Wowsah! What a show and a wacky set of circumstances they were that culminated in one of the most rewarding Rock On experiences in my whole 21 year show-going career!
Andrew played here in Chicago (well Rosemont, actually) this past weekend on July 27th. He was the headliner for some local radio station showcase called "Show and Tell" or some crap. Ironic because hardly anyone showed up to see what was billed as "twelve bands for thirteen bucks" in the parking lot of a very large arena. But those who did show up were definitley there for W.K. and the boys. And they were great once they finally got on stage... W.K. headlined and he was only allowed to play six friggin' songs!
All of this would have left me extremley ticked off under normal circumstances. I mean, I sweated it out in the sun for what seemed like a week, enduring set after set of the most boring industry pap imaginable waiting for Andrew and the boys to show up, and they only let him play SIX SONGS?
But as I hinted above these were not normal circumstances. I'd been doing my duty for my rock band (Elgin's own mighty MASHERS) that afternoon, getting drunk and handing out comp tickets for our upcoming show (Friday August 9th... Double Door, Chicago) and talking to anybody who had an opinion about Andrew W.K. and Rock Action in general. I struck up a conversation with a group of guys who basically looked like they belong on the show jack-ass. You know, pretty boys who are too friggin' nuts for their own good. These guys were a blast!
The six of us met up with Andrew's guitar player Jimmy. He's a totally approachable guy who signs all his autographs "I love Andrew W.K." The reason, he explains is because if Andrew hadn't given him his current job, he'd be sweating his nuts off in the summer heat painting houses. Judging from the back stage area at the Allstate arena, his current occupation whips the pants off his previous job description hands down. And me and the jack-ass boys would soon see the backstage... indeed, soon we'd all have ALL ACCESS PASSES.
See, one of these guys (I'll refrain from refering to them as Jack-ass, cause as I said, they're kinda crazy) does in fact bear a passing resemblence to Andrew. Stringy hair, scraggly beard and chipped teeth. That's where it ends, but a young employee at the arena mistook him for the man and relayed to him the story of a young man in the parking lot who insisted he was a childhood friend of Andrew's. He wanted a backstage pass, and should she give him one? "Yeah," he dead-panned,"and get passes for these guys too," he said, gesturing in a manner which encompassed the entire group. So we went backstage and found Andrew. he was obviously a little stressed, I dunno if it was the fact that he was being screwed with the time slot (a matter he emphatically apologized for from the out set) or if he was just in a lousy mood. He was nice enough though, and even laughed when his "double" recounted the story of how we came to be in his orbit. Most likley we just annoyed the piss out of him, though. hahaha. we all stood on the stage as the group opened with "It's Time to Party" and we mashed it up as they followed with "I Get Wet," "Ready to Die", "She is Beautiful" and the closer "Party Hard" where he basically invited the entire crowd onto the stage. And they would've been there had it been able to hold them. Come to think of it, I guess they only did 5 songs. But I think I got my 13 dollars worth. It was a fun night.
-Whiteout