Fergie and company (mostly) Peas-ing

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This article was published 19/08/2010 (5872 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The energy waned a time or two when the Black Eyed Peas visited Winnipeg Wednesday, but it never quite died.

The Los Angeles quartet returned to the city for the first time since 2006 as part of their The E.N.D. (Energy Never Dies) tour with a futuristic high-tech spectacle that turned the MTS Centre into the country’s biggest club for two hours.

The well-dressed female-oriented crowd of 12,000 helped create the illusion as a large portion of them dressed like they were out for a night somewhere else with tight-fitting clothes and short skirts the norm. And if they didn’t smell nice enough already, they could get a free sample of Fergie’s perfume, Outspoken.

A fight between two girls during her solo set cemented the club vibe (Fergie even acknowledged the short scrap).

Onstage, Fergie, will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo emerged from risers in the floor dressed in glittery outfits from the Michael Jackson school of fashion and launched into the party-rap Let’s Get it Started, which set the tone for the night, although their last year’s ubiquitous single I Gotta Feeling, would have worked as an opener, but alas, that song was saved for the end.

"If Winnipeg wants to party I need everybody to put your fists up," Taboo said before Rock that Body, which featured the appearance of six robots dressed as stereo speakers who stood motionless while the group worked the stage and catwalk.

All four members were an almost non-stop whirlwind of activity, dancing, jumping and gyrating, moving together in loosely choreographed showpieces, breaking off into duos, or going off on their own, while their band played on a raised stage behind them. The platform featured tiered LED screens with more LED and video screams above them, showing a variety of abstract images and close-ups of the group members.

The robots got in on the action as the four BEPs took a break before re-emerging for Meet Me Halfway and crowd favourite Don’t Phunk with My Heart which segued into a freestyle rap by will.i.am, who used audience text messages on video screens to riff off of.

The slow groove of The E.N.D.’s smash hit Imma Be had everyone singing along before the Fergie showcase My Humps, the horrific 2005 single that should be considered a crime against music.

It gave her the chance to shake those humps (the ones in the back and in the front) to steal some lyrics from the song, putting on a show for the guys in the crowd.

The middle of the concert lagged a bit during solo sets by each of the members, including a lengthy DJ set by wil.i.am dressed as Mr. Roboto. The Peas have enough of their own material, so playing music by the likes of Nirvana, Journey and Guns N’ Roses (no Styx though) seemed like filler and sucked some of the life out of the show.

The most impressive visual during the solo segments featured Taboo riding a motorcycle above the crowd, making it the second time this summer a motor vehicle flew in the air at the MTS Centre (Carrie Underwood sang in the back of a pickup truck in June).

Fergie’s set got the best response, mainly because she is the only one of the group members to have any solo hits, and everyone in the crowd seemed to know the funky Fergalicious, the slinky Glamorous and the ballad Big Girls Don’t Cry.

They finally returned to the stage for the Dick Dale sampling Pump It and hit the home stretch with Where is the Love?, Boom Boom Pow and I Gotta Feeling ending things off on a high note and getting fans bouncing out the doors, on their way to the after-party.

T-Pain, aided by a DJ, two percussionists, a dance crew and plenty of Auto Tune, opened the show with a half-hour set that had the crowd bouncing and waving their arms in the air, presumably, like they didn’t care.

rob.williams@freepress.mb.ca

Concert Review