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.