Sunday, April 25, 2004

Alrighty, now that I've gotten some sleep, here's the rundown of yesterday's activities for those of you who missed out:

9:45- got to the park to help set up. Saw the special gift Helena made to present to Andrew WK: a skateboard with a keyboard attached to it, with Andrew WK and WSUM stuff decorated all over it. It's totally awesome.
11:00- first bands begin playing, Orin Project and Urizen, on both stages
12:15- DPC plays to a good-sized crowd, Megan T. tells me it is much larger than last year at this time
1:00- Andrew WK's tour bus pulls up and parks. We're told he's sleeping inside, and that we need to drive a roadie and a random ho to their hotel room.
1:30- The Soviettes play for 20 minutes when they were supposed to play for 45; at least we finally had a chick band
2:00- The Heavenly States arrive a little late, cold and hungover; I get to introduce them and they sound probably the best I've heard them sound yet, and the new songs are great. They just came back from an awesome tour of Australia, and I got a copy of the Australian version of their CD (different artwork, track order)
4:00- Califone plays to a wonderfully large crowd, and there set is HOT, to use the words of Helena. Unfortunately, it has to be cut off as fears of rain make us speed up the sets.
4:45- Immortal Technique jumps on and raps for only about 20 minutes. I missed this because I was starting to get tired, but I heard it was pretty awesome.
5:00- The keyboard/skateboard is presented to Andrew WK outside his tour bus, where he clearly had just woken up. He dug it though.
5:15- WSUM DJ Joey Cienan brings fake blood, and soon tons of audience members have fake blood all over their faces in homage to Andrew WK's first album cover. It is gross, and I refuse to partake. DJ Lazer partakes.
5:30- Andrew WK finally comes on with his band, and together they have massive amounts of hair waving around. They blow the speakers- TWICE- and from then on the sound is never quite good, but it doesn't really matter since all the songs sound exactly the same anyway. A mosh pit starts, and WK constantly says "This is cool!" in his gruff voice while it starts to rain lightly. Funny and ridiculous, as was expected!
6:30- I leave PITP a little early to go get Party in the Dark started at the Rathskellar. I don't know how I made it there without fainting. Too bad it couldn't have been on the terrace with the crappy weather! Though I think the Rathskellar's more intimate setting was better anyway.
8:00- Scout Niblett is late, but she finally makes it and I go help her unload. She is driving around touring alone in her tiny Honda Accord, and she came from Omaha! Poor girl. She is the cutest, sweetest little British girl ever.
9:20- The Candyland Riots play to a small crowd, and the sound levels weren't quite right throughout, but they were fun as always. If I wasn't about to pass out from sheer exhaustion, I'd have had more fun.
10:15- A little over 100 people are probably there as Sandman the Rapping Cowboy takes the stage, and it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen when he pulled out this tiny, tiny keyboard, holds it up to the mike and raps with it. Then Ivan Okay came on stage to beat box for more rap. There was alt-country songs also.
10:50- Ivan Okay starts with his guitar, and he's just the cutest thing ever. He ends with a song played on this teeny, tiny children's piano.
11:30- Scout Niblett starts and she is fabulous. She plays guitar and sings, going between very quiet, minimalist sounds to awesome screaming and whaling on the guitar. Then she moves to the drums for more of the same. She invited everyone to sign up and join her Friendster, which I did, haha. She's so odd and quirky on stage between songs, but while she's playing it's HOT, as Helena would say. She totally wowed everyone in the room who didn't know her already, and I think she sold a ton of CDs.
12:30- Went home and died.

Overall, considering the weather factor, everything went really well and smoothly, we had great crowds that were drawn by the bands and not just by a sunny day, and I got a lot of compliments for putting together a really strong Party in the Dark after the show, which made it very very worth it. And now I'm sore from carrying too many heavy things around and sunburned when I didn't even think there was any sun. But not as sunburned as DJ Lazer!!!!!

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