Howdy Folks.
I had an extraordinary evening last night at the AWE championship show. I’ve never considered myself a wrestling fan, being more a Dr Who kind of guy than a Stone Cold Steve Austin type but I admire those who follow their passions and I am stoked to have been a part of their night.
I have always had my reservations about the portrayal of violence, the surface level Machismo, the Alpha Male Dominance Rituals. I even blanched a bit at the presence of ‘The Ayatollah’, one of the AWE characters - My Political Correctness sense went into overdrive, thinking about the perceptions of negative group stereotyping and….well…too much hi brow thinking without enough High Brow Understanding.
Good Versus Evil. Ecstasy. Betrayal. The universal human story all in 90 minutes. Far Out.
Psykotic explained to me that Characters often emerge to represent elements of current affairs.
They are group avatars.
The bad guys personify negative behaviours, our collective fears.
The good guys fight for us, redeem us, protect us.
It’s the cosmic story, writ large, with barrels of chest thumping and a level of athleticism and acrobatics that is impressive.
It’s story telling in a very human, very open and childlike manner. No wonder the kids are crazy for it.
These men are Humans as Legend.
Heckling and chanting from the crowd was part of it, ranging from the screams of those young enough to take it seriously to the clever commentary from the Business Dudes who had still spent $20 to get in to drink and out-heckle each other with witticisms, but who couldn’t help but get caught up. Me too!
As Psykotic says, it’s all about the story, the drama.
It’s a Passion Play in tights.
I felt connected to some ancestor of mine who might have cheered outside a circle in a town square, watching gladiators, or bare knuckle fighters, or wrestlers on the steps of the Acropolis.
Ok maybe that’s a tad too much lyrical waxing (waxing is optional), but still, I was quite taken with the whole affair.
We played some music, it was fun, we got to participate in some of the story telling and I had an absolutely outstanding evening. The song we wrote for the championships, ‘Return of the King’ was well received and we’ll get around to recording it sooner or later. I have to send a big thank you to Bodhi’s Roadies (my mates Sam & Bodhi) for volunteering on sound.
Thank you also to Psykotic, Mr Exclusive, Birdman, Mr Money (BOOO!!), Vinnie Vain (BOOO!!!!) Bash (you wuz robbed!) and all to the guys from the AWE superstars for having us along.