Also on Friday night, the St. Louis US Air Guitar Qualifier went off. It was sibling rivalry night in air guitar for sure, because as well as Dry Ice's sister winning Houston (and therefore bringing the two of them into direct competition at the Midwest Semi-Final in Chicago), you had Kansas City's Stack siblings, Stack Attack and Stack Hammer, descending upon an unsuspecting St. Louis, as well as Mean Melin's sister Crystal Richter (who would only wind up facing him down if they meet in the national finals, since St. Louis feeds into Chicago's semi-finals, but he'll be competing in the NYC semi-finals).
They had walk-ons, including an underage kid (?!) who went by Ergoff the Destroyer, and Petey Papa, who gave birth to/pooped out his air guitar. Eddie Hands Flailin' shredded not only his guitar, but also his jeans, which is a level of commitment that was enough to get him into the second round. The legendary Peter "Stiff" Dickens brought his own brand of weirdness as usual - this is the man who introduced the world to "JESUS! ASS!" as an epithet last year when his air amp was spazzing out - but the king of weirdness for the evening was Pork Sword. This man wore a robe, a pig mask, some undies, and NOTHING ELSE... except for an apple hanging around his neck because it's important to bring snacks.
Second round, the newly-popular Trucker Hat of Doom format prevailed. This was pioneered at the Brooklyn Qualifier, where it was the Skull of Doom, and what it entails is having a bunch of pre-selected second round songs in a hat (or cranium), and second-round competitors can either choose from the hat, or just do whatever the previous competitor did. Despite nearly wiping out and risking serious bodily injury, Son of Angus did not carry the evening; neither did Eddie Hands Flailin' with his destroyed pants. The ultimate winner of the night was Crystal Richter, proving once again that air guitar skill can run in a family. In second place was Pork Sword, because what St. Louis wants out of life is to be terrified. These victors will be competing in the Midwest Semi-Final in Chicago, July 19th!
Crystal Richter
photo credit: usairguitar
You may have noticed reading this recap that a lot of the names were the same as in the Kansas City qualifier. That is correct - it was a KC invasion! You might not have thought of Kansas City as a powerhouse of air guitar (you may not have thought of Kansas City at all), but recognize, it is. They are so intense that they cannot be contained in one city!
So, are you too full of airness to be contained? Are you thinking about signing up next year?
