoothly, and that it was more than he expected.
Enochs agreed.

“It was amazing,” Enochs said. “I really hope they bring him back.”