And I thought that today’s sole concert announcement would be this morning’s news about The Decemberists. Well, hang on to your laptops, incoming UVA freshmen, because it looks like the University Programs Council (UPC) has an even bigger spectacle in the works for you. On August 22, the ultimate party favor, Gregg "Girl Talk" Gillis, returns to Charlottesville with his trusty PC to perform at…wait, this can’t be right…the John Paul Jones Arena?
After I rubbed my eyes in disbelief (or maybe there was still some glitter from Girl Talk’s 2007 set at Satellite Ballroom irritating my corneas), I browsed around a bit and, well, it seems like a single man and his laptop will indeed perform at our 15,000-capacity arena. UPC’s August calendar mentions the show and an after-party, and the website for the Academical Village People states that the UVA a capella act will open for Gillis. (It also says that first-year students get free admission before 8pm, and tickets for other current students will run $12.)*
When I attended first-year orientation at UVA, my class got a dance party in one of the new dorms. Just saying.
Ah, well, that’s beside the point. The floor space at JPJ makes for plenty of busy feet, and the potential for a pretty unprecedented night of dancing in town. (Or, a catastrophic mob.) I’m more curious as to whether or not Girl Talk can attract more than 4,000 or so students from UVA.
Below, a glimpse of what to expect during Gillis’ JPJ show, and a video mash-up companion to a track from last year’s still-thrilling Feed the Animals LP:
Bonus reading: The pretty comprehensive Wikipedia entry for Feed the Animals, which attempts to list every song sampled by Girl Talk.
UPDATE: Here’s the link to the Facebook page for the event, which reads "[N]o UVA ID, no ticket. NO exceptions." Bummer.
*Second update: According to a press release from John Paul Jones Arena, the event is free for all current undergraduate and graduate students. However, the release specifies that the event is, indeed, for current UVA students only. What am I going to do with my bulk glow-stick purchase?
