Peas' show is spectacle

There may be a couple of stops The Black Eyed Peas didn't pull out for Wednesday night's concert, but one would be hard-pressed to name them.

A clever mixture of smoke and laser light made it look as if the four Peas - Taboo, Apl.de.ap, Fergie and Will.i.am - materialized one by one onstage at the show's start.

The St. Pete Times Forum crowd was on its feet from the first number, "Let's Get It Started," and most remained there throughout the show, even during relatively slower numbers such as "Meet Me Halfway" and "Big Girls Don't Cry."

"Rock That Body" featured a dance troupe clad in stereo-speaker costumes, the same ones worn during the Peas' Grammy performance.

"Meet Me Halfway" saw Will.i.am floating across the stage in a harness before settling in at the piano. Following "Don't Phunk With My Heart," he rhymed freestyle using text messages from the crowd projected onto a screen onstage.

Later in the show, Will performed a DJ set, mixing up Nirvana, Journey and Michael Jackson. Perhaps not surprisingly, his DJ booth rose above the crowd on a hydraulic lift.

Taboo's solo spot found him cruising above the crowd on a suspended motorcycle. Fergie's set featured spectacular costumes and lighting, but was nearly stripped down compared to the rest of the show, spotlighting her hits "Fergalicious," "Glamorous" and "Big Girls Don't Cry."

The show was so big on spectacle, actually liking the band's music seemed incidental. But the Peas' hits are essentially background music, for dancing or clubbing or driving. On Wednesday, it served as a soundtrack for a show that would do Broadway or Las Vegas proud.

Today's birthdays

Actor Leslie Nielsen is 84. Actress Tina Louise is 76. Actor Burt Reynolds is 74. Bandleader Sergio Mendes is 69. Singer Sheryl Crow is 48. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is 46. Actress Jennifer Aniston is 41. Actor Damian Lewis is 39. Singer D'Angelo is 36. Rock MC/vocalist Mike Shinoda (Linkin Park) is 33. Singer-actress Brandy is 31. Actor Matthew Lawrence is 30. Rhythm-and-blues singer Kelly Rowland is 29. Actor Taylor Lautner is 18.

Source: The Associated Press