Hey everyone! Hope everyone’s weekend was relaxing and fulfilling. This week, I thought I’d talk about the musical event of the weekend that seemed to be on everyone’s mind: Girl Talk. I was able to go and had a great time though personally, 90 minutes of shove-dancing to mash-ups is a little much (I dipped out early). I was more interested in the events that surrounded the performance though, specifically the fire alarm and some rumors I heard about Girl Talk himself.
For those who didn’t attend, the Pause fire alarm went off immediately prior to Girl Talk’s entrance. Obviously, this was met with resistance from the crowd who reluctantly exited the venue. After about 10 minutes of loitering, everyone was allowed back in. This meant another security check (by security check, I mean a literal pat on the back before I was waved through) followed by a sprint back towards the stage. After everyone was repositioned and sufficiently hyped, Girl Talk finally appeared on stage (flanked by students) and proceeded with the set.
I had the chance to talk with an MEC member who noted that the fire alarm was caused by smoking in the stairwell (dumb). Further, she noted that there was some controversy with Girl Talk himself who apparently brought a 12 pack of Bud Light on campus with him. If this is in fact true, I want to pause here to personally call Girl Talk out: You are paid thousands of dollars to perform yet you still prefer Bud Light. Further, you are given a contract that explicitly states St. Olaf is a dry campus and yet you still drink said Bud Light amidst members of the college who are expected to enforce this rule. Either you were unaware of the content of the contract you signed (which is ignorant) or you simply believe you are above the rules because you are able to put a classic rock riff with a rap song together and make it sound good (which is laughable).
Anyway, apparently Kris Vatter confronted Girl Talk about the contraband and made him pour it out RA style. Girl Talk resisted and threatened to cancel the show but Vatter fired back saying that he would kick him off campus for violating the policy. Obviously the situation was resolved and he played anyway yada yada yada…whatever. Like I said, this may be embellished but its what I heard from an MEC member. More importantly, should we care if the musicians we like are assholes? Did Girl Talk’s killer performance overshadow the fact that he may be a guy with an inflated ego? Who knows. But its definitely something to ponder. Ponder while listening to the video below…