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Arisia 2007: Luke Skiing
Jan. 20th, 2007 02:29 amNot to worry folks, the Arisia posts are almost at an end. Promise! But I did want to say a few words about the Great Luke Ski, who was the filk GoH.
I was pretty excited to see him; Luke is hot stuff on the Dr. Demento show, with frequent representation in the Funny Five. But the initial reaction from the crowd echoed the response Dylan got when he went electric in 1966: "What is this creature, and why is it on our stage?" Filkers are pretty hidebound folk, and Luke does a lot of things that aren't filk-kosher: he raps, he uses backing tracks, he relies heavily on electronics. By the end of any given performance, most of the crowd was with him, cheering and laughing and holding up lighters, but the initial resistance was palpable. Odd to watch, but it highlights the very real differences between filkers and parodists. (I've always been more comfortable putting myself in the latter group, though I think they are, slowly, converging, or at least the middle is expanding.)
Anyway, Luke performed for the Rocky floor show, the Masquerade half-time show, and his solo concert, and I got to see all three. Woo! (He also deejayed the Prom at the End of the Universe, and co-hosted Mystery Spatula Theater 11.) The highlights were probably his video for Stealin' Like a Hobbit, an Eminem pastiche based on LotR; his Lehreresque fannish Christmas medley; the Billy Joel parody "Act in a film, you're Keanu, man"; and the Star Wars Prequel Homesick Blues (for which he simply stood in place, dropping text cards, a la the Dylan video).
I got a chance to chat briefly with him after the main concert—he was duly impressed by Dr. D's quick response to Seven Bladed Razor, though he missed its single solitary airing—and after the Masquerade he called me over to comment on my Dr. Forrester costume. My fanboy needs were well met indeed.
I was pretty excited to see him; Luke is hot stuff on the Dr. Demento show, with frequent representation in the Funny Five. But the initial reaction from the crowd echoed the response Dylan got when he went electric in 1966: "What is this creature, and why is it on our stage?" Filkers are pretty hidebound folk, and Luke does a lot of things that aren't filk-kosher: he raps, he uses backing tracks, he relies heavily on electronics. By the end of any given performance, most of the crowd was with him, cheering and laughing and holding up lighters, but the initial resistance was palpable. Odd to watch, but it highlights the very real differences between filkers and parodists. (I've always been more comfortable putting myself in the latter group, though I think they are, slowly, converging, or at least the middle is expanding.)
Anyway, Luke performed for the Rocky floor show, the Masquerade half-time show, and his solo concert, and I got to see all three. Woo! (He also deejayed the Prom at the End of the Universe, and co-hosted Mystery Spatula Theater 11.) The highlights were probably his video for Stealin' Like a Hobbit, an Eminem pastiche based on LotR; his Lehreresque fannish Christmas medley; the Billy Joel parody "Act in a film, you're Keanu, man"; and the Star Wars Prequel Homesick Blues (for which he simply stood in place, dropping text cards, a la the Dylan video).
I got a chance to chat briefly with him after the main concert—he was duly impressed by Dr. D's quick response to Seven Bladed Razor, though he missed its single solitary airing—and after the Masquerade he called me over to comment on my Dr. Forrester costume. My fanboy needs were well met indeed.
