Fergie and the Black Peas perform at Toronto's Air Canada Centre on Tuesday night. (Mark O'Neill, QMI Agency)

TORONTO - For the Black Eyed Peas, it was a very good Tuesday night at Toronto's Air Canada Centre despite the fact the energy died once or twice.

The California quartet - currently on the homestretch of their The E.N.D. (Energy Never Dies) world tour - played the first of two nights with ample enthusiasm and verve before a capacity crowd. What was most surprising though was how the group led by vocalist Stacy Ann Ferguson (better known as Fergie) and singer/rapper will.i.am padded roughly 20 to 25 minutes of their two-hour show with basically a deejay set.

And even that portion had the venue figuratively and literally shaking.

With a futuristic backdrop behind them and a multi-catwalk stage design that looked like a big grey tie from the rafters, the band emerged from underneath the stage before launching into Let's Get It Started, one of several party-starting dance tunes at their disposal. Here Fergie, will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo worked the crowd before six backup dancers appeared for Rock That Body.

Not being thrifty in terms of visuals or props, Black Eyed Peas got their first big cheer from the uninhibited hordes with Don't Phunk With My Heart from 2005's album Monkey Business despite Fergie having a glitch with her microphone initially. It also led nicely into a rapid rap by will.i.am used a series of audience text messages shown on screens behind him as inspiration for his incredibly quick and lengthy delivery.

The first half was quite smooth with Imma Be, the lyrically thoughtful and incredibly pensive My Humps and Missing You but seemed to hit a few bumps in the middle. After a short solo spotlight by apl.de.ap featuring Bebot and the Latin-laced Mare, Taboo emerged to soar high over the crowd on a motorbike as Rockin To The Beat was played for his brief solo moment.

Of the four solo segments, perhaps Fergie's came off the best. Donning another one of her many costumes throughout the show, she had the audience belting out Fergalicious and Glamorous before the roots-y, acoustic-tinged Big Girls Don't Cry ended on a high.

The strangest and somehow more effective parts of the night was when will.i.am - clad in robotic like attire and mask - played a deejay set which tossed in Michael Jackson, Guns N' Roses, House Of Pain, Blur and Nirvana as he was lifted over the crowd on a rotating platform. All were on their feet, hopping up and down as the musician reworked Kings Of Leon's Sex On Fire to refer to Toronto.

For the homestretch, Black Eyed Peas offered up Pump It and Where Is The Love? as thousands of fans waved glo-sticks, camera phones or lighters to illuminate the venue.

With the backdrop coaxing the crowd for more noise, the group returned for a closing danceable, party-flavored combination of Boom Boom Pow and I Gotta Feeling, the latter again causing the venue to shake as confetti was launched from various points.

Aside from some slight hiccups in the set, most left having a very good feeling.