A lot of big promises are made in the invitation e-mail to this week's party: a Jell-O wrestling competition, open bar, barbecuing, a beer-pong tournament, and even a video promo they've posted online. These dudes seem to be throwing a serious bash. One major problem, though, is timing—their shindig conflicts with a little thing called the Capitol Hill Block Party. As hard as it is to pull myself away from the bands and free liquor on Pike Street, duty drags my ass over to "Rush House" in Wallingford.

Although it's only 9:00 p.m., the party is a meager shell of what it must have been earlier in the day. There's green Jell-O slime all over the walkway, a vacant beer-pong table, an unmanned bar, and a handful of people mingling on the porch. Downstairs in the basement, a band is jamming out to a crowd of three. Rainbow-colored lights dance across the empty room.

Upstairs, a DJ is spinning for an equally sparse crowd. Both kegs are tapped so there must have been a rager here earlier, but it has not survived into the evening. Some light pong starts up again outside, but the best action is happening in the basement. The bassist has taken off, and there's nothing else to do, so I join in on the sesh. The rest of the night is spent kicking out classic rock jams in an abandoned room. It's not quite what was expected, but a good time nonetheless. JEFF KIRBY

Want to remind The Stranger that even though we can slay the Kansas song on Guitar Hero, we still have no idea how the bass line goes? E-mail the date, place, time, and party details to partycrasher@thestranger.com.