 I’m
not going to lie. I didn’t have too higher
expectations for the Andrew W.K gig at Den and
Centro. I anticipated a night of headbanging party
metal that was no doubt going to fun (after all
it is Andrew W.K) but that’s all: cheesy
fun. When I walked in half the front row had blow-up
bananas, someone had even dressed up as one. This
only strengthened my cheesy expectations.
Andrew W.K appeared on stage wearing his classic
white t-shirt and jean combo and the set immediately
started with Andrew thrashing around the stage
hammering out his upbeat mish mash of metal, dance
and pop. With the philosophy of “This isn’t
a concert, this is a party” accompanying
his party music the crowd were bursting with energy,
crushing against the barrier and bouncing along.
After a couple of songs of Andrew W.K showmanship,
hair flailing and air punching somehow a member
of the crowd managed to get onto the trapeze hanging
from the ceiling. I have absolutely no idea how
they got onto it or why the bouncer didn’t
stop them when they swung onto stage but they
unleashed a slow building whirlwind of frenzy.
Once this rogue crowd member made it on stage
into the welcoming arms of Andrew this seemed
to signal that it was fine for everybody else
(or at least twenty other crowd members) to join
them on stage. The frenzy began.
 The trickle of fans climbing over the barrier
finally stopped due to the appearance of extra
bouncers. Andrew W.K was now swarmed with people
all begging to share the mic with him and join
him in singing and I think nearly everyone got
a go on the mic with him. He embraced the chaos
on stage, not minding when people played his keyboard
mid song. Needless to say all the antics on stage
only made the crowd even more electrified than
they had been and with Andrew W.K saying things
like “This next song I give you permission
to go absolutely fucking crazy” and playing
songs like ‘Party Hard’ and ‘I
Love NYC’ turned the Den and Centro into
one massive crush and flurry of arms. The show
ended with Andrew crowd surfing from the stage
into the rest of the crowd and back again. A fitting
end to a wild show.
This was one of the most memorable shows I have
ever had the opportunity to go to. Andrew WK was
right, it wasn’t a concert it was a party.
He took crowd interaction to another level and
gave a show that I don’t think anyone in
that building is going to forget for a long time.
His music may be a bit cheesy but is perfect for
a party.
Andrew WK 5/5
Review By Nicci Peet |
