Can we just get this out on the table? I am so jealous of everyone who was in Chicago for the Midwest US Air Guitar Semi-Finals on Saturday. I was out with friends, having what any reasonable person would think was a good time, and I was all discombobulated and cranky, and I'm going to chalk that up to wishing I was in Chicago, rather than the fact that I was forced to play pool.
The first thing you need to understand about why this semi-final was destined for greatness is the sheer depth of talent coming into it. Sure, like all the semi-finals, the air guitarists involved were all past winners, current winners or runners-up, qualifier organizers, and dedicated competitors. This one drew from Chicago, of course (for which qualifier I had no recap, sorry), as well as Minneapolis, Denver, Des Moines, and Houston. I don't know if you already know this, but that list includes some hotbeds. Chicago is a major powerhouse city for air guitar; Denver's no joke either, and while the others may be smaller, they each bring at least one person in who has major air guitar chops. I could just list off names and wave my hands around about how excellent they are, but instead, let me give you the highlight reel of the first round:
- There were two mariachis: Airiachi and El Mairiachi. El Mairiachi kept it fairly traditional with his song choice, whereas Airiachi went swiftly into straight up shredding mode.
- Another pair was Viva La Muerte and Airleigh Legal, both wearing wings... Viva La Muerte's in black, and Airleigh Legal's in white.
- Diane Cletus (guest blogger of the Kansas City qualifier recap!) showed us her confederate flag undies and rocked a Donnas song, which... why don't more people play the Donnas? The Donnas are great.
- In other undergarments news, The White Flame removed her bra (from inside her shirt, pervs) and brought dance skills and a usually-unknown gracefulness to her performance.
- Dry Ice burst out of a bag to terrify everyone as usual. His sister, Venena, competed against him having won the Houston qualifier.
- Sonic Bitch made a major announcement - she, like Nashville's Cleoplectra, was air guitaring for two - and then promptly snorted a line of air cocaine off her air guitar.
- If, like me, you were disappointed not to have any word of Weird Wallace at the Chicago qualifier, dry your tears: he was there at the semi-final, doing a Hives song (like me!) and running into a wall.
Going into the second round, the pack was led by Rocky Rhoads, which many fans, yours truly included, felt has been long deserved. She was followed by a 4-way tie between Sonic Bitch, Flying Finn, Weird Wallace, and Dry Ice, and then Chicago qualifier winner and new competitor Midnight Maniaxe. Scores were close, especially coming out of the tie from the first round, and performances were red-hot - there was even an air-off for the 4th-place spot, which normally would be fine with a tie, but now that US Air Guitar has made a big announcement about sending the top 4, rather than top 3, from each semi-final to nationals, 4th place is a big deal! This was contested between Midnight Maniaxe and Weird Wallace, and Weird Wallace ultimately took it.
Weird Wallace round 2
photo credit An Phan
In his bid to take down Rocky's strong first-round scores and the intense competition of Flying Finn, Dry Ice took a flying leap off the stage... and his bravery was rewarded with the win! And with an injury to his foot or ankle. In a lovely display of air guitar family, The White Flame picked him up and carried him to a couch backstage.
So, heading on to US Air Guitar Nationals in LA August 17th, Chicago's winner, Dry Ice, followed, in order, by Flying Finn, Rocky Rhoads, and Weird Wallace!
Dry Ice
photo credit An Phan
For a bunch of great videos of most of the competitors' first rounds, check out this Youtube channel!