Friday, August 24, 2007

I want to (Air) Rock


What leads a person to want to be a rock star? Pfft, please. Who doesn’t want to be a rock star? With the legion of groupies, millions of fans, and excuse to wear sequined spandex on a daily basis, rock star is probably the most wanted occupation right up there with movie star and ninja. But what about an air guitar star? Well, that’s a question I’ve always had ever since I watched the doc The US Air Guitar Championships on August 16th, I now know why.

With the sold out crowd at The Fillmore at Irving Plaza, the fans were bananas, especially for hometown hero William Ocean, who wound up winning the whole shebang. Of course, in theory, the whole idea of air guitaring really isn’t all that amazing, not with the cultural revolution that is Guitar Hero anyway. But there’s just something about being around all those sweaty, potential rock gods in the audience that really fills you with a sense of…unity. Especially when after the show, people storm the stage and start air guitaring like they’re the stars—which they are, really, as everybody’s a star is when they’re air guitaring.

Now, if only they had a competition for air accordion…

Check out a Flickr stream of shots from the Air Guitar Championship.


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