LMFAO spreads the fun

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This article was published 14/12/2011 (5366 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LMFAO are proof you don’t need to take music too seriously.

The Los Angeles duo are all about busting loose and having fun while spreading their party rock gospel to the masses, and on Wednesday night at the MTS Centre they found a willing 10,000 young disciples who wanted nothing more than to get shufflin’ with Redfoo and SkyBlu.

The electro-pop twosome’s last show in Winnipeg was at the Republic Nightclub in 2009, but since then they have become stars thanks to their ubiquitous single Party Rock Anthem and a series of humourous videos aping movies like 28 Days Later and From Dusk Till Dawn while sporting catchphrases like, “I work out,” which were splashed across T-shirts in the concourse.

The group’s look of colourful clothing, funky glasses and Redfoo’s Afro inspired a host of imitators in the brightly-dressed crowd who were decked out in fluorescent shirts, oversized glasses, animal print spandex and wigs while someone dressed as a fuzzy pink gorilla roamed the crowd handing out hugs.

On stage the DJ/rappers Redfoo (Stefan Kendal Gordy, 36, the son of Motown founder Berry Gordy) and his 25-year-old nephew SkyBlu (Skyler Husten Gordy) were joined by a dance crew, guitarist and DJ and backed by a dazzling light show and video screens on every vertical surface of the two-tiered setup.

And if that wasn’t enough, a giant inflatable zebra that briefly served as a stage decoration was thrown into the crowd and kept in the air by the bouncing glow stick-waving masses. During the encore the group’s unofficial mascot Box Man danced on stage while confetti fell on the crowd.

It was that kind of party.

The music was a mixture of high-energy electro-pop fluff and hip-hop with lyrics that ranged from humourous to over-the-top and silly, but what do you really expect from a group named after the acronym for Laughing My F-king Ass Off?

Songs like Sorry For Party Rockin’ and Get Crazy got the crowd dancing and jumping and audience members stayed up during an aerobics routine during Put That Ass To Work which led into LMFAO’s breakthrough single, I’m in Miami Bitch, that had the crowd singing along while Redfoo sprayed beer into the crowd and their dancers gyrated around the stage with inflatable props.

They kept the energy going with their David Guetta collaboration Getting’ Over and offered up a cover of the Black Eyed Peas’ Boom Boom Pow all while remaining in constant motion on stage as a barrage of videos, lights and strobes helped out with the sensory overload.

They flirted with the crowd often and repeatedly talked about the “sexy ladies” in the house, but surely they meant “cute teenagers,” who all willingly sang along to the song I Am Not a Whore. They also got on the crowd’s side by getting the customary Go Jets Go chant going and mentioning Winnie the Pooh during their 80-minute set.

The weaker material was covered up with costumes changes, dance routines and more flashing lights, so it helped sometimes to just shut your brain off for awhile, look at all the pretty colours and nod your head to the beat until their catchiest singles like Party Rock Anthem and Sexy and I Know It — the latter performed sans pants — made the setlist in the encore.

Yup, it was a party, all right. I can tell because I definitely lost a few brain cells.

rob.williams@freepress.mb.ca

LMFAO

Dec. 14, 2011

MTS Centre

Attendance: 10,000

Three out of five stars