Concert review: Black Eyed Peas celebrate the release of their new album

By ANH NGUYEN

The Black Eyed Peas have been one of the hottest groups around in recent years. They recently came to Los Angeles to celebrate the release of "Monkey Business," their second album since Stacy Ann Ferguson, aka Fergie, joined the group on the album "Elephunk" and blasted them into the mainstream and critical acclaim.

As I sat next to actor Lawrence Fishburne and his wife, Gina Torres, I couldn't help but wonder what songs the couple would be singing or dancing to. But you know they are huge fans to make a public appearance to see them live in concert.

You could definitely feel the energy coming from the audience while waiting for Will.I.Am, Apl, Taboo, and Fergie to come on stage after the opening act, underground hip hop lyricist Talib Kweli, wrapped up his set.

The show started off with "Hey Mama" and then went into "Smells Like Funk."

However, the audience was confounded when the group got into a song that was on the "Bridging the Gap" album, "Joints and James." This was pre-Fergie and pre-KIIS-FM airplay. Good thing they didn't go into the full song, and afterward they jumped into their second single off of "Monkey Business," "Don't Lie."

If you've never seen someone rap in Tagalog, one of the native tongues of the Philippines, you saw it at this show. Apl, who is a proud Pilipino, performed "The Apl Song" and "Bebot," which are featured on both records. "Bebot," which roughly translated to "Hottie," featured Fergie holding a flag from the Philippines. Taboo, waving a Mexican flag, did his solo, as did Will.I.Am and Fergie.

This was a really high-energy concert, with everything from B-Boy breakers hitting the stage, to having members of the audience coming on stage to dance their rear ends off.

The Black Eyed Peas performed their big hit "Where Is the Love?," during which I was hoping a special appearance by Justin Timberlake would take place, but sadly it did not.

The show concluded with "Don't Phunk with my Heart," "My Humps," and "Let's Get it Started."

As they showcased in the concert, the members all have aspirations to have solo records and have been working on them for awhile now. To sure to look out for solo efforts from each member after their tour and they are done promoting "Monkey Business."

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