 "Photo: Oliver Scott Snure/Collegian")
Despite a noted lack of treadmills, the band most known for their YouTube busting video, OK Go, put on an enticing performance at the Pearl Street Nightclub on Wednesday, March 11. The band’s edgy geek rock music lent itself well to a live setting.
The last time OK Go came to the
They started off the night with “Shooting the Moon,” off the unreleased album. Opting for a progressive entrance, the group began the song one person at a time, starting with Tim Norwood on a bass drum followed by each member entering the stage, adding in their respective instruments separately. The first half of the night was marked by a few of their more reserved songs such as “Oh Lately It’s So Quiet,” peppered by their new material which seemed slightly less boisterous and more anthem-like compared to some of their more punk-inspired songs such as “Get Over It,” which features repetitive and shouty refrains.
Midway through the night frontman Damian Kulash tried his hand at storytelling, saying that he had been asked by a church group if they could perform one of their songs. He used this as a bridge to introduce the next song: “What To Do,” performed with hand bells. “We thought that since our music is being brought into the church, we would bring the church to you!” Damien joked. After this the group played an acoustic version of one of their new songs, “Last Leaf.” The two renditions broke up any monotony that may have developed and segued into the last set of songs that crescendoed to the last encore.
The second half of the band’s performance brought with it heightened energy, confetti and even tambourines thrown into the crowd, which was reminiscent of its performance from the spring concert of 2007. OK Go finished the night with “Do What You Want” which solicited enough response from the audience to bring the band back on for a three-song encore.
The band’s musical style is difficult to pin down as it seems to be inspired by a very comprehensive array of influences. In an exclusive interview after the show, Kulash explained a little about his writing process and some artists who inspire his lyrics.
“The lyricists I like come from two very different schools and it’s very hard to mix them.” said Kulash. “One is simple and direct and articulate – Elvis Costello is a good example – and the other is sonic and aesthetic, so The Pixies for example... I try very hard to write things that are simple and straightforward. However, it's very hard to make things that are simple and straightforward sound musical, because if you say exactly what you mean it winds up sounding pathetic most of the time. It takes me way too long to write lyrics and frankly it’s not all that fun of a process for me – but I usually wind up with something I'm pretty happy with.”
An audio recording of the aforementioned interview with Damien Kulash will be available on Dailycollegian.com later this week.
Oliver Scott Snure can be reached at ssnure@student.umass.edu.
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