Matt Bennett, also known as Robbie Shapiro from Victorious, played the soundtrack to my childhood during the Nashville stop of his “Party 101” tour. All of my favorite songs, from “Supernova Girl” to “Leave It All to Shine,” made for an electric crowd that screamed every song from beginning to end. The nationwide tour provided fans with a crash course on everything from classic Nickelodeon to Disney Channel original movie soundtracks.
The show opened with a local DJ, Erin Constantine, who played mash-ups of Disney and Nickelodeon songs. Constantine was great when interacting with the crowd and keeping the energy up throughout her set. Her mashups included songs like “Fabulous” from High School Musical 2 and “Step Up” from Cheetah Girls 2. After Constantine’s set, a one-minute timer began and fans anxiously awaited for Bennett to come on stage. When the timer stopped, Bennett ran onto the stage and fans screamed with excitement. Everyone in the room was dancing and singing along as Bennett made his way to the pit and even into the crowd. The screen behind the DJ table played music videos or scenes from movies corresponding to each song, making childhood memories flood back to fans in the crowd.
After the first three songs, Bennett held up a coconut as a reward for whoever partied the most. The prize was later won by a fan who was dressed as Sinjin Van Cleef from Victorious.
Bennett’s energy never ran out as he danced to every song, constantly waved to the crowd, signed merchandise and interacted with the fans throughout his set. It was sometimes hard to distinguish whether the screams from the crowd or speakers blaring were the loudest noise in the room.
The set included Victorious favorites such as “Best Friend’s Brother’ and “Take a Hint,” as an ode to Bennett’s previous acting career. He also played iconic theme songs like “Fairly OddParents” and “SpongeBob SquarePants Theme.”.
Disney classics were also in the mix with Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2, High School Musical, and, my personal favorite, “S.I.M.P. (Squirrels in My Pants).” There was even a brief moment of the Wii theme song playing, which reminded me of playing Just Dance and Wii Sports as a kid.
Toward the end of the night, Bennett talked to the crowd about his first few gigs in Hollywood. The funniest was an abstinence commercial which everyone in his high school then saw. Bennett told the crowd to be proud of all of their past and then reflected on his role as Robbie.
“I love being the puppet guy,” Bennett said.
As the set was ending, Constantine returned to dance and sing along with Bennett as they played “Leave it All To Shine.” Since the tour was named Party 101, Bennett was our Sikowitz, the drama teacher in Victorious. He informed us that we all passed Party 101 while saying goodbye and encouraged fans to get home safely.
As an early 2000s kid who loves to belt my childhood favorites in my car, “Party 101” was a must-see show. I also firmly believe that receiving an A+ in the “Party 101” course to be the crowning achievement of my academic career. If anyone missed the show, I highly suggest getting tickets this summer for Bennett’s Camp 101.
