9/26 -- Girl Talk

You couldn't beat this deal: Admission was free for students and $5 for guests. But what most people didn't know was that non-students had to be guests of Trinity students, who could only bring up to 5 guests. Getting in was pretty chaotic. Non-students, like me, had to find some nice Trinity students to sign us in. Many were more than happy to, but others were afraid that they would be responsible for us, so that proved to be a bit difficult. This was the start of my general observation of the night: School security just seemed really overwhelmed from start to finish, which took away from the fun atmosphere of the concert.

Because doors opened later than expected and Girl Talk didn't even go on until around midnight, there were a lot of people tailgating outside and dropping tons of solo cups on the ground. Also, bags weren't checked at first, so people were able to drink and light up smokes inside. After about an hour of that, security started checking bags on our way in and out - and we had to go outside to use the bathroom. There were only port-a-potties outside the field house. That was kind of weird.

And then it got weird again: When Girl Talk did take the stage, I could hear people in the crowd wondering out loud if he was even up there. As per tradition of a Girl Talk show, people rushed onto the stage to dance, and with that huge group on stage, I, too, wondered if they were just trying to fake an appearance by playing his music and filling the stage. Also, the staff kept turning the lights on and stopping the music as if they wanted us to leave and as if Girl Talk wasn't there. People did leave. This was also a time when people started leaving for cigarettes and coming back to tighter security checking bags. It was pretty late, but the show kept going on, and after a lot of spins and sampling of hip-hop, pop rock, oldies, classics, etc., I was convinced Girl Talk was there, and he had people dancing the entire time, both on stage and off, when they got kicked off, of course.

Despite the weirdness of the night, I didn't see anyone standing still during Girl Talk's set, and I met a lot of cool people. There was a DJ playing while people were getting in, and The Dig opened up for Girl Talk, but they were just OK because they were kind of a generic alternative punk band.