LMFAO
Bojangles Coliseum
June 19, 2012

Skin-tight leopard pants and blinding neon dominated the arena floor, while less-than-enthused concert-goers occupied the sparsely filled cheap seats. Afro-wigged teenagers looking like walking advertisements for Hot Topic waited patiently to get their party rock on. If the crowd was any indication, the vibe of the night was one of clowns waiting to break dance. When the lights went out, the bass kicked, the synthesized beats began their repetitions, and everyone got what they were waiting for - the chance to go crazy.

LMFAO's Bojangles Coliseum performance Tuesday night was, in a word, inspired. A feast for the eyes, it combined the visuals of a bad acid trip with the skull-hammering bass of a dance club. And the crowd lapped it up.

Musically, the performance left something to be desired... maybe a lot to be desired. But an LMFAO show is not about the music (or the words or the heavy computer beats), it's about losing your mind in a concert setting. The duo's entire sound can be summed up with a comparison to a child using pre-set keyboard beats and adding catchy words on top. It's simple fun with no strings attached. And it's a sound that earned LMFAO a 2009 Grammy nomination for Best Dance Album and six 2012 Billboard Music Awards.

An uncle-nephew duo who masquerade as characters Redfoo and Sky Blu, LMFAO hails from Los Angeles and hit it big with its 2009 debut album, Party Rock. They might have famous lineage - Redfoo's father/Sky Blu's grandfather is Motown Records founder Berry Gordy - but even they don't describe what they do as music in a traditional sense. As Redfoo says, "We're music designers," whose sole intention is to make sounds "for a new generation of party people."

They're all about forsaking tradition - the only form of a "band" joining the two on stage was a DJ and a drummer - and yet they've obviously hit a chord with people who like to party. At face value, the bond with the duo's audience seems to be the ability to take shots and party all night. LMFAO knows that what it's doing is ridiculous and embraces it.

It's akin to a court jester who knows he's an idiot and embraces it. With the pounding bass beats of "Rock the Beat II," the boys shuffled onto the stage along with a larger-than-life zebra that could break dance. During "Sorry for Party Rocking," while slurring lyrics like "if you blacked out with your sack out this is what you say, 'Sorry for party rocking!'" a giant, hot pink, fluffy, dancing bear hit the stage.

Everywhere you looked there was something out of the ordinary and completely random coming to life to shuffle with LMFAO through some of the worst lyrics ever written. One particularly memorable transition, after "I Am Not a Whore (But I Like to Do It)" began with Sky Blu ranting about loving hot paninis after sex. After initial crowd confusion at the random segue, Redfoo saved the day by screaming, "I need a 'Hot Dog'!" and launched into the furious, fast paced and repetitive song. "Street meat," anybody?

Nothing about the live act makes sense and there were more costume changes than Lady Gaga on overdrive ('80s-style, neon leopard pants, bike shorts and jockeys), and yet it was a wildly entertaining show. Concert? Not so much. Full-on party experience? Taken to excess and expertly executed.

Setlist
Rock the Beat II
Sorry for Party Rocking
Get Crazy
Take it to the Hole
Put That A$$ To Work
I'm in Miami Bitch
Getting' Over You (David Guetta cover)
Boom Boom Pow (Black Eyed Peas cover)
Shooting Star (David Rush cover)
Reminds Me of You
I Am Not a Whore
Hot Dog
One Day
La La La
Yes
Quest Crew Dance Mashup
Shots

Encore 2
Sexy and I Know It
Party Rock Anthem Remix