A Wild Night for A Wild Pear

By Nathan Stafford
June 23rd was a special day, marking the release of The Evaporators/Andrew W.K. split 7” ‘A Wild Pear’.

4PM @ Neptoon Records, Main & 20th
This place is packed to the gills and overflowing onto the street. Nardwuar is his usual lightning bolt of energy, leading us through our fave songs, and debuting two new additions - ‘The Bomb’s in My Pants’ and ‘Oh Non’ – both appearing for the first time on the new 7”. A special guest with the initials A.W.K. is beckoned from the basement to dance a jig and sing with us! You get a couple hundred people jumping in this place, and the floorboards feel like they’re about to collapse! It’s pretty cool to hear this new hybrid band come together, and the fans are loving it! ‘You Better Get Ready To Die’, so ‘Party Hard’!

People of all ages & walks of life are here, sticking around for autographs, sweaty handshakes, and of course to buy some records! Did I mention the show was free? Bands treating fans. Is there anything better?

8PM @ the Biltie
I can’t believe the number of guys dressed up like Andrew W.K! White pants, white T-shirts, long black hair… Do they always dress like that, or just for tonight?

The Vicious Cycles fired the starting pistol & kicked us into gear with their two-stroke rock & roll. The VCMC is sounding like good ol’ straight-ahead should, and throw in some of the most amazin’ merch I’ve ever seen. Check ‘em out!

The Evaporators deliver. The standard costume changes, keyboard crowd-surfing and history lessons are all here in spades. Nardwuar is like a maniacal energizer bunny, pulling out every stop humanly possible. I love his daredevil get-up, complete with crash helmet. If production is a reflection of the economy, well we’ve switched to the barter system and are flourishing! I love the cover of The Pointed Sticks tune ‘I Quit School’. Nice touch. The boys finish up with I.D.N.M.F.T.T.M.W.M.F.A. but they’ll be back. I can tell.

Andrew W.K. takes the stage solo; just one man, keyboard, and some backing tracks. He starts out with a positive, motivational tip: ‘Tonight is not a concert. Tonight is a celebration!” the rocker insists. So why is he asking us to ‘tone it down a little’? I guess there’s nowhere to go from 11, is there? Well, maybe 12. Just wait for the hits to come out.

‘Time to Party’! The place is going nuts! Beer foam everywhere, rough crowd surfing, stage diving, and a small fight is breaking out. Wait, is this the first song in?

This is one sweaty pit. The first two rows are pushing their way right onto the stage! They’re going with it! Dozens of people are now onstage. Where’s security? Pretty much helpless against a mob of this magnitude. (Search on Youtube: ‘Andrew W.K. Fans Rush The Stage’).

For the fans, it's a dream come true! You're onstage with your hard-rockin' hero. Must have felt like such a rush.

For the audio engineers, lighting people, club, photographers and musicians, you had to hold your breath, not knowing what was happening, what was being destroyed. Is Andrew W.K. alright in that mess of sweaty arms and legs?

The party-starter appears unfazed, whipping out ‘Long Live The Party’, and suddenly the stage erupts! I can’t even see the singer through the human wall! Oh, there he is. Someone’s putting their hat on him. Like monkeys, kids are hanging from pipes, wrecking the place and mayhem ensues.

Security gets on the mic and announces “the show will not continue until everyone leaves the stage”, but the damage is done. I hope The Man expected a party tonight, cause we’re not done yet! “Can we kick it up a notch?” asked AWK. I thought the place was going to explode! ‘Party Hard’ was definitely being taken literally.

The sound engineers are in a bit of a pickle. Some baboon destroyed the sound system, so we’re led through an a cappela version of ‘I Love NYC’ to close off the set. We make due with what we have, and it’s still great. Andrew W.K. makes a quick exit.

Encore! Encore! As the sound crew rushes to ready the battered backline after the meelee, things start to boil over. The curtain is drawn, the Evaporators take the stage and back AWK through ‘She Is Beautiful’ and the Leather Uppers ‘Don’t Sell Hot Dogs Tonight’. Sounds pretty smokin’.

And now, another special guest: Mr Brian ‘Wimpy Roy’ Goble of The Subhumans, who belts out ‘Oh Canaduh’, and ‘Fuck You’. I’m in heaven. Here’s everything you want in a concert. Tuff opening band, performance-art punk spectacle, hit-wielding headliner, legendary lead singer, and some unexpected, but entertaining crowd antics.

“Oh, stick around, there’s a DJ set too!” The dancefloor has been swept of beer cans, sneakers & debris so Andrew W.K. can keep the party going with mashups like David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’ and Jay Z’s ’99 Problems’. Delightful.

The moral of the story is this: ‘A Wild Pear’ is officially released. Find it, get it, and love it! I would like to end with the following statement: Fun Fun Fun Fun Fun… Fun Fun!


Edited by Dave Bowes for The Skinny
www.theskinnymag.info