4.3 Andrew W.K. @ Safari Sam’s
To be fair, Andrew W.K. did preface his show with an exposition about how, if you really want to party, you don’t prepare anything in advance. But the kick off to his heroically titled "High-Way Party Cruiser Tour," seemed, well, sort of baffling, and at times, even aggravating, at least as far as parties go. It makes sense that the guy whose party animal persona may be one of the most brilliant performance art conquests, ever, would crave a little reinvention. Let’s just say it’s still a work in progress.
Andrew W.K. took the stage dressed much as always, in white jeans and T-shirt (the better to get filthy in). He then treated the crowd to a good 20 minutes of keyboard noodling, accompanied by a guitar, and a guy with an oscillator to manipulate the sound of his playing. It was kind of psychedelic, but it was also kind of free jazz. And he just might be a genius. Right when I heard someone in the crowd say, “I give him 10 more minutes and then I’m out of here,” he turned it around. And how. He pulled a CD of his songs from a plastic grocery bag, brought out another guitar player, and sang and played keyboard along to recorded versions of his hits. And it was just the show everyone came to see: Sticking his microphone in his pants, he banged merrily on his keyboard, and belted out his beloved party anthems. Keyed up fans stormed the stage to sing along, mug it up, and then leap out into the audience for a little good old fashioned crowd surfing. Between songs, he delivered a pep talk about building good feelings together that was loveably new agey, but also somehow well suited to his power to the (party) people ethos.
The performance was part of uber popular weekly dance night Check Yo’ Ponytail. And the stylish kids on the scene who’d come early to catch the rowdy, glow-stick enhanced performance by Seattle’s power pop outfit The Lashes, smoke cigarettes and flirt on the club’s outside patio, and dance to ‘80s classics, seemed content that they’d gotten their party on. And yes, they did have a little help from Andrew W.K.
