NORTHAMPTON – Andrew W.K., at first listen, may just sound like a cheap gimmick, a one-hit wonder with a song on “Road Rules” and another in a Twix commercial, but these songs get stuck in your head, under your skin. His anthems “Party Hard,” and “Party Till You Puke,” eventually raise themselves in your psyche from just being fun, driving songs to spiritual revelations.
It is dumb, it is fun, and it is only Rock ‘n’ Roll, but when Mr. W.K. gets on stage, you know he’s the new high priest in the Holy Church of Rock and Roll. And you know this is going to be something amazing.
This was the vibe in the ballroom at Pearl Street on Friday night. It was going to be a high for many people, a celebration in song. A crowd climbed the stairs, gathered into its cliques and waited. This was a crowd that isn’t normally seen in one place – an amalgamation of college frat dudes, arty scenesters, punks and metal-heads.
A diverse bill had a lot to do with it, Vaux and High On Fire attracting people that Andrew W.K. may not have on his own, and vice versa. This is a crowd that normally anyone would expect to see trouble in, with fights and scuffles a possibility from the opening band on. But not in this hall, and not on this night – there was a higher plan, a plan to party.
As lame as that sounds, it is the truth. Do you remember “Bill ‘ Ted’s Excellent Adventure”? How George Carlin came back from the future bearing the news that Bill and Ted’s band Wyld Stalyons saved the world through partying and rock ‘n’ roll? That is Andrew W.K.’s legacy and the root of his fame.
The crowd filled the room as Vaux played, a new band riding strong on the styles of Glassjaw and Refused’s last album, “The Shape Of Punk To Come”. I couldn’t find any interest and took this time to track down High On Fire. High On Fire, formed by Matt Pike out of the ashes of the 1990s doom metal juggernaut Sleep, have been on the road almost endlessly since forming about five years ago. High On Fire had been with this leg of the AWK tour for roughly three weeks. Pike was a bit hazy that night, and was finding a positive reception across the country with AWK’s crowd. After three songs in to their set, the circle pit had started and High on Fire was in.
Blasting forth heavy, almost psychedelic thrash, High on Fire follows in the tradition of Motorhead, Bathory and Celtic Frost. This band is everything metal needs to be: riffs from the gods, a drummer keeping the chaos of battle no further than the horizon and a bassist that levels buildings. High On Fire leveled the crowd playing most of the songs off their second album, “Surrounded By Thieves”, a couple of new ones, and some from their first album, “The Art of Self Defense”. If you missed this band, feel sad. They’re a band to be reckoned with.
As I was back stage talking to High on Fire and trying to grab Andrew WK for a little Q ‘ A, I could hear the crowd’s cheers growing. The sound techs were getting cheers as Slayer played out through the PA. Chants of “Party Hard!” grew, and even through some thick brick walls we could feel the stamping of feet.
Opening the set with “She Is Beautiful,” the rock never stopped when AWK arrived on stage. With a new album under his belt, AWK played nearly every song from “I Get Wet”, and many of the b-sides from those singles. Songs here are really not the point – it was a melee, a riot. The stage flooded with kids, and they danced and jumped off, tackled the equipment mercilessly and made the stage crew earn their pay. Everyone was drenched in sweat. The air was thick and hot, red lights blazing from the ceiling, kids clamored for dropped guitar picks, for anything.
AWK is amazing. He wasn’t even playing guitar, and the kids didn’t even care. After nearly an hour of unrelenting rock, and I mean ROCK, the night closed, the band played “Party Hard,” which I swear they played twice and again, “Slayer” blasted out of the PA.
And wait… Andrew W.K. ran back on stage for the last mosh of the night, to “Slayer.”
Hair and arms flailing, the priest returned to his exalted masses.
