Rumors that The King of Partying Andrew W.K. would be bringing out an extra special guest for his Election Night show at L.A.’s Echoplex were swirling all day yesterday. The inspirational shaman of partying (one of the better follows on Facebook and Twitter we might add) confirmed a few hours before the show Skrillex would in fact be joining him in some capacity at the Echoplex show. The Skrilluminati himself looks to have joined in around 2 am at the Check Yo Ponytail Birthday / Election Night party. Looks to have reached the a rare and almost unattainable status: PARTIER THAN PARTY.
https://twitter.com/AndrewWK/status/266029803201769472
THANK U TO @Skrillex @12thplanet @paraoner @andrewwk @iconapop @diamondrings @cherielily @AleisterX 4 MAKING LAST NITE THE BEST BDAY EVER!!
— CHECK YO PONYTAIL (@checkyoponytail) November 7, 2012
I spoke too soon. You CAN party too hard. @AndrewWK brought out @Skrillex. #AMERICA pic.twitter.com/edgnEvav
— Patrick Buchanan (@pattybgoood) November 7, 2012
Recap of the show from Jason Kinnard
Riding high from election results, an old college buddy and I headed over to Echo Park last night to do some proper celebrating. More than just an election party, the night was billed as Check Yo Ponytail’s 2 Year Anniversary Party featuring the unmistakable, inimitable Andrew WK with special guests. Diamond Rings (Canada) and Icona Pop (Sweden) did an excellent job warming up the stage with their own respective takes on modern electro-pop. Throughout the night, I was impressed at the extremely high caliber of acts chosen for a show that cost only 10 dollars.
Just around midnight, the living legend Andrew W.K. took the stage. Getting right into it with a blazing rendition of “It’s Time to Party”, the man left no question about what he had come to do. Billed online as a “solo keyboard show”, I was a bit skeptical of how high the energy level would be. Rest assured, though: this was Andrew WK in full force. By substituting his full band with backing tracks, Andrew and his wife Cherie Lily (who also performed earlier in the night) were given the full stage to run amok, bang on the keyboard, and most importantly, party. “This isn’t a concert,” Andrew exclaimed, “it’s a party!” And that it was. Powering through iconic tracks “We Want Fun”, “You Will Remember Tonight”, “Party Hard”, and “Ready to Die (see video above)”, the abbreviated set was over just as quickly as it had begun. In one of the most absurd encores I have ever witnessed, Andrew and friends counted backwards from 100 and proclaimed “We have a new president… the same one!” before launching into “I Get Wet”.
As mentioned earlier, there had been talk and speculation of special guests in the days leading up to this show. Right before the end of his set, Andrew informed the crowd that there would be a surprise set by “a guy whose name rhymes with Grillex”. Making my way to the front of the crowd, I was surprised when a different DJ took over the stage, which about 80% of the audience promptly climbed up on to. After sticking around for a couple songs, I was unsure whether or not Skrillex was actually going to play, and headed home.
It seems that Sonny and 12th Planet did indeed come on around 2 AM, which was unfortunately past this old blogger’s bedtime. As much as I would have liked to have seen it, the Skrillex appearance was icing on the cake. The main attraction of the night was Andrew WK, who not only lived up to, but far surpassed my expectations. When it was time to party, he most certainly partied hard.
