The 2014 US Air Guitar season has officially started! Brooklyn got it all under way and served notice to the rest of the country. If May 1's qualifier is anything to go by, it's going to be an incredible season!
Jean-Luc Pickguard
photo credit Alix Piorun
The evening was put together by Jean-Luc Pickguard and Mathromancer, both of whom actually competed (you can do that?), and hosted by legends Shreddy Mercury and William Ocean. There is so much airness in that sentence already that I could stop here and call it a day, and you'd still have your face rocked off. Plus you can already tell the judging was going to be fair because Justice Rocktor was one of the judges, and he has "justice" right in his name. He still got booed and flipped off sometimes. Hey, if you inspire passion in the fans, I think that means you're doing something right!
The competitors included veterans - including Airistotle, Windhammer, and the return to the scene of both G Tso Money and Ricky Stinkfingers - and a raft of new competitors. Obviously Brooklyn is a place you have to bring your A game since the talent is so deep there, but that was no problem for the newbies. I think Geannie Simmons is particularly going to be one to watch in future competitions. Her costume game is certainly on point, and she elicited a chorus of "WHOA"s across the Twittersphere. Beers were spewed, crowds were surfed, Nahk Akcor (I'll wait... got it?) took a phone call from his mom in mid-performance. As you do.
Halftime brought a guy billed as a "Heavy Metal Magician," which sounds like a perfect fit, honestly, and then the second round was announced: a top 6, due to a tie at first place between Airistotle and Stinkfingers. Upholding my "not the year of the new person anymore" prediction, the entire second round was veterans.
Is this problematic? Is this even worth commenting on? I don't know. I feel like a first-timer doesn't expect to make the second round, which is fine, it IS a competition and you DO have to be good at it to win - but when I say "veterans," I don't just mean "has done it before." I mean someone who is a fixture of the circuit, a member of the family, someone who knows half the room or more. And I love all these people and can't wait to see them again this season, but I also want the circle to get bigger. But this is the first qualifier of many, and it's in a market that is well-known for having tons of talented competitors. I'm going to withhold judgment for now.
As to the actual content of the second round, Brooklyn pioneered the "Skull of Doom" last year where competitors had to choose a song out of the hat, er, skull. It's still a song they didn't plan for and are hearing the edit for the first time. That caught on like wildfire and plenty of other qualifiers used that format. Brooklyn brought it back this year, and its dangerous gamble paid off for some competitors... not so much for others. The Marquis pulled out GWAR. The phrase "deer in headlights" was used. Not his night. But Airistotle came out with Crimson Glory, which isn't the kind of thing we've come to expect from the mayor of pop-punk, and crushed it anyway. And I'm just going to leave this tweet here to describe Mathromancer's second round:
THE TINIEST WIZARD CROWD SURFS! THERE ARE BODILY FLUIDS EVERYWHERE! #usairguitar
— US Air Guitar (@usairguitar) May 2, 2014
Truly, he is the Tiniest Wizard. And yes, he competed and got scored despite being an organizer of the event. But there were two organizers. So don't get excited - only one can get the pass to the semifinals.
The real story of the second round, though, was Ricky Stinkfingers, who yanked up his... nightshirt? long t-shirt thing? whatever - and exposed a banana hammock, scarring the judges for life but getting him tied for first place with Airistotle and Mathromancer. Take that lesson to heart. You want to win? Show off the goods.
Ricky Stinkfingers ruining everything forever in round 2
photo credit @ItsJustATaste on Instagram
You read that right - a 3-way tie for first place. Since the top 3 from each qualifier advance to the semis, this means Brooklyn is sending Airistotle, Mathromancer, and Ricky Stinkfingers to the Northeast Semifinal in July!
Inspired to sign up? Or at least to attend? Here's how you can compete or buy tickets for Boston's Qualifier May 24!
