Andrew W.K., We Were Sharks and Robots!Everywhere!! @ Maverick’s March 27
It’s not every night you can get kicked in the face, get a bloody lip, and love every minute of it. That is what happens when you go see the king of party, the sultan of fun, el capitĂ n de fiesta, the master of positive energy – Andrew W.K.
Yes, it is he who broke out on the scene singing about partying hard who rolled into town on Thursday and packed Maverick’s. The stage was set with a recording that said “tonight is the night we party hard, focus on positive, be friends, get wasted, tonight we party.” Armed with a synthesizer and a buddy singing back up vocals, Andrew W.K. whipped through a rocking, alcohol-fueled set full of party anthems such as “Party Burrito,” “Crumcake,” and “Fun and Wasted.” There was a point where Andrew stopped the set and played a keys solo while his partner went to go get him a shot from the bar. I guess he needed a little more gas.
Where the night really took off was when he invited people on stage and what looked like over 50 people joined him on stage for “Party Hard.” People were crowdsurfing on stage (which is crazy!) and jumping off the stage to crowdsurf (very odd for a Spectrasonic show). This is when I got a foot in the face and was not fazed at all. When you are partying hard, sometimes it is no pain no gain. Â It was raw, rocking and chaotic as he concluded with “I Get Wet.”
Before Andrew W.K. was Ottawa’s We Were Sharks. They were simply not playing a style of music that I prefer. I was also not a huge fan of their cover of LIT’s “My Own Worst Enemy.” I will give them credit though – they were very tight, energetic and they have mastered the art of synchronized jumping.
Getting the party started was Ottawa’s one-man party, Robots!Everywhere!! Rocking a slick red Epiphone guitar and drum machine, Robots! got the crowd into it from the first song, “Red Hair, Blonde Hair.” He takes the time between songs to explain the story of the track (usually quite hilariously I may add). Robots! also explains the opportunity for sing-a-longs or teaches dance moves for most songs which gets the crowd really into it, even those who have never seen him. Proof of that was all the people singing all the “oh oh ohs” and the mosh pits for every song. Robots! debuted a wicked new song “Sports” as well as playing some of the favourites like ” I Miss The Old You!! (a.k.a. We’re Going to Mexico (a.k.a. 400 bucks!))” and “Call Me Some, Have a Time.”