Even though the group has six consecutive years of playing at THON under its belt, the members of Go Go Gadjet admitted to feeling more nervous about performing each year.
“Thank you for bringing the energy for us,” lead singer Jeff Tomrell told the crowd near the end of the set. “I hope we did an OK job for you.”
With their upbeat, well-loved song choices and an insane amount of contagious enthusiasm, nobody in the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday afternoon would call the band’s performance just “okay.”
Following an emotional Family Hour that left the crowd in tears, Go Go Gadjet took over the stage and energized the crowd as they danced into the final moments of 2013’s Interfraternity/Panhellenic Dance Marathon.
The band kicked off its set with covers of songs by Flo Rida, Nicki Minaj and Bruno Mars, giving the popular songs a unique twist of electronic beats that had everyone dancing.
The BJC exploded with vibrant energy as the music let everyone forget about his or her tired feet and sleep deprivation. When looking at the crazy amount of jumping and singing along coming from the dancers on the floor, an outsider wouldn’t have been able to guess that they had been standing for almost two days.
Go Go Gadjet decided to show off its own dance moves, and they never stopped jumping around the stage while covering well-known songs, from current chart toppers by Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift, to a throwback of Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Going Down.” The THON veterans obviously knew how to get the crowd going as they urged everyone to shout along to the lyrics.
After breaking out a Penn State guitar and leading a “We Are” chant, they paged the Nittany Lion to the stage and filled the venue with lively school spirit as they played Zombie Nation with a surprise attempt at the “Harlem Shake” tagged on at the end.
At the end of the set, the band reminded everyone of why they were dancing, and invited the kids up to the stage for an inspirational, passion-filled rendition of fun.’s hit song “Some Nights.”
Overall, the performance was full of life and a positive, uplifting attitude –– just what the dancers and supporters needed to pull through that last hour. Go Go Gadjet’s immense talent for invigorating the packed BJC will definitely secure them a place at THON for years to come.
Grade: A
