Ke$ha and MTV host Ghostfinger and Party Cannon at Springwater 

The Spin

February 17, 2011 Music » The Spin

The Spin
Share
click to enlarge spin1-1.jpg

Glitter cannon

After sitting in bumper-to-bumper hell for two hours on our way home from work in the middle of last week's snowstorm, we decided to abandon the Spinmobile in the vicinity of Centennial Park, finding ourselves at the doorstep of Nashville's reigning petri dish — The Springwater Supper Club — which we discovered was unusually crowded for 9 p.m. on a snow-stricken Wednesday night. Then we remembered, "Oh yeah, Ke$ha's supposedly pulling some sort of secret-show maneuver here tonight." Marking the occasion would be exclusive performances from Ghostfinger and the triumphant return of Party Cannon, who we hear are Ke$ha's all-time favorite Nashville band.

So exclusive was this happening that members of both bands were flown in on MTV's dime — a setup for a documentary the former music network is doing on Lady Tik-Tok. But when we arrived, the performing artists and pop stars of the hour were still nowhere to be seen. Skeptical, we began wondering if this was all just an elaborate ploy to get The Spin out to see The Pushy Lips, who kept our mellow harshed with an angst-ridden set of megaphone-laden awk-rock. We drank beer.

Skipping ahead: By the time Ghostfinger were tearing through local-rock nugget "Aminal Eye," the "showroom" — stripped of its familiar booths and tables — was packed. But aside from the slight makeover, it still just felt like your garden-variety, smoke-oppressed night at Springwater. There were still no signs of The '$ha, and still no signs of the phantom MTV crew.

That all changed in an instant, when a fleet of we-mean-business production peeps stormed into the building, clad in North Face gear, donning Secret Service-style earpieces and clutching walkie-talkies, notes and camera gear worth two or three times The Spin's annual salary. So it was hard not to notice the imitation (?) mink-clad, newfangled pop star as she made her entrance into club beneath the mobile glow of camera lights. She made a few rounds as Party Cannon — decked out like Southern Thrift's answer to The Village People — set up the stage for their long-missed onslaught of punk and pyrotechnic pandemonium.

Truth be told, it felt like many in attendance didn't have much prior knowledge, or really even seem to care, that Ke$ha was in the house — they were just stoked to see Party Cannon. Which is good, because The '$ha wasn't really doing much besides hobnobbing with people the likes of Richie Ghostfinger, Ben Martin and Tony Youngblood.

After a frenzy of PAs and security bumping into as many people as possible to set up shots, Ke$ha parted the crowd en route to her only — as far as we could tell — onstage appearance of the night, to introduce Party Cannon by simply yelling into the mic, "Get fahhhhked uhhhhhp!" Sage pearls, Ke$ha. Sage pearls.

To anyone who'd seen Party Cannon years ago, the chaotic caveman-cock-punk odes to partying, bubble-gum and dudes (on dudes), crowd-berating requests for Miller Lite and low-rent fireworks were nothing new. But for the good people of MTV, a Wednesday night at Springwater, or at least a Party Cannon show, proved to be a little much. Three songs in and they were outta there.

While we'd like to think they were scared off by the repeated requests for "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" we were shouting — over the reports of Black Cat strands that were filling the already oppressively, uh, smoggy supper club with smoke and the rank stench of sulfur — we have a feeling it was the momentary melee that ensued when an associate of the band (who will remain unnamed) loosed a lit firework into the crowd, managing to nail The Spin in the chest. It landed at our feet, detonating and forever quashing our hopes of ever again hearing high frequencies.

Security swiftly ejected the firebrand from the room, causing a temporary, needle-skip-off-record moment, provoking angry chants from crowd and band alike, prompting — to the crowd's delight — an immediate exodus of the MTV crew. Ke$ha, however, stayed behind and continued to rock out and make rounds.

Wanna try out for the new reality series Cumberland Shore? Email thespin@nashvillescene.com.

The Spin archives »

  • The Spin

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this thread:
By Email
With RSS

Add a comment

Recent Comments

Sign Up! For the Scene's email newsletters






* required

The SouthComm Set Nfocus | The City Paper | LEO Weekly | NashvillePost.com | Medical News Papers

All contents © 1995-2013 City Press LLC, 210 12th Ave. S., Ste. 100, Nashville, TN 37203. (615) 244-7989.
All rights reserved. No part of this service may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of City Press LLC,
except that an individual may download and/or forward articles via email to a reasonable number of recipients for personal, non-commercial purposes.
Powered by Foundation