live @ the 930 Club, 3.21.2002
There weren’t many people at Andrew W.K.’s show at the 930 Club Thursday night, but that was understandable, since the Florida-based musician’s major-label debut doesn’t hit stores until next week and the majority of his success has been in the UK (British trade paper New Musical Express called him the “saviour of music” in a cover story last year). Not that the lack of a screaming throng of worshipers slowed Andrew down any. His 45-minute set was loud, frenzied, ridiculous, crude and overblown. In short, pretty good rock and roll.
Flanked by three guitarists plus a bassist and drummer, Andrew flailed and leaped in a manner that suggested a recently freed inmate, while the music chugged along like some sort of ugly copulation between the Ramones and Meat Loaf. The guitars spewed pop-metal fog but Andrew’s objectives were perfectly clear: He announced “It’s Time to Party”, that the crowd should “Take it Off” because to have a “Fun Night”, one must “Party Till U Puke”, if only because “We Want Fun”. In closing, he reminded everyone to “Party Hard” and “Don’t Stop Living in the Red”. All of which would have been little more than silly posturing if it hadn’t been delivered with utter conviction. Andrew W.K. seemed to truly believe in his shout-along anthems that delivered heavy metal bravado with a high school pep rally chaser, and his enthusiastic spasms made it hard to turn away. Whether or not the general musical populace will take to Andrew W.K.---who plays the Black Cat April 9 and “Saturday Night Live” on April 13---should be one of this year’s more amusing musical storylines.
Washington Post, 2002
