Andrew W.K. at The Academy on April 10 2012.
Review: Claire Kane
Photos: Owen Humphreys
Most people in their 20’s will fondly recall the hairy and bloodied Andrew W.K. flailing his long hair and his limbs in the video for his most well-known single Party Hard. Since then, the original party rocker has achieved somewhat of a cult status among rock music fans. It is no surprise that when he and his band descended on The Academy to celebrate the ten year anniversary of début album ‘I Get Wet’, the crowd was made up of bright-eyed and eager young rockers in the pit who knew all the songs, with more matured music fans on the outskirts simply reliving their childhoods/early teens.
The crowd received the arrival of the band on stage with an uproarious cheer, particularly the constantly enthusiastic Jimmy Coup, who plays guitar. Andrew WK walked out on to the stage in his white outfit, synonymous with the début album, and the audience were engrossed by his presence; his showmanship instantly impacting . The band launched in to the first track of the album being celebrated: It’s Time to Party. Although the show went in order of track listing, it felt as though it was the perfect song to set the tone for the show as everyone was expecting a party atmosphere of the messiest and most rocking kind. The short-burst song was just a set-up for the one song that everybody knew was next, Party Hard. The entire room is launched into party mode; It is at this early point in the show that you realise that there is a sincere bond between the band, and that A.W.K is not an arrogant limelight-hogging rock star, he is happy to let bask the others in the glory as much as he. The entire band connects with the crowd, making them fascinating to watch, reaching out to shake hands with whoever can stretch far enough and singing directly to individuals; they certainly know how to make their fans feel appreciated. Truly a marvel to behold is A.W.K’s backing singer and wife, Cherie Lily, whom he touchingly dubs the She is Beautiful mascot when finished performing the song. Clad in a leotard, fish nets, tube socks and Asics trainers, she looked every bit the nonchalant-yet-sexy rock chick, bursting with energy; Her interaction with the crowd was particularly admirable, and it was fantastic to see that her talent and eagerness was appreciated by the crowd.
Throughout the entire evening there were no dull moments as A.W.K knows how to play a crowd and keep the revelers on a constant rock-induced high; whether it is belting out his anthemic songs, high-fiving audience members or playing amusing ditties on the keyboard, he was entertaining the crowd every second of the gig. The banter from the band seemed genuine, making the gig experience intimate, and yet their sound seemed to large for the small venue; it was easy to forget that these guys are ‘famous Americans’, because it seemed like they were playing to a home crowd, such was their relaxed demeanour. Keeping the audience happy was, and rightly so, their main priority, followed closely by maintaining the party-animal image with A.W.K downing his wife’s drinks, and talking about Power’s Whiskey, to which one member of the audience responded, shouting: “Nobody drinks Power’s”.
If everybody in the room was not in the palm of his and the band’s hands already, they certainly were when they changed the lyrics of I Love New York City to “I love Dublin, Ireland”; something which they no doubt did at every stop on the tour, but that does not take away from the delight in the atmosphere in The Academy. The band can mark this gig down as a success; their performance was electric, enthralling and captivating as any hard rock concert can be right down to the encore in which they performed another anthem, We Want Fun. It was a fantastic ending to the gig with each member of the band picking one or two people out of the crowd to dance and sing on stage with them. It is as though A.W.K and his fans had swapped sides as at the end he leaps into the enraptured crowd and surfs.
While initially it was disappointing that he did not save Party Hard until the encore, the discouragement was soon dusted off by the band by putting on a show that even the least hardcore of the gig attendants could appreciate. Premature assumptions that the concert would only be about one song where pushed aside; it was a show about losing your inhibitions and head banging until you felt dizzy- even longer if you could manage. Andrew W.K. and his band will never be rock gods, nor will they be remembered as one of the best in the world but if the Dublin performance was anything to go by, they undoubtedly prove that hard rock doesn’t have to be about anguish and angst; it can be about partying and having fun; two things which every person, band included, did that night.
Andrew W.K. Photo Gallery
Photos: Owen Humphreys
