Concert Review: “Street Scene”

Now in its 25th year, Street Scene is a smaller, quieter version of itself. Once an annual three-day 21-and-up party, it is now a two-day, all-ages event held against the urban backdrop of downtown San Diego.

With five stages scattered throughout the area adjacent to PETCO Park, there were a variety of performers to suit most people’s musical tastes.

As the sun set against the skyline Friday night, Brooklyn-based duo
Matt and Kim charmed fans with their unique brand of upbeat
electro-pop. Armed with a keyboard, drums and smiles so wide they must
have hurt their cheekbones, they played with an infectious enthusiasm
that could evoke a smile from even the grumpiest of grumpy old men.

Another
duo, Chromeo, got audiences on their feet with a funkier, ’70s-inspired
dance music with modern sensibilities ““ and technologies.

During their performance, they held a moment of silence for their colleague and friend, DJ AM, who died on Friday in New York.

Top
40 favorites The Black Eyed Peas drew the largest crowd Friday night,
performing their radio-friendly tunes to a massive, Fergie-hungry crowd.

The
group was in fine form, especially compared to their last Street Scene
performance in 2005, where Fergie drew mass attention for being
photographed on stage with a supposed sweat stain on her crotch that
some might have suspected was something else.

Previous Street Scene lineups have emphasized rap and hip-hop music much more than this year’s. Although Public Enemy, Busta Rhymes and M.I.A. represented their genres this year, past performers such as Ludacris, Kanye West and Snoop Dogg were relegated to being sampled in self-proclaimed non-DJ Girl Talk’s set.

Girl Talk, who performed in May in Ackerman Grand Ballroom, rehashed much of his usual performance on Friday night. Random audience danced on stage while modified leaf blowers wastefully blew toilet paper around the area.

While many of his mash-ups were fairly similar to his recorded work ““ which the audience didn’t seem to mind ““ Girl Talk livened the set up with a sample of hot rap newcomer Drake and later, a smart synthesis of a-ha’s ’80s classic “Take on Me” and Lil Wayne’s “A Milli.”

Alternative and indie music fans had it best on Saturday with performances by Silversun Pickups, of Montreal and Ra Ra Riot.

Nothing particularly stood out this year, but Street Scene continues to be a Southern California tradition and a way to see that San Diego is more than just a sleepy beach town.

E-mail Truong at etruong@media.ucla.edu.

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