Black Eyed Peas’ soupy concert has crowd dancing in the rain
After bailing on a June 9 concert because of severe thunderstorm, the phenomenal Black Eyed Peas returned to Central Park the last day of September and performed to a packed – and drenched – crowd of about 60,000 fans.
They made good on a promise to return, after a loud chorus of ‘boos’ from the angry crowd rang out at Central Park in June when the BEP started packing their musical equipment because of the rains. This time, the BEP came with the downpour, and with it the roar and screams from fans finding solidarity as they danced and dripped.
“We’re soaking wet and we’re dancing like crazy!” Elsa Apale, a caregiver from Queens, told The FilAm.
”We knew the rain was gonna come so we came prepared, we brought our raincoats,” said Wendy Cometa, a fan from Brooklyn. “The Peas were spectacular!”
The six-time Grammy-winning hip hop group entertained and got the crowd, gathered at the park’s Great Lawn, rocking and head-bobbing as many wore glow sticks around their necks. The crowd erupted in approval when the BEP sang their all-time hits “I Got a Feeling” and “Don’t Stop the Party.” There was so much energy that the crowd didn’t mind the heavy downpour.
“Their songs are so infectious, we found ourselves singing even in the subway on our way home,” said Jonathan Taniza, a barista for a coffee chain in West Village.
BEP’s FilAm member Apl.de.ap debuted his song “We Can Be Anything,” the hymn of an education advocacy campaign and a collaboration between his Apl.de.Ap Foundation and the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation.
“Apl really belongs to the group, I can’t imagine BEP without him,” said Zeni Saluria, who works in a Manhattan driving school.
Julius Custudio, a phone operator from Bronx, made a curious observation. He said, “Usually when it rains, people leave, but not for a Peas concert.”
“Everyone’s having fun, the Peas did it again,” said student Marife de Guzman.
