All hail Millkman; my faith in live mashup music is restored. Playing to a full house at Beta Theta Pi fraternity on Friday night, Milkman (Gregg Luskin) brought the crowd to their knees and proved that, despite disappointing on-campus performances from peers Girl Talk and the Super Mash Brothers, there is still hope for the genre’s live show.
There was never any doubt that Luskin is a talented DJ with the capability to produce very catchy, danceable mashups. The fear was that, like Girl Talk, his music might not translate into the impressive live show that his albums promise. I was prepared to be disappointed when the man himself heard I was skeptical and issued a challenge: “Come on stage and watch from there. You’ll see. I dare you not to love this show.”
And so, of course, attracted to elevated surfaces as I am, I proceeded to be completely blown away by the entire experience of Milkman’s show. This was a battle I was happy to lose. The man was unstoppable: Luskin mixed the entire show live onstage, dropping fresh samples that appear nowhere on his two recorded albums (“Circle of Fifths” and “Lactose and THC”). The crowd was undeniably feeling the show — it’s been a while since I’ve seen a group of people with so many different tastes in music have such a great time at one concert, and there wasn’t a still body in the house. Milkman felt out the crowd and spun sample after sample of exactly what they wanted to hear, dropping both current hits and throwbacks (and I’m pretty sure I heard some TV soundtracks in there, too). The show was unbearable; it was sick. My skepticism got thoroughly rocked.
So, my formal apologies for doubting you, Milkman. The comparisons between you and Girl Talk were completely unfair: you’re much more talented, not to mention much more fun. You came to party, and showed us all that mashup music live can be more than the point-and-click repetition that our campus has seen from Girl Talk and the Super Mash Brothers. Just when we thought we’d given up, you saved the day. Milkman, all hail.
