Beck's Festival Bar feat. Girl Talk @ Hype Park Barracks, Sydney (10/01/08)
The Hyde Park Barracks has been temporarily hijacked by the Sydney Festival and turned into Beck’s Festival Bar, where punters have been graced by the presence of many fantastic artists including De La Soul, Chromeo and Spank Rock. January 10th, day five of the festival, brought local favourite DJs Sleater Brockman and Kato and bands Gameboy/Gamegirl and Operator Please to the stage in support of Pittsburgh producer and mash-up king, Gregg Gillis AKA Girl Talk. Brazil’s Bonde do Role were part of the original line-up but following the cancellation of their Australian tour (and subsequent talk of a break-up) Operator Please were named as the (very well chosen) replacement to play alongside Girl Talk, and any disappointment felt by ticket-holders about this change was not evident on the night (put on by Sydney community radio station FBi 94.5 FM).
The outdoors venue with a bar on every corner drew a large crowd, though it took a few hours and a few overpriced drinks for the enthusiasm levels to rise. Melbourne trio Gameboy/Gamegirl (and DJ Miami Horror who always manages to look surprised by their antics) hit the stage early to a relatively small (when compared to the sweaty mass of Girl Talk fans later on) but very energetic crowd. With synchronised dancing and more lyrics about gin and booty than any West Coast rapper could every cram into an hour set, Gameboy/Gamegirl had the crowd dancing and singing along and cheering, especially as Tranter shed items of clothing.
It seemed almost inappropriate for Gold Coast teenagers Operator Please to play on the same stage, even after the interlude entertainment provided by Sleater Brockman and Kato that only attracted a few people who were dancing manically whilst everyone else seemed too busy sipping their Becks to join in. When Operator Please hit the stage, a larger crowd was drawn to the covered area but after the beautiful filth and hilarity of Gameboy/Gamegirl (lyric sample: “shoes is what your money’s for/booty’s what my dick is for”), Operator Please just didn’t seem to be able to hold the crowd’s attention. Although they’ve got an ARIA in possession and a list of indie favourites they’ve toured with, their stage presence (with the exception of Sarah’s dance moves and Ashley’s fringe) just didn’t provide much to get enthused about and it took obvious favourite Just a Song About Ping Pong to get the crowd jumping and clapping along.
The outdoors venue provided a good time for the smokers in the crowd, and Sleater Brockman and Kato continued their excellent song selections and remixes, warming up everyone for Girl Talk. A large crowd formed in front of the stage a good half hour before he was due to start his set and from the moment he hit the stage, every person was drawn into the sweaty, energetic mess of non-stop dancing, jumping around, cheering and singing along to familiar songs from just about every genre possible. Song choices included Wu-Tang Clan, Kelly Clarkson, Tag Team, Blackstreet, familiar beats from all the best producers and to excite the crowd further, Bonde do Role’s Marina Gasolina!. Apart from a few problems with security guards who were trying to keep people from jumping up on stage (unsuccessfully, as for most of his set Gregg shared the stage with enthusiastic, non-stop dancing fans), there is little else to say about Girl Talk except: amazing. If there was a single person in the crowd that wasn’t drenched in sweat by the end of the night, then they were covered in someone else’s drink. With nothing left but boxers on, Gregg Gillis vacated the stage sometime around 12.30 leaving the crowd in the hands of Sleater Brockman and Kato and with a whole lot of energy to burn.
So overall, day five of the Sydney Festival made Beck’s Festival Bar explode with enthusiasm, excitement and energy. Any of the profanities suitable before adjectives like ‘fun’ and ‘awesome’ might be deemed inappropriate for publication and the word ‘fun’ alone is too much of an understatement, but I trust you’ve figured out by now just what an amazing night the Sydney Festival and FBi 94.5 FM put on.
Stonkmaster says...
Gameboy/Gamegirl, crowd cheering and singing along? You kidding me? That was one of the most insidiously inept performances of all time. Pathetic, bordering on a joke.
Stonkmaster says...
Gameboy/Gamegirl, crowd cheering and singing along? You kidding me? That was one of the most insidiously inept performances of all time. Pathetic, bordering on a joke.
ivanastab says...
From where I was standing, everyone was having fun and enjoying the fact that no one was taking themselves seriously, just dancing around and enjoying it.