mmiq 10A -The Michi Daily - Monday, September 8, 2( ART S 4 w W. TI )RE HO rOW 7D By James P Daily Arts Writ Local boy Andrew WK.'s Saturday evening show at St. Andrew's Hall may have been the first of his world tour, but he played like it was his last. Andrew is always Andrew excited, but on this W.K. night he gave his Saturday, Sept.7 hometown crowd At St. Andrew's something extra (if Hall that's possible). - A.W.K. took the stage with a mas- sive grin that stayed on his face throughout the entire performance. The festivities began with the explosive "It's Time to Party," and Andrew entered a frenzy, dancing maniacally, pounding his keyboard (and skull) with abandon and screaming his bloody lungs out. And since his other tunes sound essen- tially the same (in a good way), the party didn't slow down for a second. The mood was festive; Andrew instructed the audience to act like it was "your birthday, Christmas, the 4th of July, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Hal- loween" all in one. This they did, form- ing circle pits and remaining positive amidst the chaos. The entire band was in fine form. Impressively, they recreated the dense sound of A.W.K.'s records; three band members and the entire crowd pro- vided backup vocals on old favorites like "Ready to Die" and "Party 'til New songs "Victory Strikes Again" and "Tear It Up" from their new album The Wolf met with a less enthusiastic response, partly since they're not as aggressive as the I Get Wet material, but mostly because fans don't yet have the new record. However, the band's great performance of new single "Never Let Down," a gigantic power ballad and instant A.WK. classic, was quite well received. Andrew actually kept his feet planted during the tune and did his best singing of the night. The energy immediately returned to fever pitch, and with "We Want Fun," the show's 30-minute climax began. During the song, fans rushed and quickly saturated the stage while the band, bewildered, somehow finished 4 JONATHON TRIEST/Daily DO WHATEVER YOU WANT! NEVER LET DOWN! LIFE IS TOO SHORT! NO REGRETS! LIVE HARD! the song. Andrew loved every second, shouting thought-provoking expres- sions like "Awesome!" and "Oh my gosh!" Security eventually cleared the stage, but not before W.K. gave hugs to most of the stage-dwelling fans. Band and audi- ence became one, meeting Andrew's lofty ambitions, but the show was- n't over yet. Rather than do the planned encore routine, W.K. stayed on stage and advised the crowd to "catch ... your ... breath." While they did, L rC Ke ytU neon andCam pus Life I presents Ir r 01 Ovetavaibe nowl We The Planet consciousness is coolS Tuesday, September 23, 2003 8 p.m., Pease Auditorium Nationwide tour of activism, discussion and music moderated by one of the world's most passionate and well-known activists, Julia Butterfly-Hill and featuring a short acoustic set by singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman. FREE - ticket required EASTERN MICHIGAN UNiVERSI Johngj~p saturday,;ptemnber 27, 2003 9 p.m., EMU Convocation Center A riveting one-man show by dynamic actor, comedian and now director John Leguizamo, whose career includes memorable roles in movies such as Moulin Rouge, Die Hard 2, Carlito's Way, To Wong Foo: Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar, and most recently Ice Age, and Undefeated. MATRO TIEST/Dai, y FUN NIGHTI FUN NIGHT! Gonna get off ... SE MUI=Amission Andrew took a closer look at the audience, reveling in the many familiar faces. After all, it was the hometown show; even W.K.'s parents could be seen in the balcony. Not surprisingly, the break didn't last long. The crowd somehow managed to top themselves late in the show, singing louder than ever and forming the biggest circle pit St. Andrew's has yet seen during the hit "She is Beautiful." Unbelievably, the show had not yet reached its peak, which came during "Party Hard." Fans were waved back onstage and wasted no time returning to W.K.'s side. Microphones and instruments were nearly destroyed, and W.K. shared the mic with a hand- ful of crazed fans. This time, though, the band was ready; they stood their ground and nailed the song in all of its brutish glory. One of the band's three guitarists scaled a large speaker mid- song, playing there and giving the gig a "best house party ever" vibe. Upon the end of "Party Hard," Andrew appeared exhausted and had to be propped up by fans who had not yet left the stage. Of course, he was far from tired. After the stage was once again cleared, the band jumped head- long into "I Get Wet," the final song of the night. WK. screamed, hit himself, walked into walls and danced with boundless energy. Once the final power chords had been struck, Andrew took a few slow steps back into the stage, put down his mic, leaped into a sprint and pulled off an impressive and gutsy stagedive. Then, after some more frantic dancing, Andrew left the crowd wasted and thor- oughly satisfied. He departed with these words of wisdom: "Long live life!" Truly inspirational. St. Andrew's Hall is aptly named, because on Saturday night, Andrew WK. owned the place. - Check Tuesday's edition of The Michigan Daily for a review of the new Andrew WK. album The Wolf. WRIT'FO ATHS ME tNG tODA ACT 7PM ethnicrighFsamepmet WLyAgo ut Te yAoE (Ken) -ea itbr2 MARRIAGE C *NTR CT (Rdssng) - n.24 CIfc youre ieest dru bigivedernanyti grdf ACSTING Meanderfonrm ihan alepepe Comic Opera Guild 734-973-3264 4 al The University of Michigan Department of Dermatology is currently offering _1