EVA SAYS: For those of you who know Andrew W.K. as the blood drenched, body thrashing, party maniac responsible for hits such as I Get Wet, We Want Fun and Party Hard –– get ready for a whole new Andrew: Andrew the compassionate humanitarian and spiritual guru. He feels your pain, and he will try to tell you what it all means, too. As if to demonstrate his more refined side, this Andrew opened up his Q&A session with a beautiful classical piano piece first. Then he broke out the idiosyncratic body spasms and rattled random furniture pieces. He approached the podium of the First Unitarian Church Sanctuary and addressed the crowd with an intensity he is so well known for. Decked out in his usual ensemble — white shirt, white pants and Jesus-length hair — for a moment, he looked, well, Christ-like, especially with the organ (not that organ, perv) and pews and stain glassed dove displays. And in this Philadelphia exclusive Q&A/ lecture, W.K. chose not to discuss his music but to focus on one thing and one thing only: L-O-V-E.
To give you a better idea of the night’s theme, W.K. started off by encouraging the crowd to chant the words “love, love, love” in unison, though at first, the general response came back lukewarm and muffled. By this point, the dudes who made up the frat boy portion of Andrew’s fan-base hurriedly made their exit from the building. They, like many of us, probably weren’t expecting this. But soon a streamline of questions came from seemingly eager, vulnerable, beleaguered youths who sought advice on mending broken hearts, mental illness, relationships and self identity. In return, Andrew offered nothing but heartfelt, semi-philosophical, honest responses, exuding a genuine sense of curiosity and empathy. Never once did he seem to force an opinion, but rather he shared relatable stories from his own experiences in hopes of communicating perspective. It was all very Henry Rollins-esque, without the anger and cussing. After each question was asked, he offered hugs to his audience and in one instance, amazingly remembered a fan he met four years ago in Florida. After the show, he gave out free posters to those willing to wait as he diligently signed and doodled private messages to each fan. I almost felt bad for how tired he appeared by the time I got to him, which only further upped my respect for him. I really enjoyed the intimacy of the event, and I’d be lying if I said last night didn’t leave me feeling like I was touched by an angel or an uncle, or something.
Grade: A+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Eva Liao is 23 years old and from Los Angeles. Her favorite band is the Velvet Underground. That’s why we hired her. Eva goes to Temple. Some would call her an intern, but we call her Assistant Editor because we believe the media should empower young people, not belittle and exploit them. But that’s just us.