COLUMBUS DIY

Last night Athens hosted a free open air concert titled "Lobsterfest." After a last minute call from an old high school friend I found myself filling the last slot in his car towards the inevitable party that was about to start. Any open car to Athens finds me with a joint in my hand and a couple of hours of radio DJing down route 33. The small country town holds a couple of dearly missed friends and cheap bars within walking distance of each other; a combination which has yet to do me wrong.

Arriving at about 7 PM we walked up on Blueprint finishing out his set. Bland, uninspired and docile hip hop from Columbus. Running into Pittsburgh friends who were around for countryside exploration and my old high school sweetheart kept me standing around.

Next up was Mouth of the Architect from Dayton, OH. I was looking around the fest to either eat lobster or maybe to pay too much for a beer. No vendors in sight. The band starts playing a blend of post rock stoner metal that definitely made me glad I still had weed to smoke. If I didn't have something to take my mind off of their half assed slow jams I would have had to go for a walk. I've seen this band at Carabar when they were more in their element. They lost any impact they had playing an open air fest to hippies and college kids. Nearly the entire crowd was talking shit.

The meandering masses slowly realized that the headliner was up next. After a good solid half hour of aging roadies dicking with a keyboard and mic checking, Andrew comes running out of the shadows of a far away dorm leaping onto the stage in a single bound. The first thing I hear over the murmur of the crowd is a young woman screaming "that’s him? but he's so ugly!" It becomes clear that about a quarter of the audience has never even heard of Andrew WK before. Grabbing the mic and explaining how nobody ever accomplished anything in a bad mood and that staying in a good mood is absolutely crucial in life, AWK is officially getting the party started.

Right off the bat he starts noodling over a drum machine loop. No backing band in sight. If you didn't know, AWK regularly tours giving motivational speeches apart from his fist pumping butt rock concerts. This aspect of his personality came out strong as he plunged head first into a free jam including improvised lyrics. He asked people in the audience their names then attempted to rhyme them in a coherent sentence. He mused about how ironic it is Kohl’s does not sell Coal. Everyone in the crowd stood awkwardly still as AWK blazed through his relentlessly shitty boogie woogie piano freestyle.

He asks if anyone in the audience wants to be part of the night and get on stage. Within seconds a drunken mass is climbing onto the stage. People are climbing scaffolds and trying to fuck up his keyboard. People are fist fighting the roadies and stage diving. The keyboard gets unplugged. After 20 minutes of a drum loop playing while AWK tries to talk people off the stage, the roadies fight off the crowd and the show starts again.

The set rages into a slightly out of tune version of "Ready to Die." One of AWK's most ass ripping songs, the frats all break out into a circle pit/mosh. Numerous people are getting punched in the face. People attempting to crowd surf get hoisted up only to face plant and get stepped on. Eventually, the everyone gets into a chant of "FUCK YOU" which over powers AWK's sound system entirely. Only minutes later the show is shut down early and Andrew disappears into the shadows as quickly as he came.

Disappointed but amused, I wish he would have had the chance to play a few more songs. "Tear it Up" and "Make Sex" are the songs I was hoping for. Andrew WK's party anthems are oddly puzzling and deep. From a man who doesn't swear or do drugs, it is hard to understand what the fuck he is talking about when he refers to partying. It seems like many of his lyrics hark to the idea of cum shots and promiscuous sexuality. I'm going to jump to the conclusion that every night ends like a Bukkake film for AWK.

Easily one of the most memorable sets I have ever seen, Andrew WK was the only decent part of the night for me. Actually, the Double H platter at Tee Jayes in Lancaster was the second best part of the night. I give both an 8/10.

shit

i am bummed i missed probably my only chance to see AWK free

maybe some day....

nice review

i saw andrew wk with shai hulud. fact.

funny shit, max. keep those reviews coming. also, don't be afraid to write about some of your epic benders - they put AWK shows to shame.

this was honestly the best shows I ever saw. ACRN hosted this and it was on University property, which is why we couldn't have vendors.

AWK was not as bad as it sounded.