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Volume CXXXIII, Number 16 |
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Students give Ok Go thumbs up for Smith Union show
DAVIN MICHAELS
STAFF WRITER
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| Ok Go pleased the fans at their concert in Smith Union last weekend. The band sung a tune from Les Miserables and took requests at the memorable show. (Hans Law, Bowdoin Orient) |
Pop/indie rock group Ok Go visited campus last Friday and delivered an excellent concert to the assembled crowd in Smith Union.
The concert's opening band was the Exchange Students, a band that includes two previous Bowdoin alums, Chris Bail '02 and Colin Thibadeau '03. The Exchange Students opened with a great deal of force and energy, clearly having established themselves in the indie rock music scene with airplay on local radio stations.
As soon as Ok Go took the stage, the audience responded positively to their lively, informal energy. It was clear that they were there to have fun and by the looks of it, they certainly did, carrying with them the voices and applause of over 100 students. The band has one self-titled album from which they played many of their most well-known songs, but also played some new material, foreshadowing their intent to work diligently in the next year to put together another record.
The band opened with the song "There's A Fire," which included a catchy keyboard riff, immediately recognizable to all fans. Other song highlights included, "You're So Damn Hot" and a new song, "Disaster." Due to the sudden loss of a string, lead singer Damien Kulash and bassist Tim Nordwind proceeded to sing a number from the musical Les Miserables, proving themselves great singers and great performers with a sense of humor. During a slow love song, they even invited a single Bowdoin student and a friend to jump up on stage and slow dance.
The band, with its youthful behavior and crazed energy, certainly put on a hell of a show. In particular, the band allowed a free vote for the audience to choose a song to cover. The final decision was a Violent Femmes song, during which Kulash proceeded to exit the stage and run around in the audience like a maniac before returning for the finale. Their encore routine was a lip sync to one of their songs, "C-C-C-Cinnamon Lips" accompanied by comic Backstreet Boy-style choreography.
In addition to Kulash and Nordwind, who met at summer camp when they were 11 years old, Andy Duncan, the lead guitarist and keyboardist, was found in high school while drummer Dan Konopka was added to the band in college.
The band's message seems to be a basic love of rock and roll and an urge to make it fun. Their energy is derived from pure pleasure and their clever songs show that they try to make music that could be fun without being dumb. Ok Go is classified loosely as an indie pop rock band, but includes elements of stadium rock and power pop; one can hear influences from a variety of sources including the Pixies or the Cars.
The band was very receptive to the crowd of fans, offering to hang around to sign autographs, retrieve email addresses, and dedicate T-shirts to students. The band members also hung out through most of the set breakdown, opening up to conversations with students interested in their future plans.
"Right now," said Kulash, "we're going to finish touring and start working on our second record sometime soon." I think I speak for many when I say I can't wait.
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