Girl at the Rock Shows

It has been over twenty years since I saw OK Go live. The date was April 18th, 2003, to be exact (I was 13, and that’s just weird to think about if I’m being honest…) It’s weird, but I remember the show somewhat vividly. It was White Light Motorcade, The Donnas, and OK Go. I still have the mustard yellow OK Go T-shirt that I had the band sign after the performance. It wasn’t the first show I ever went to, and I have been to literally thousands of shows since then, yet something about that night sticks in my memory to this day. Because of this, I was beyond excited when I got the approval email to shoot OK Go as they kicked off their new tour at the legendary First Avenue venue in Minneapolis on Thursday night.

Before I get into the magic that was the headlining set from OK Go, I want to introduce you to two of my new favorite bands starting with the first opener- Mirthquake. From what I can tell, Mirthquake is a fairly new band (although I could be wrong about that), but you wouldn’t have been able to tell that based on their performance on Thursday night. The duo took the stage with a sense of power that didn’t let up at any point during their thirty-minute opening set. Although it was obvious that the uber-sold-out was anxiously awaiting OK Go to take the stage, they were respectful of Mirthquake’s indie-rock anthems and responded to each song with polite applause and quiet hoots and hollers. This duo had driven their Honda-CRV to get to this show which, although just a small tidbit in what I will assume to be a long journey and story for this band, I felt like hearing this little factoid added charm and a sense of personality that shined throughout the set.

Following Mirthquake was Vancouver, B.C.-based Winona Forever (not to be confused with Winona Fighter– come on people, let’s diversify these band names, please). Although at the beginning of the set, I had the two bands with similar names confused, Winona Forever was quick to carve their own spot in my heart. Like Mirthquake, Winona Forever has a very indie-pop vibe to them but their sound is so much more than that. They take elements of everything from a grungy attitude to spacey and almost fuzzy rock riffs and combine it all to create an infectious sound that is only highlighted by their powerful stage presence. Again, the audience was receptive to Winona Forever’s sound while also clearly getting even more anxious for the headliners of the night. Outside of the mullet envy I had looking at one of the member’s hair (seriously, amazing mullet on one of the band members– bravo!), I enjoyed every second of Winona Forever’s set.

Now, the moment me and the rest of the sold-out audience was waiting for- OK Go. You know this band. you may know their catchy pop songs or maybe you know them for their super creative music videos that are so easy to watch over and over again. Regardless, you know them and being able to see them kick off their tour on Thursday night was truly a dream come true and a night I will not forget.

Right away, I knew that OK Go’s setlist and curation of songs was going to be on point. They started their set by playing “This Too Shall Pass,” which was quickly followed up by “Get Over It”. It was truly banger after banger throughout a set that lasted eighteen tracks and was followed by a three-song encore. Each song was not only played with a clear sense of personality (more on that in a second) but also performed with a sense of passion and heart. This Chicago-bred band may have been playing since 1998, but it was clear on Thursday night that, even after all of that time, they still truly love what they are doing, and I love the way that translated into their set.

Although the music was great, it was the personality and charm of frontman Damian Kulash that had me smiling from ear to ear to the point where it hurt. From quirky comments between tracks (like calling the band out by admitting, “I know it seems like we, as a band, don’t really do much,” and the proceeding to play a brand new song on a forthcoming album due out soon) to entertaining a Q&A from the audience multiple times throughout the night (at one point someone asked when we were all going to go weightless to which the answer turned into answering the question of when Earth is going to enter a freefall — Obviously the first week of November), I just loved the fun and carefree nature of everything Damian did. His personality was not the only one that shined. Everyone on that stage had something about them that stood out, but me telling you about all of those little quirks and moments would take far too long.

One of the many stand out moments of the lengthy set on Thursday was when Damian moved from the stage to the audience to play two acoustic songs. Not only did this intimate moment showcase the relationship that people seem to have with this band even after all of these years, it showcased Damien’s true vocal talent. The two songs were flawlessly performed but also came off as having a very raw sense of emotion, adding a dynamic to the night that I wasn’t quite expecting.

The band didn’t have treadmills on stage or go weightless at any given point (both of those things are in reference to their brilliant music videos), but they did give one hell of a performance that, after decades, still left me completely shocked, in love, stunned, impressed, and feeling passionate about live music again. I wish I could find the right words to really describe how amazing the night was, but, like so many other shows that leave me speechless, even as a writer who has been covering shows for years at this point, I am completely lost for the right ones to truly convey the brilliance of OK Go’s performance on Thursday.

It has been 7,755 days since the last time I saw OK Go. I still remember that show and will surely remember the show on Thursday for another 7,755 days. Could this set be in the running for the best set of the year? I think so!

Line Up:

Mirthquake

Winona Forever

OK Go

Venue: First Avenue

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing

Average Age of the Crowd: 48

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Dance-ability- 8.9 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- So much confetti

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 1

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Mirthquake – 0

Winona Forever – 0

Ok Go – 1

Celebrity Sightings – Andy of Whiskey Rock N Roll Club Mpls

Overall Score – 11 out of 10

Show on Deck — Slobberbone / Frog Holler / Chip Robinson / Tyne Darling

Shameless Self Promotion:

Join My Patreon Here!

Buy Me a Coffee (Seriously!)

Check Out My Playlist Here!