RedFoo, one member of the duo LMFAO, dynamically performing in The Palestra last Friday, sporting skin-tight neon clothes and backed up by DJ Air and guitarist Smiley Dave.
The Palestra, usually the site of sports and spirit events, was transformed into party central on Friday, Feb. 18 to accommodate the musical stylings of the electro hip-hop duo LMFAO. The high-energy performance was supported by guitarist Smiley Dave, DJ Air and a muscled dancer apparently named Q, whose role appeared to mainly consist of gyrating and changing clothes.
After being primed by DJ Air, LMFAO ran out to rock the crowd with their ever-danceable repertoire. The neon-clad students were treated to the majority of the group’s body of work, including their better-known songs “I’m in Miami Bitch,” “Lalala,” “Get Crazy” and “Yes.” The music was complemented by the dancing skills of rappers RedFoo (the one with a lot of hair) and SkyBlu (the one with slightly less hair).
Interacting with the students became a crucial element of the show, as Foo, Blu and Q climbed on speakers, crowd-surfed and thrusted shirts thrown onstage into their belts.
“Foo,” SkyBlu said at one point, “you’re out here singing and dancing your ass off for all the beautiful ladies in the crowd, but there has been a party violation. They’re not giving you the respect you deserve.”
RedFoo agreed and pointed to one girl sitting above the general assembly on the shoulders of a gentleman friend.
“Girl, I was singing that last song to you. I was looking into your eyeballs, but you were looking at my balls,” he said.
The group segued into “I Am Not a Whore,” as the crowd laughed and cheered. Small moments like this carried the show, helping the performers connect to the students thronged before them. LMFAO worked with what they were given, bantering with the audience and playfully teasing about the lack of alcohol in the crowd due to campus restrictions.
“Raise your glasses — oh no, they can’t — raise your middle-fingers instead!” the duo said.
There have been a variety of rumors about what LMFAO demanded, and what they actually received, from UR Concerts. The facts are that they asked for shots of alcohol, condoms and a pineapple, among other things. They were provided with the pineapple, a 40-pound CO2 tank to spray themselves and the audience as well as Fiji water (seriously though, what makes Fiji water better than other water?).
The party rock crowd also came equipped with two bottles of champagne, bathing the audience and Q in a champagne spray during LMFAO’s most notable hit “Shots.” The remainder of the champagne was then chugged by RedFoo — what a champ. Too bad he exited the stage shortly afterward. How long was LMFAO really on the stage again?
Kudos to anyone who can jump up and down for an hour and change, but after the long build-up to the performance, the show seemed to end prematurely.
Special props should go out to half of the opening act, Maggie Horn of Telephoned, who kept up LMFAO-level antics for 30 minutes in four-inch heels. Self-described as being best known for their covers, Telephoned — comprised of singer Horn and DJ Sammy Bananas — “telephoned” a spectrum of songs ranging from The Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love” to Rhianna’s “Rude Boy.”
Overall, the older songs they covered — like Men Without Hats hit “Safety Dance” — came off better than “Bedrock” or “Rude Boy,” which couldn’t measure up to the energy or enjoyment level of the originals. Allowably, the most intriguing part of Telephoned’s performance was Horn’s tights, which alternately appeared pink and blue.
It was during Telephoned’s performance that the concert trend of crowd surfing began, “Shout out to the guy who just crowd surfed, that’s never happened at a show of ours before,” Bananas said.
UR Security didn’t take as kindly to the surfing as Bananas, though, and crowd surfers who made it across the barrier were escorted from the concert. The vehemence of Security’s response didn’t serve to slow the flow, however, as nearly a dozen crowd surfers (including RedFoo), jumped up for some air time throughout both Telephoned and LMFAO’s performances.
Introducing Telephoned was UR senior and DJ extraordinaire Ezra Mechaber, who legitimately held his own against his successors Sammy Banana and DJ Air on the stage.
DJ Air continued spinning as the majority of the crowd filed out of the building, while the remainder were treated to a visit from Red Foo, ready and willing to take pictures with excited fans and sign anything, including collar bones.
Amusingly, RedFoo pointed out one of the UR Concert volunteers and demanded a picture.
“Get me that kid,” he told waiting students. “He looks like a friend of mine.”
RedFoo then pulled out his iPhone (complete with LMFAO protective case, of course), and took the picture. Way to go, man, you go to a concert and the band wants a picture with you.
McLaughlin is a member of the class of 2014.
