Black Eyed Peas at St James

Black Eyed Peas

Poor old Black Eyed Peas. You tour the world playing sell-out shows then plan your grand finale in New Zealand, a place you've been touring successfully for years (save one small incident involving the green stuff) to find part of the venue has snapped in the wind.

But the show must go on, and on Saturday night two shows did, just three hours apart.

It could have been a disaster if not for the admirably swift work that went into shifting the gig from the Supertop to the much smaller St James, although a frustrating round-trip to the original venue explains why there's no mention of the support set performed by R&B singer and producer John Legend. (He was great, enthused the women in our row). To their credit, the Peas did their best to make it look as though they weren't fazed by the ad hoc lighting and occasional screeches of feedback.

The energy poured off them the minute they launched into the jittery Hey Mama, the live band adding a suitably loose feel to the makeshift nature of the set.

Will.I.Am, Apl.De.Ap and Taboo were dressed in playful, krump-friendly get-up; Fergie was disappointingly casual in cargo pants, a black singlet and zip-up hoodie but a couple of impressive one-handed flips later and it seemed a wise choice.

If anything, the venue change exposed the Peas' tightly choreographed set, one that occasionally unwound amid the roving spotlights, and seemed a tad contrived compared to the free-wheeling dance sessions of gigs past.

Particularly in Pump It, the chirpy but cheesy hit from Monkey Business, the likes of which has turned a few of their older fans off their music.

Perhaps they were simply preserving some energy for the next gig.

And sure, they did mushy Peas: Where is the Love? was dedicated to victims of recent natural disasters and felt like a corny, Telethon moment.

But they also did hard-boiled peas, each band member performing a dazzling solo, and Will.I.Am jumping on for a quick blat on the skins.

They also minded their Peas and qs; the only mention of the problem venue care of Fergie's funny little impromptu song that not only proved what a great set of pipes she has but how professionally they handled the situation.

And by the time they really let loose in the encore of Don't Phunk With My Heart and Let's Get Retarded, it was obvious these guys are born entertainers.

You can't be Pea-d off with that.

Who: Black Eyed Peas
Where: St James