Issue 48 / September 2014

36
Bido Lito! September 2014
Reviews
Andrew WK (Adam Edwards / @adamedwardsfoto)
past that White Blacula are the most outright
entertaining live band in the city. I stand by
that. Tonight just wasn’t their night.
ANDREW WK burst onto the scene with
debut album I Get Wet back in 2001, when the
rock world was full to the brim with turgid,
self-pitying nu-metal bands, and his rampant
positivity and energy as an artist and performer
was like an oasis in a desert. Tonight, as he
bursts onto the stage and launches into album
opener It’s Time To Party, it’s reassuring that
the preceding 13 years have clearly not dulled
his spirit one bit. He bounds around the stage
to the backing track with fervour, flipping
between hammering away at the keyboard and
working the room into a frenzy. The suddenly
animated crowd is fantastic, and the mutual
affection between artist and audience couldn’t
be more obvious.
From there on out, the show doesn’t
lose momentum for a second, and all the
favourites are out in force – New York City,
We
Want Fun, and of course the breakthrough
anthem Party Hard – big, dumb major-key
rock songs that make you pump your fist
in the air and leave you smiling from ear to
ear. Aside from the glorious spectacle of this
living, sweating piece of iconography doing
what he does best, it’s easy to forget that he
is also actually a very accomplished musician,
as demonstrated in his mid-set extended
techno-based keyboard solo.
In theory, it could be easy to be sceptical
of the concept of this tour – a string of shows
that is basically Andrew WK doing Andrew WK
karaoke, but it in practice works so much better
than you’d imagine. Finally, he wraps things
up with the incendiary I Get Wet, resulting in
a stage invasion of such magnitude that Mr
WK is no longer visible, and then we leave
exhausted, drenched, and exhilarated.
He’s always been a polarising figure for
music fans, but it’s clear from tonight that
those on board are on board 110%. For a brief
hour, the grey world outside disappeared, and
all that existed was uninhibited positivity. Long
live the party.
Alex Holbourn / @AlexHolbourn
GREEN VELVET
Dixon – Tom Trago – Sub-Ann
Circus @ East Village Arts Club
Tonight’s line-up for the latest instalment
of Yousef’s CIRCUS is enormous. Innervisions
boss DIXON makes his first appearance in
Liverpool since topping Resident Advisor’s
much-lauded DJ Of The Year poll in 2013, and
GREEN VELVET, the man behind the behemoth
that is Bigger Than Prince, completes a
knockout one-two of headliners. Dutch future
house champion TOM TRAGO and One Records
honcho SUB-ANN aren’t to be snarled at either,
with Yousef and his team flexing their clout
as the most forward-thinking and balanced
bookers in town.
The redevelopment of East Village Arts
Club may still be a polarising topic among
Liverpool’s clubnight crowd, with arguments
that the shiny new walls and crowded bars
detract from that gritty, DIY aesthetic that once
made it great. With its enormous stage and
concave, forward-facing dance floor though,
it feels purpose-built for nights like this. It
certainly marks a contrast to the increasingly
dominant warehouse scene, where it’s easy to
spend your whole evening getting fucked up,
trying to cop off, or just generally ruining your
chances of getting that American visa without
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