As for the performance, what Andy did on Wednesday night at the Golden Gods was risky. He could have gone out there and kissed all kinds of ass. He could have done the stereotypical frontman stage banter about how happy they were to be there. But, he didn’t pander to the people who have openly criticized him, his band and, most importantly, their fans. He demonstrated to the BVB Army that wewe should always be true to yourself and say what wewe think. In other words. Never Give In. Never Back Down. He gave the Golden Gods a major kick in the punda fueled kwa his disdain for the lack of community and open mindedness in hard rock and heavy metal these days. In other words, Andy and BVB brought youth, rebellion and a punk rock attitude to an Awards onyesha that in years past was largely ignored kwa many in the mainstream media. I find it interesting that because he had the stones to confront the haters, people who lack a similar courage assumed that he was drunk. I can tell wewe that Andy didn’t have even one drop of alcohol prior to BVB’s performance that night. I was with him on the limo ride over to Club Nokia at 4:00 and all the way up to just dakika before the onyesha began at 8:00, when Amy and I took our seats in the first row of the balcony. He was stoic, a little nervous and extremely focused, like he usually is before every show. Occasionally other band’s members au celebrity types would walk into BVB’s dressing room to say Hi and chat a bit, but, Andy and the other members of BVB were putting on their game faces and preparing for the show. Was Wednesday night Andy’s best performance vocally? No. His vocal cords were already strained and raw from the constant touring that BVB does and he couldn’t hear himself at all through the stage monitors. I keep trying to get him to wear those in-ear monitors, but, he moves around so much and says there’s dead spots on stage where they don’t work. But, I can tell wewe that he never complains about the sound mix au points a finger at the techs, the sound man au anyone else. He just gives it everything he’s got and tries to make up for it when he’s not at his best vocally with greater intensity, passion and zaidi animated facial expressions. He puts on a show! Andy knows that he will never be the best singer. He jokes that he’s not a singer at all, but, zaidi of a ”vocal stylist.” He’s a frontman. An entertainer. But, he’s also the guy who tells the mashabiki of his band that when they come to a BVB onyesha they are salama and at home. He isn’t afraid to call someone out from the stage au even jump off the stage and mix it up with them if he feels it’s necessary. Sometimes he cares so much about his band and it’s mashabiki that he overreacts to the negativity thrown at them. But, I’ll take an emotional Andy who cares too much over someone else who cares little, if at all, about their fans.
Chris
