You know those movies that you turn on when there is nothing else to do and you realize that at any point during it, you could leave, go make dinner, call a friend and take a power nap, all without pausing the movie, and then come back and whatever point the film is at, you'll feel like you missed nothing?
Such was the case with the Andrew WK: Power of Partying lecture on October 13 at The Bunkhouse. This was his Nevada stop on his 50-state, Ted Talk-style party barnstorm. Don't get me wrong. I love that it was held outside on a beautiful night. I love that there was a full crowd, everyone listening intently. And I love the man who professes himself as a professional partier—but talking about partying, as I learned, is not partying.
WK, who skyrocketed to party fame in 2001 with the release of his debut, and still his most revered, album, I Get Wet, has a great attitude. He spoke in platitudes and tried to remind everybody that the party always goes on. No matter how you are feeling, he wants you to remember, "Life must be good, otherwise it wouldn't be happening to me." It's a wonderful sentiment, but WK neither was born nor has lived in a war zone, so maybe a sentiment is all it is.
Such grandiose philosophies filled The Tao of WK. Others included: "Mistakes are underrated," which the mostly millennial crowd seemed to need to hear; "The one thing I know is that I know very little," though claiming you know very little implies you know more than one thing; and of course, when trying to motivate those who found it difficult to party or fit in, "Life isn't easy, so partying shouldn't be, either"—shouldn't it, though?
The question-and-answer portion, which felt like that one party guest who stayed dreadfully too long, included such gems as a woman telling WK he reminded her of Nietzsche. Because, you know, if there's one author throughout history who captured the party spirit, it was Nietzsche.
There were countless questions of what people should do when they run into obstacles preventing them from partying. The answer: party.
And there was the most important question, from a bearded dude: Do you think a hot dog is a sandwich? The answer: party.
Though this wasn't the shindig I was hoping for, maybe in 5 years, Andrew WK will tour for the 20th anniversary of his first album, playing it all in sequence. Now that will be a party.
