Last night was an epic comingling of everything true and honest in rock and roll; a display of approachable rock God bliss. Last night was Andrew W.K!!!
I got to Webster Hall about an hour after the doors opened. I had no interest in the opening act whatsoever so as I came in half way through the opening acts set, I walked straight to the bar and then observed the large candy selection outside the bathrooms. Finally the band left and it was just a matter of time before Andrew W.K. would take the stage!
When Andrew did come out, what really made his performance was that it was in New York City. He got his start here and said that Andrew W.K would not be what it is today “if [he] hadn’t moved to New York City.” He played all the great songs from I Get Wet, “Ready to Die,” “Party Hard,” “I Get Wet,” “Take it Off,” and “Don’t Stop Living in the Red.” Then he introduced a song that he said “means something probably to all of you,” addressing the audience. “I Love N.Y.C.” The crowd went crazy.
I have never seen more crowd surfing than I did last night. Girls, guys, thin and fat, short and tall, were jumping from the stage—literally canon-balling-it into the crowd. One draw back was having so many people on stage with the band; it became hard to see who the members were. Andrew would disappear to the back of the stage and play the piano and suddenly, it was like watching football when I can’t keep track of where the ball is. Where did he go? It also didn’t help that there were numerous guys who looked exactly like A.W.K. One in particular had the same white shirt, white jeans, long hair, and facial hair as A.W.K. He even had the head banging and fist pumping down to a science.
“She is Beautiful” was dedicated to a girl named Stacey who was probably 4 feet tall sporting a white shirt that had red paint all over the front (for those who do not know, Andrew W.K. is known for the cover of his first album where there is blood all over his nose and mouth, dripping down his chin). She danced around on stage with the huge crowd of mohawked guys as the band performed.
The band was just as energetic and entertaining as Andrew. He had three guitarists up with him and a female vocalist. Four out of five of them had long hair that they rocked out the whole time. One of the guys was even sporting one the shirts the place was selling on the side for the band. I was oddly touched by that—it was as if he loved his band so much, he wanted to support them as much as he could. Andrew took a turn on the guitar and played the piano on and off. It was truly a sight to see—this massive jacked guy drooping over a piano, his hair covering his entire face.
The band left the stage and no one in the audience left the venue. Not a soul. Suddenly, I joined a chorus of guys in a song to try to get the band back on stage . . . “Wanna make sex wanna make sex whoa. Wanna make sex. Make sex . . .”
He came back on and performed songs from the second album, The Wolf. It was a treat as I did not expect to hear anything from that album (this concert emphasized the performance of the first album). He performed “Long Live the Party,” “Never Let Down,” and “Totally Stupid.” He thanked the audience and left the stage. Of course, no one moved again. People shouted out song titles that he had yet to performed. He came back and played a new song (which is great because that means another album is in the works), called “Head Bang.” The audience was instructed to head bang during the bridge, mid-way through the song. And of course, with my hair longer than it has ever been, I had no problem rocking it out.
Andrew W.K. performs with the audience, not for them. He holds a party and invites people to attend. He loves his fans and wants them to truly enjoy their experience. And if that means rubbing his long hair as he sings or vomiting on his pants (he seemed to think that was awesome), it is all in good fun. People live Andrew W.K. because he is kind of the Bruce Springsteen of harder rock and metal. He is the rocker for the common man. He is a head banger of the people.
After all, if it is time to party, we might as well PARTY HARD!
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