"You guys fucked up? I'm way ahead of you." Aaron Karo's words set the pace for an evening in which the bartenders served up the most interesting entertainment. Pennfest2003, a New York City event showcasing alumni up-and-comers in the entertainment industry took place on June 11 at the Knitting Factory in downtown NYC. The bill included an author/comedian, six live musical numbers, a magician, and 20+ film clips; enough to cull a sell-out crowd of 300 within the quaint accommodations. But, though the performers were many and varied, alumni and their guests mostly showed up to hang out with their old friends and have a few beers.
Karo, the author of Ruminations, would have flopped miserably had the audience truly cared. Nearly everyone in the back room talked through his standup, and all those in the front room were unable to hear him through the din. Karo's frat boy anecdotes about tequila shots, hookers-hookers-hookers, and getting stoned featured far too much buildup and no real comedic value. He realized no one was paying attention, and tried to rouse the mob with a "So, who's from New York?" line; then he just gave up. Tellingly, "The Jewish Chris Rock" garnered far more applause while reading out the raffle winner's names than at any point during his performance.
Quickly diverting their attention away from Karo's sophomoric humor, most people got into what the event was all about -- fellowship and camaraderie. The gathered drank with fellow alums in the two bar sections, bought raffle tickets and won prizes, and did not pay much attention to the acts. The performers merely served as a backdrop to their reminiscences.
As a large projection screen descended between acts, people momentarily halted their discussions to watch brief film clips from talented producers, directors, and writers. "Apartamento," a spoof on Memento with a New Yorker and his apartment earned some chuckles. A T-Rex walked for 10 seconds on Locust Walk, the producer of FUSE TV's IMX provided a montage of show segments, and a 12 year old "Pitbull" boy beat up an older child. The gem, UK of A, which mocked the stereotypes held by Americans of Brits and vice versa was exceptionally well received.
The musical acts suffered dually from crowd disinterest and poor mixing, yet SSRI, a self-proclaimed "power pop" outfit brought a high-energy performance that riled up a few inebriates. John Gottstein and crew handled their stage time better than most, self-deprecating about their white boy rap, and molding their closer around a raised-fist, repeat-after-me chorus of "Go! Fight! Win!" Lucy Keating, Aquavibe, John Stephens, and Bobby Fingeroth also performed with mixed success.
Conjurer Ryan Oakes put his Penn education to good use in magic. Holding a light bulb, he asked, "How many Princeton students does it take to change one of these?" True to Penn form someone shouted, "Fuck Princeton!" The answer is two. One to fix martinis and the other to call the electrician. But, the point is that even in witnessing the "magic" of him breaking a light bulb inside a plastic bag, the audience was still excited to be with their old drinking buddies, given yet another opportunity to say, "Princeton sucks." Let's go Quakers!
