With more than 4,700 tickets sold, the largest crowd in Juice Jam’s history was treated to an afternoon of energetic performances from a diverse lineup of musical acts. The Cool Kids, Jack’s Mannequin and Girl Talk each brought something different for fans to enjoy. No matter who was on stage, the crowd never waned in their numbers or their energy.
“It was real decent,” said ‘Chuck Inglish’ (Evan Ingersoll), half of the rap duo The Cool Kids. “You can tell when people kind of don’t know (our stuff) but that’s good for us. The new people get more of a treat. They’ve heard of us, they want to hear us and we ain’t in the business of letting people down.”
The Chicago-based group opened the event . They quickly grabbed the attention of everyone in attendance and delivered perhaps the best set of the day. Their music was defined by heavy but minimalist beats underneath lyrics littered with pop culture references. The Cool Kids worked extremely well as the opening act because of their frequent interplay with the crowd. One of their songs featured lyrics about former Syracuse basketball player Carmelo Anthony.
“That lyric is in our song but it just so happened we came to Syracuse,” Inglish said. “Each school we’re at we try to rep for that day, we want to make sure everyone knows what’s happening.”
Jack’s Mannequin took the stage next and provided the crowd with a break from the dance-oriented acts for the day. Students started taking seats all over the lawn. The band may be known more for their ballads, but they played an up-tempo set that finished with a rendition of “American Girl” by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. There’s no denying that the band overwhelmingly won over the crowd, but there were some in attendance looking ahead to the main act.
“We were like napping during Jack’s Mannequin, though I really am sad that I missed The Cool Kids,” said Sandra Ficula, a junior at SUNY-ESF who arrived late to the concert in order to perfect her homemade costume. “I dressed like a jellyfish because I’ve seen Girl Talk a few times already and he always has crazy dressed people on stage. I thought it would be fun to actually dress up this time.”
The day’s headline act proved to be worth the wait. From the moment he stepped on stage, Girl Talk had the crowd orchestrated in non-stop motion.
The performer played mostly new material. He played samples from new songs ranging from Phoenix’s “1901” to G Spot Boyz’ “Stanky Legg.” He even remixed materials he had recorded, such as pairing “One” by Metallica with “Get Low” by Lil’ Jon and the East Side Boyz (instead of “Lip Gloss” by Lil’ Mama as featured on the album “Feed The Animals”).
Girl Talk weaved some of his familiar mixes in toward the end of his set and managed to keep the audience dancing through his creative use of all the new material. It might not have been the craziest show he’s ever produced, but no one in attendance seemed to complain.
“That was absolutely incredible,” said Desiree Vagelatos, a sophomore at Syracuse University. Vagelatos was one of the lucky few selected by University Union officials to perform on stage.
“I love Girl Talk and now I just love him a little more,” Vagelatos said. “It was once in a lifetime, you never get that chance again. The show was easily a 10 out of 10, maybe an 11.”
Do you have a video or photos from Juice Jam? We want to show them on The NewsHouse.
The Cool Kids Interview: Hear why Chuck and Mikey don't get too personal with their lyrics (also sitting in on the interview, Bill McMillan of Jerk Magazine):
Jack's Mannequin Interview: Andrew McMahon talks about the state of piano rock.
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