Philly's Qualifier, the last one of the 2015 US Air Guitar "regular season," took place the same night as the Chicago semifinal. I feel like it got a little overshadowed by the bigger show taking place at the same time, especially since the bigger show had controversy and whatnot. But it was just as valid as any other competition, so let's not ignore it!
Boston's own Filthy Fingers opened the competition, which I'm a little confused about since he has already qualified through to the NYC semifinal. It would make sense if he was getting purposely disqualified or just goofing around, but he got actual scores, one of which was quite good. So, unclear.
And from the sounds of things, it was a booze-soaked shitshow with people falling over, dousing one another in beer, rolling around on the stage, and one competitor who walked offstage during judging because he didn't like what he was hearing. I don't know if he did that as a joke, but I hope he did, because that is some whiny baby behavior otherwise. (Note: "whiny baby behavior" does not apply if the judging was offensive, rather than just harsh and less good than expected. If a judge is making you uncomfortable or being disgusting, I hope that you do stomp offstage. We don't stand for that in this sport.)
Speaking of harsh judges, though, there was a competitor whose name may cause flashbacks to Nationals in Denver in 2012. Dream Crusher was actually a really awesome competitor, NOT just the nickname of Dreamcatcher being the meanest judge in the world.
Other highlights:
- Rockstache - apart from having a really nice mustache - made a point out of stomping pedals, which I always appreciate. If Philly is still arranging their judges the same way they did the year I went there, it's the perfect place for such a move since the judges are on a balcony and can look down onto the stage, so foot movements won't be missed.
- Bodacious lit his guitar on fire - air fire, hopefully - and then ate it; that's pretty cool.
- Philly stalwart Leonitis came out in some intense full-head makeup (which is something you can do when you have a shaved head) and totally kicked ass.
Rockstache. Photo by Laura Kicey