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Reviewed by Marcus Kagler

A hot air balloon daintily floats above the Amoeba Music facade before a lone figure parachutes to the roof top. Sporting her trade mark gold lame jumpsuit, giant blond bouffant, and over-sized grandma glasses we watch a film of projected onto a white sheet at the back of the stage of our heroine racing through the back halls of the store parachute still in tow, throwing ninja chops and high kicking…well, she was beating the crap out of thin air really but that’s just how she rolls. After catching her breathe for a few seconds on screen a young woman in the audience points and screams, “Look! Up on the mezzanine!”

And there, in real live flesh and blood stands the legend. She races down, the crowd goes wild as random shoppers not in the know stand about bewildered. Speaking through her Madonna-esque head gear microphone she apologizes for being late. As she parades down the center aisle toward the stage the crowd moves in. She keeps real with high fives all around.
The show is about to begin.

If you've kept your ear to the underground and your eyes on YouTube then you may be  familiar with the numerous incarnations of 24 year old Ames, Iowa native Leslie Hall. She's the proprietor of the world's vastest collection of gem sweaters, those cheesy handmade rhinestone fashion monstrosities from the 70's and 80's. She owns the only Mobile Museum Of Gem Sweaters, which happens to be an RV packed to the gills with gem sweaters from around the globe. She also happens to be the best comedic yet completely earnest hip hop phenomenon and on September 15th  she gave her debut west coast performance right here at Amoeba Music Hollywood.

Joined by a member of her backup band The Ly's, Dr. Laura, rockin' a keyboard made from cardboard dangling around her neck and a laptop to supply pop-locking beats Leslie did not disappoint a gradually gathering crowd of fans and the uninitiated. Manically dancing while ever changing her facial grotesqueness Leslie ran through a handful of tracks from her new sophomore release Door Man's Daughter. “Zombie Killer” was a particular crowd pleaser that found Leslie pointing at children in the audience and rapping about how even kid zombies must be shot in the brain in order to bring them down for good. “Shake Your Hips” had fans sporting their own gem sweaters literally dancing in the aisles as Leslie gyrated her ample thing in time.

After a short intermission, which left “The Doctor” to her own hilarious devices with the crowd, Leslie emerged from backstage sporting a new costume: a metallic gray jumpsuit complete with harness and cape. She then invited two loyal and brave Amoeba security personnel to hold a 4x4 plank between them, strapped herself to it with her harness and began a most amazing rendition of Gold Pants Lullaby as she performed semi-acrobatic summer salts and various contortions that to this day is burned into the brains of poor audience members as well as this humble writer.

Ending the show with her traditional “dubbing” of an audience members' gem sweater, this one she named Zip Zap Candy Horse. Leslie made her exit almost as clumsily as she entered. The gage of a successful in-store isn't measured in albums sold but rather how many random shoppers stop what their doing because they're enthralled with what is happening on stage. Leslie Hall's in-store will go down in Amoeba history as one of the most successful of all time. Near the end of her performance every person in the store was applauding, laughing, and begging for more. When she makes her eventual return, and we're pretty certain she will, a line of gem sweater clad misfits is certain to stretch around the block.