Go Go Gadjet Makes Triumphant Return To THON 2020
After a brief (one year) hiatus, esteemed genre-blending cover band Go Go Gadjet made their return to the premiere final-hour performance slot at THON 2020.
After some slight technical difficulties, Go Go Gadjet jumped right into things with the legendary synth riff of “Jump” by Van Halen, which then transitioned into DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win” before going into the classic meme song “I’m Blue (Da Ba Dee Da Ba Daa)” and Cardi B’s “I Like It.”
If you thought the Gadjet boys forgot how to party For The Kids at THON, you are unbelievably mistaken.
“Are you ready kids?!” sounded the legendary intro from Spongebob Squarepants before Go Go Gadjet went into a cover of Jackson 5’s “ABC” before transitioning into Kanye’s “Gold Digger.”
Singer Eric invited the whole crowd to sing along with him for the following song, which turned out to be Bill Withers’ soulful classic “Lean On Me,” which then seamlessly transitioned into Major Lazer and DJ Snake’s “Lean On.”
Without catching a breath, the band then when into “Lose Yourself” by Eminem, which brought the house down.
They then slowed things down a bit, going into the acoustic “Ho Hey” by The Lumineers. They then instantly brought the energy right back up by playing LMFAO’s “Sexy And I Know It.”
They then threw it back and played two classics back-to-back — Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl,” and The Proclaimer’s “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” which has interestingly received a ton of airplay by cover bands over THON weekend.
Always keeping the BJC on their toes, they then went into “Baby” by Justin Bieber, which had the entire arena shaking and singing the chorus.
Next, they whipped out the air banjo to play Mumford & Sons’ “I Will Wait,” which again had the whole BJC singing and swaying together.
“Can we take a little musical journey right now? I know this is before when a lot of you were born, but can we go back to the 80s?” Go Go Gadjet then went into the ICONIC “Take On Me” by a-Ha.
Never ever missing, they then went into Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie,” which once again had the THON faithful screaming at the top of their lungs.
Up next they went into an incredibly upbeat “All Star” by Smash Mouth that featured trap beats.
“We’re gonna share a moment now Penn State,” Go Go Gadjet said before slowing the mood down with a little “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon.
The THON faithful responded by taking their phone flashlights out to add to the soulful atmosphere, which continued into their next song, Shawn Mendes’ “Treat You Better.”
“I knew you guys dance, turns out you don’t sing too bad either!” they said after hearing the entire BJC belt out the last two songs.
Go Go Gadjet then brought the energy level back up with Tiesto and Post Malone’s hit “Jackie Chan” and LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem.”
The BJC liked the way Go Go Gadjet worked the next song: “No Diggity” by Blackstreet. The crowd rapped the entire song along with them.
With 30 minutes left until dancers could sit, Gadget went into “The Final Countdown,” before getting the people moving to “Intoxicated” by Martin Solveig, “We Found Love” by Rihanna and Calvin Harris, and Whitney’s timeless “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”
Go Go Gadjet then brought 80s synth glory back with Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)” before going back to the more modern “Delirious” by Steve Aoki.
With some help from the Nittany Lion, they then got the entire BJC jumping up in down with the Lion King/Zombie Nation remix, before going right into Darude’s “Sandstorm” for an incredible montage of legendary Penn State tracks.
Next up, they brought it all the way back to Motown for Marvin Gaye and Tami Terrell’s classic “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and the Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” which made the entire BJC feel like a montage from “Remember The Titans.”
Go Go Gadjet followed up the throwback Motown hits for a modern Motown-sounding hit, Bruno Mars’ “Treasure,” before throwing it back once again with Earth, Wind, & Fire’s “September.”
To close their set, Go Go Gadjet announced they were going to perform a two-song mashup they haven’t done before, Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” and Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”
They said their final song choices, which feature lyrics about being happy, and not worrying about a thing, because “every little thing is gonna be alright,” were inspired by a speech earlier from THON child Celia Cosentino’s family, who said through her struggles, Celia maintained that “it’s better to be happy than angry.”
