“Live for rock n roll,
And I’ll die, before I sell my soul.”

~TaT “Live For Rock”

If there was anything I learned from the 2009 Mattress Factory Urban Garden Party, it is that everyone should be a rock star for at least one night of their lives.

The party, which took place both in the museum and in a gigantic tent on the grounds outside, was an intense and amazing night of rock and roll. And Mattress Factory did everything they could to stick to the theme of “Party Like a Rock Star.” Upon arriving, guests were greeted by Rolling Stones cover band Jumpin’ Jack Flash, who performed for a large portion of the night on a small stage set up on scaffolding above the garden wall. As you approached the entrance to the museum, camera-wielding paparazzi descended on you, taking shots that would later end up showing on the screens inside.

Tickets were traded for backstage passes on chains. Upon entering the building itself, guests were offered a Jell-O shot while walking past a hot tub full of beautiful people. The walls were covered in spray paint, including a giant sign over the hot tub reading “Slippery When Wet.” Mock-concert fliers featuring the names of major sponsors were plastered all over. Somehow, all of this visual cacophony didn’t distract from the silent auction items lining the wall, including posters of The Police, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and Led Zepplin frontman Robert Plant, as well as rock inspired art pieces.

The drinking didn’t stop in the entryway. Shots and wine were being served out of a giant white limo in the main tent, and occasionally a friendly woman in a naughty nurse’s outfit would come by to offer you another shot or two. Penn Brewery was offering two different kinds of beer which were both tapped out by the end of the evening. There was even branded absinthe, though since it didn’t contain wormwood none of us were really partying with the Green Fairy.

Food was provided by local Pittsburgh restaurants, and there was more than enough of it. Party goers could nibble on anything from pita with curry hummus from the Quiet Storm to amazing cuts of meat from Capital Grille. Though, one of the highlights of the catering had to be M Catering serving up Elvis’ favorites: grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches and chocolate milk.

But the museum and caterers weren’t alone in sticking to theme! While there was officially no dress code, guests showed up in outfits ranging from normal concert wear (jeans and a band tee) to costumes celebrating their favorite rockers. Among the guests were Janis Joplin, Sid Vicious and John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The latter pair spent a decent amount of time hanging out in the hookah tent, posing with “WAR IS OVER” signs.

Celebrities also took the stage…or at least reasonable facsimiles of celebrities. Several fantastic celebrity impersonators took over the catwalk to salute Britney Spears, Grace Jones, Beyonce and Tina Turner. Also taking to the stage were bellydancers from Pittsburgh’s Zafira troupe and, because it was a rock star party after all, pole dancers from Oh My, You’re Gorgeous. But perhaps the best part of the night was when the party guests took over the stage, dancing like crazy. People who in their day to day lives might have been fairly mild climbed up onto the catwalk to shimmy, shake, bump and grind with total strangers.

Then again, that seems to shed light the rock star mindset. In order to get up onstage and perform and generally be larger than life, there’s got to be a part of you willing to turn off your inhibitions. To write music that gets people moving, that challenges what’s come before it, you need to be able to shut off the part of your brain that says “Someone like YOU can’t do this.”

And that’s also the idea behind contemporary art. Artists need to be able to shake off any nagging mental voices saying “You can’t do that,” or even “That’s not art!” Artists need to have the rock star mentality…or maybe rock stars need to have the artistic mentality. Or maybe, just maybe, they’re utterly interchangeable and that’s why rock and art go together.

Of course, the booze helps, too.