The fastest-selling concert in the Programming Council’s recent history got off to a slow start Saturday night, as the headlining D.J., Girl Talk, gave a late, but loud show to hundreds of screaming fans.
Girl Talk, whose real name is Gregg Gillis, remixes a wide range of existing songs into dance-style ‘mash-ups’ that lead to notoriously rambunctious shows. Gillis now wraps his laptop in Saran Wrap before his shows to prevent damage, he said.
‘Recently, half the shows have ended prematurely, because the kids are too much for the show, and they weren’t expecting it to get that crazy,’ he said. ‘That means a lot to me, that the show would get shut down, and people would take it to that level. I think it’s wonderful.’
Many students said they were angered, however, by how late Gillis took to the stage. The mash-up artist started playing at 12:30 a.m., a half hour later than concertgoers were told online that the show would end. The concert ended around 1:30 in the morning.
‘Everyone came here for Girl Talk,’ College of Fine Arts senior Olivia Webb said while waiting for Gillis to take the stage. ‘Why is it taking so long for them to come on stage? If you’re going to promise something, why deny it from the crowd? No one is going to buy a ticket for a BU concert again.’
The opening bands, Passion Pit and the Death Set, met a crowd that became increasingly angry as audience members booed and chanted for Girl Talk, occasionally yelling for the bands to vacate the stage and throwing objects onstage.
College of Communication senior Akhil Bhatt said he was upset by the crowd’s reaction, considering the $5 entrance fee.
‘I can’t believe people were booing,’ he said. ‘These bands are playing for them for basically free.’
Programming Council Co-President Sam Minkoff said the large turnout delayed the concert.
‘One of the reasons for delay at the concert was ensuring the safety of the attendees,’ he said in an email. ‘Consequently, there were delays and heckling in the crowd as we tried to push the crowds back, an action that was taken because students at the front of the stage were being pushed up against the stage and were extremely uncomfortable.’
The bands also wanted to wait for the room to fill before performing, Minkoff said.
‘PC did its best to listen to the requests of the artists as well as keep the audience happy,’ he said. ‘All decisions we made were with the best intentions.’
After Girl Talk came onstage, the crowd calmed and danced to flashing strobe lights. Fans and backstage pass holders, who won passes at the previous night’s comedy show, danced onstage in front of audience members.
‘I want this to be the kind of show where you break your glasses, and just don’t . . . care,’ Gillis said from the stage.
The 1,500 floor tickets available sold out in two and a half hours, and the 150 balcony tickets sold out in 15 minutes, PC Entertainment Manager Rachel Richmond said.
‘This is the most staffed we’ve been since I’ve been here,’ she said. ‘We have 40 people constantly rotating around the clock. It’s a huge operation.’
CAS junior Ari Sparr said although she enjoyed Girl Talk, the overall concert was ‘a little disappointing.’
‘The wait was a killer,’ she said. ‘If he had gone on two minutes later, we would have left. This is the only concert I’ve been to that people were actually sitting down.’
COM senior Lauren Hugh said she agreed.
‘We would have had more fun if he had come on earlier,’ she said.’ ‘We’re exhausted now.’