MUSIC:

Black Eyed Peas give surprise performance at Rain

Will.i.am and bandmates take to the stage at Palms night spot

Melissa Arseniuk

Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas performed a guest set at Rain on Aug. 21.

By Melissa Arseniuk

Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009 | 7:05 p.m.

Melissa Arseniuk

Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas performed a guest DJ set as part of DJ AM Fridays at Rain on Aug. 21.

Friday was a good, good night at Rain nightclub.

The Palms hotspot made a last-minute announcement Friday and said Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas would perform at the club that night.

The announcement was made just before 5 p.m., just over five hours before the club was set to open.

Later that night, partiers got more than they bargained for when two of Will.i.am’s three Black Eyed Peas bandmates joined him onstage.

Will.i.am, whose real name is William James Adams, Jr., made his way to the DJ booth just after 2 a.m. this morning following a shortened set by Friday night resident DJ, DJ AM.

The hip hop superstar played a handful of mash-ups for partiers before bandmates Taboo Nawasha and apl.de.ap surprised the audience and joined him onstage.

Nawasha and apl.de.ap’s appearance was unexpected, as the previously-issued release from earlier in the day did not include any details about either of Will.i.am’s the Black Eyed Peas bandmates.

Unfortunately, the fourth, final and female pillar of the Peas was not at Rain last night: Fergie did not join her fellow Peas at the Palms.

Still, Will.i.am, Nawasha and apl.de.ap performed a handful of the group’s singles without their leading lady, including their most recent hit, "I Gotta Feeling.” Afterward, Nawasha and apl.de.ap left the stage and left Will.i.am to his solo set.

The award-winning artist spent about an hour at the turntables last night before retiring to the stage-side VIP where he joined both his bandmates and the party.

After about half an hour, the talent trio and their entourage left the club and reportedly moved the party to MGM Grand.

Before they left, apl.de.ap told the Sun that the band is in town preparing for an upcoming gig at Mandalay Bay.

Unfortunately, that show appears to be a private event; MGM Mirage has no Black Eyed Peas concert listed in their current events calendar.

Melissa Arseniuk writes about Las Vegas entertainment and celebrity events. She can be reached at 702-948-7823 or by e-mail at melissa.arseniuk@lasvegassun.com.

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By stevem

Aug. 22, 2009

8:44 p.m.

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so, having some chick warble over a sample of someone else's music is a performance now?
By melissa

Aug. 23, 2009

1:32 p.m.

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Hi Stevem,

I'm confused by your comment. You reference "some chick" but there were no "chicks" DJing at Rain on Saturday morning and I don't mention any female performers in my story, either.

Will.i.am is definitely a man. Some might even say he's the man. :)

You also complain about him "warbling" over "someone else's music" -- yet much of said "warbling" was done over his own music, or his own remixes. He also had two of his three Black Eyed Peas bandmates join him onstage, further legitimizing the set.

All in all, as far as celeb DJs go he's as legit as they come.

I'm going to assume that you weren't at the show on Friday night. That's too bad; had you been there, you might have developed a slight appreciation for the technical intricacies that DJing requires.

While some DJs just push play and let their play list be their set list, others -- the good ones, like Will.i.am -- are in continuous motion, adding layers, mixing, etc. as they go along. And yes, I do think that qualifies as a performance.

If you're ever interested in catching a solid DJ set, I'd be happy to give you some suggestions as to where to go, who to see, etc. As they say, you really shouldn't knock it until you try -- or, in this case, hear and see -- it.

That said, thanks for your comment and happy reading.

PS: I actually interviewed Will.i.am in January after he accepted an award for a video he produced. He struck me as a remarkably intelligent, creative personality and the resulting story can be found here: http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/ces-200...