Andrew W.K.
live in Pittsburgh (2003)
Magician
"We don't play concertsâ¦we throw parties!" Well, Mr. W.K., that couldn't be more true. Allow me to preface this by saying; I have never been compelled to write a review before (neither album nor show). I can't say whether I will ever write one again, but I do know one thing: this show deserved a review. I should state that the only reason I came to the show was to see Andrew W.K. I had seen him perform one other time at the 2002 Warped Tour and I knew he would not disappoint. I did not know at the time that Andrew W.K. would exceed every expectation.
As for the show as a whole, I saw 2 songs of the opening band "Die Trying", watched Andrew W.K.'s magnificent set, and then left before Hoobastank came one. I mean let's be reasonable here, who really wants to see Hoobastank anyway? Of the few songs I witnessed from Die Trying I really don't know that I can make a judgment call. I had never heard of them before. Apparently they are from Sacramento, CA, but I'm not sure they were really my cup o' tea.
After their set, there was a significant lull in the show. The crowd began chanting ANDREW!" as soon as Die Trying finished, but he didn't begin his set for probably thirty minutes. This was somewhat annoying, but I found that it would be totally worth the wait.
Everyone but Andrew W.K. took the stage and played a quick instrumental, and then before our eyes, the man, himself, appeared before us on stage, in all his grungy reverie. He stepped to the keyboard, and they opened with "Victory Strikes Again" the opening track of his newest album, "The Wolf". Now my memory isn't the best, and personally I don't own any of his CDs (I know some songs from listening to my girlfriend's), so I don't know the titles of all of the songs he played. However, that is not really what was important. The important thing is, the guy was extremely entertaining. He was genuinely happy, and as I quoted at the beginning of the interview, they really did throw a party. Tons of fans were on stage all the time and this usually irks me, but it didn't seem to this time, due to the general atmosphere Andrew W.K. created. He danced around in his goofy fashion and was so much fun to watch. Some of the songs he played that I remember are as follows (in no particular order): "Your Rules", "Party Hard", "Girls Own Love", and "She is Beautiful". As stated before, these are not ALL of the songs he played. Either my memory is failing me at this moment, or I was too awed to register the titles in my memory bank.
Either way, I recommend going to see him whenever he comes near you, with whomever he is touring with (even if you don't stay for the other bands) because Andrew W.K. will make sure you have such a good time that you will surely have that smile glued to your face, far past the time you have been compelled to write a show review.