We’d like to welcome Kate Griendling and photographer Zachary D. Helminiak to Team HT from the Campaign For Change, where their hard work helped get President-elect Barack Obama into office. Take it away, Kate…

Worst two opening acts, ever. Thankfully, the jiving astronaut and Golden Girls in drag distract me from the ass cracks being projected on stage by the first opening act, CX KiDTRONiK. I’m too sober and one of only four people not decked out in full costume. Pocahontas is sympathetic. She says I should tell people I am a nudist on strike—I compliment her moccasins.

[All Photos by Zachary Helminiak]

The Ogden Theater is coated with a black interior creating an intimate feel, an impressive accomplishment for a venue of its size. The second floor has its own bar and balconies that semi-encircle the stage from above. The main floor is on an incline and staggered; an audience friendly floor plan that increases visibility for those stuck in the back.

The crowd roars as smoke fills the stage. Skeletons surround the DJ booth and heckle the fans. The anticipation is too much to bear and the audience breaks into an impromptu chant. Dressed in a red hoodie, Girl Talk takes the stage in a wild burst of energy. Out of nowhere the Grim Reaper pops out from beneath the booth and attacks Girl Talk. Girl Talk succumbs to the scythe. But wait, Girl Talk isn’t the murder victim but the Grim Reaper himself. Boo! After the Halloween trick, the treat begins.

READ ON for more of Kate’s words and Zachary’s photos…

Greg Gillis (Girl Talk), the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania DJ sensation, opens with Play Your Part, the first mash up on his latest album, Feed the Animals. A steady stream of toilet papers falls from the ceiling covering half nude Michael Phelps’ and every slutty _______. There is a symbiotic relationship between the crowd and Gillis, both bolstered by the other’s energy. Much to the chagrin of the venue bouncers, Gillis encourages the audience to take the stage. Fans engulf him; this is the novelty of the show.

It is easy to picture Gillis as the geeky bioengineering major that he once was at Case Western University. On stage he dances wildly, freed from studying; yet, for much of the show he is crouched over his computer just like any student before a physics test.

Gillis tests out some new material to overwhelming approval. Lil Wayne raps to Weezer’s Say It Ain’t So, which makes me wonder two things: Why is this bonafide mash up artist so famous? And why hasn’t he been sued? Herbert the Pervert explains the loophole: “He (Girl Talk) creates a new genre of music,” Herbert states with such conviction that for a split second it is almost possible to take this man dressed in everything-you-hate-about-the-’80s seriously.

Labeling Girl Talk a mash up DJ is an over simplification of his talent. His timing is impeccable. Short snippets of rock classics, such as Casey Jones by the Grateful Dead, are infused with pop favorites like Miley Cyrus’ See You Again, making for one hell of a dance party.

Kanye West’s Lover Lockdown, creates a flurry of humping and grinding as inanimate skull and bones paraphernalia float in the background. Only in Gillis’ world would Sarah Palin and Borat make out (in public).

HT Staff

Hidden Track was started in October of 2006 and features a team of dedicated contributors from across the country. This article was written by one of the newest members of our team or was a collaboration by more than one contributor. Want to contribute to Hidden Track? Send us a pitch to scott at glidemagazine dot com.

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