It's hard to explain the devotion certain people have for music. You see, not all of us are graced from above to create, sing, play guitar or be blessed with great rhythm. That doesn't mean we're not able to take part in the sacred nature of the art. Some write, some are roadies, some produce, others direct videos and some of the most devout music lovers…they play air guitar. Inside all of us is a rock star willing to sing in the shower, pose in front of the mirror and live out our wildest dreams. The only difference between us and those in the National Championships is they had the guts to live out their dream in front of everyone. Anyone who creates in any form or fashion puts themselves out to a venomous world ready to judge and throw stones and yet they often wouldn't dare of doing what these finalists accomplished, even in an intoxicated state. All of this made the performances that much more bracing. You see, despite musicians who have been granted a gift from above with the talent to learn and play an instrument, not all of them can perform. There's a fine line between performing and playing. While most in the Air Guitar Championship were not musically inclined, they were fueled by their love of music and in turn put on superior performances than most heralded indie musicians of the moment. There was ardor and concentration in each of the fascinating performances at the Metro and remarkably, not a single note was plucked on any instrument for the entire evening.

To bring those of you up to speed, you get into the National Air Guitar Championships by participating in local/regional contests and as they win each battle, they proceed to the next round before making their way to Chicago this past July for the national championships. Twenty-two individuals performed on the Metro stage as they fought for the title of National Champion as three judges ranked them like Olympic ice skaters. Now, this is where the evening's proceedings took a turn for the surreal. First and foremost, despite what anyone may say all twenty-two finalists had something to share. Unlike the technical precision of ice skating, these judges (who included former musicians and previous air guitar champions) appeared to pick favorites from the get-go which skewed the voting overall. On top of this, they appeared to purposely rank everyone exceedingly close to give the impression of drama. Of the finalists, a mere .4 points separated numbers six to fifteen. Much of the comments and scores appeared to be arbitrary with the judges almost pre-selecting whom they wanted to win. The voting appeared to take a page from WWF where the winner had been pre-selected. The Chicago champion, Nordic Thunder (Justin Howard) was crowned not just the Chicago champion, but the national champion as well. I want to go on record that his performance was primitive and primal and he rightfully deserved the win. He will do the US proud in Finland next week.

The elephant in the room was how highly ranked several of the performances were despite not living up to other performances. Tony Tapatio received incredibly elevated scores that I felt were undeserved. His acting out sexual healing didn't really have anything to do with air guitar and it was bewildering to see him come in second after the initial round of performances. This was by far, the judge's biggest blunder of the evening. Dry Ice was another who felt as if he was rewarded for acting like a demented character rather than his imaginary six-string prowess. Dreamcatcher was bestowed one of the highest rankings early on and his performance was much ado about nothing. Without the Indian attire, I'm not sure if he would have received any votes. This was a case of substance over matter.

Despite my reservations of several of the rankings, the evening was full of unsung heroes. Airisol, the only female to make it to the second round, delivered a barefoot acrobatic flair which was one of the evening's highlights as she proved that air guitar isn't just for boys who haven't grown up yet but for women as well who not only don't look foolish but can be sexy as well. Mr. Serious came on stage in a suit and when he took off his jacket, his shirt and tie only covered the front. There were no sleeves and no back. He was a dark horse and gave one of the evening's more notable performances. Swirling his rail thin body around the stage took everyone by surprise and the only thing more astonishing was the dreary score the judges bestowed upon him. Vlad DM Wailer came on stage without a shirt, super tight pants and a big ol' belly that he put to good use as he jumped up and down. Thundergland (whose brother is Mr. Serious) impressed with skin tight underwear with a lightning bolt on it, but when the music began, he leaped like a frog across the stage and the Kalamazoo native had a huge response. Cold Steel Renegade hails from the San Francisco and is the regional champion there two years in a row. Shirtless and with the tightest pants of the evening showcasing all his manhood, he thrashed his head and his shirtless body like a lost thrash metal musician from the 1980's. What made Cold Steel Renegade's performance singular from several of those in the competition, is he opted to create an entirely new performance for the championships instead of relying of the one that helped him reach the finals in Chicago. While most of the performers were recycling well practiced bits, Cold Steel Renegade took a chance and didn't disappoint. Cold Steel Renegade, along with New York's Airistotle, provided the evening's most brave and gripping performances. While others attempted to outdo one another, these two evoked the bedroom intimacy of a teen in front of a mirror and let is escape on stage. In an evening where it was all about topping what had come before where style was crushing substance these two performances were most welcomed. Airistotle came in second place overall and it was incredibly well deserved. He soared off the stage and into the air like Eddie Van Halen in his prime.

Some may laugh at the absurdity of the art form of air guitar, but on any given night where a contest is taking place, you are more likely to witness a blissful performance where they lose themselves amongst the music and the performance, which is the way it should be. Somewhere along the line, the world appears to have lost its sense of humor and more importantly, it's penchant for endless Saturday nights where the music held the world at bay. Over several hours, whether I agreed with many of the scores of not, I was reminded of the inner fan that lives inside of all of us. It's easy to lose this yet seeing these twenty-two performers reminded us that even in a world of chaos, it's good to lose yourself. The Air Guitar World Championships will take place in the city of Oulu, Finland from August 24th-27th. Discover more at the official website: http://www.airguitarworldchampionships.com/