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Girl Talk Fails at Harvard University

A concert by mash-up artist Girl Talk -- aka Gregg Gillis -- is sure to spawn a raucous dance party, with fans bum-rushing the stage to be part of the action. On Girl Talk's current tour behind his recent album, 'Feed the Animals,' most venues have been receptive to this jubilant atmosphere, which Gillis avidly promotes. Save for Harvard University.

"We always talk with the venue beforehand and explain what it's gonna be like," Gillis tells Spinner. "At the Harvard show, maybe a minute or two before I went on, they announced to me that people weren't allowed onstage. So they were kind of in panic mode before anything even happened."

The Harvard set began with the party safely on the ground, but campus police were still concerned about crowd control and quickly pulled the plug.



"To be honest, I thought the crowd was somewhat reserved," Gillis says. "It was one of the most calm performances I've been a part of in a long time. They stopped the music five minutes in and I was shocked."

Trying to appease the campus police, Gillis set up his gear on the ground but apparently that didn't work either. "I played for maybe two minutes on the floor and a police officer, I think, grabbed me by the hand and started screaming at me to turn the music off," he explains. "At that point, it was beyond me. I did my best to keep it together, and I really didn't see any issues with the show whatsoever."

As for the rest of Girl Talk's gigs, Gillis describes it as "somewhere between a house party and a rock 'n' roll show." You can catch it at a non-Ivy League venue near you.

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Blake

lol @ harvard.. I remember my first beer

December 21 2008 at 9:46 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Elise

What GirlTalk doesn't mention is that several Harvard students were swept under the stage and injured during the few minutes that he played. It's not his fault--the organizers didn't take basic precautions (such as a stage with, I don't know, a vertical barrier to keep people from being crushed). The show was stopped not because it might become dangerous, but because it had already become dangerous.

December 12 2008 at 12:39 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
progolfer445

ditto what tesla said who gives a rats azz

December 11 2008 at 1:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
roy

Is this guy naked in the pic

December 11 2008 at 1:34 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
marijman

As a Human animal related to chimpanzee stock (99%) I don't see a problem, except with the police.

December 11 2008 at 12:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
tesla220

Dirt bag band annyways who cares!!!

December 11 2008 at 11:07 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
FOURDOGSLAUGHING

wtf??

December 11 2008 at 7:23 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Danny

You have to understand; Harvard is where the elite learn. They can't have anything that would show them to be normal people, after all, they have to get the best education so they can take big jobs and totally bankrupt our entire nation! Long live Harvard!

December 11 2008 at 6:38 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Danny's comment
NancyY

My father, the son of a railroad worker, passed an ACT/SAT type test decades ago and won a tuition-paid scholarship to Harvard. My grandparents, his parents, had always stressed the importance of education and were very involved with the education of their children. My father is now retired, after many years of contributing to society as a doctor, professor of medicine and research scientist (he also has a PhD from the U. of Chicago).

Elite, you say? Bankrupt our nation, you say? You are a FOOL, "Dan Daily", because you base your myopic views on false information. Harvard and other Ivy-League schools seek the most excellent students, not just those whose parents can pay. One thing to consider here is that usually the folks with the most money can afford to send their kids to private schools where they can get a better education. Others, like my grandparents, have the foresight to become involved in their childrens' education to help them become successful.

December 11 2008 at 10:57 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jim

Who? what?

December 11 2008 at 6:38 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply