Friday Night // Concert and Movie Viewing
The Achievers (fans of The Big Lebowski) trickled into the 8th Annual Lebowski Fest’s movie night on a humid Friday night in Louisville. Many were dressed in simple Achiever shirts while other, more fervent fans were dressed as characters (or even concepts) from the film. White Russian, beer and food stands lined the outside of the lawn as festival goers set up chairs to enjoy the evenings events including performances by local acts Whistle Peak and Black Diamond Heavies, the comedy of Rob Riggle, an appearance by Philip Moon (who plays Woo the Carpet Pisser in the movie) and, finally, a large outdoor showing of the reason for the festival, The Big Lebowski. The long and narrow lawn gave off the feeling of a company picnic or rather than a festival, but it was the perfect for groups of friends and Lebowski fans due to its more intimate nature.
The crowd mingled and drank as they waited for Whistle Peak to take the stage at 8:30. The five piece included keys, a harmonica and a ukulele in additional to the usual guitar, bass and drums. Keeping true to their Louisville roots, a subtle twang was noticeable in their rock sound that also featured poppy overtones. On the whole, I found Whistle Peak’s sound mellow, inoffensive and fairly easy to ignore – perfect background music for catching with old and making new Achiever friends.
The festival’s creators, Scott Shuffitt and Will Russell, walked around dressed as bowling pins, posing for pictures with other Achievers before introducing Black Diamond Heavies. Black Diamond Heavies, whose drummer Van Campbell hails from Louisville, have a dirty garage rock sound that still manages great melodies in all its grungy greatness. Singer James Leg’s got distinct smoky and gritty vocals similar to Tom Waits’, no doubt due to years of a nicotine habit (he lit up on stage). I’d heard of the duo before, but never realized how awesome they are until they tore up the stage at Lebowski Fest. Several audience members jumped up to dance around to the fast-paced, lively sounds. They really got the crowd amped for their beloved Big Lebowksi when they ended their set with covers of Kenny Rogers’ “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)” and “Man In Me” by Bob Dylan.
Following Black Diamond Heavies, and crashing hard, was comedian and Louisville native Rob Riggle. He made jokes about the TARP and the Detroit auto industry bail out, mens bathrooms at sports stadiums, sell out jokes about a watered down horse piss beer and he trashed Spencer Pratt, recounting fantasies of wanting to murder the realitard celeb. Rob Riggle is not funny. At all. Neither I nor none of the people around me laughed at all. This was the only lowlight of the evening.
Before The Big Lebowski viewing, Philip Moon came out on stage to “piss” on a carpet (he turned his back to the crowd and opened a can of soda, letting the contents spill from near his crotchal region) like his character, Woo, in the film. The crowd got a huge kick out of this and cheered loudly. He then told an anecdote about his scene, in which Jeff Bridges (Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski) asked whether or not the toilet he was about to get his head dunked in had been washed. Directors the Cohen Brothers, totally deadpan, informed Bridges that the crew had all shit in it. This also drew roars from the crowd, but only received about half the applause that a “satellite link” (it was totally pre-recorded) message from Jeff Bridges himself received. Then it was time for The Big Lebowski. Achievers quoted the film, hooting and hollering at key scenes, reveling in all they’ve come to love about the Cohen Brothers’ cult hit.
My only grievance with the Fest is that I wish they’d had compostable cups and plates, or at the very least recycling. Other than that, I had a blast and couldn’t wait for the next day’s documentary, lawn party and bowling party.
Check back for coverage of the Saturday afternoon Garden Party and Saturday night Bowling Party
Speed of Sound Tour Dates (A Lebowski Fest near you!:
Denver - Sept. 8th & 9th
Minneapolis - Sept. 11th & 12th
Chicago - Sept. 13th – 15th
Toronto - Sept. 17th & 18th
Boston - Sept. 19th & 20th
New York City – Sept. 22nd – 24th
Philadelphia - Sept. 25th & 26th
Washington DC – Sept. 28th & 29th
Austin – Oct. 9th & 10th
Lebowski Fest: website | tickets
Having gone to the 8th Annual Lebowski Fest in its mecca of Louisville, I was stoked that creators Will and Scott would be stopping in Philadelphia on the Speed of Sound tour — a cross country tour bringing all the things Lebowski to major cities including New York, Denver, Boston, Austin and many more. The two-day party started Friday at the Electric Factory with a performance by the semi-raucous Black Diamond Heavies and a very of the fest’s namesake film. Typically a standing room only venue, the Electric Factory had set up row after row of plastic chairs so as to make the Achievers (fans of The Big Lebowski) more comfortable for the 117 minute duration of the film.
