OK Go plays Austin

"Invincible" with Damian.

Last night I saw OK Go for the seventh time. This would make them the band I have seen the most (breaking the tie with Webb Wilder at six but he may re-establish the tie later this mont and They Might Be Giants would be the runner-up at five). Sadly, they weren’t the headliner this time which always seems to be the gripe I have when they play at Emo’s. It was still an awesome show to kick off Spring in Austin before all the Poseur Invasion comes to town for South by Southworst (you know your local music festival is over when it has a golf tournament). Forgive my brief griping, my site is about the cool, pleasant things, not to editorialize. This show definitely catered to my aginglifestyle by having the first band hit the stage at 5:30 so the acts I wanted to see were on at times before my daily fatigue would set in. 
 
For me, the first and the headlining bands didn’t mean anything to me, especially with how much the headliner was trying to sound like the Flaming Lips. Nope, this was a Chicago double biller: Plain White Ts and OK Go (even though OK Go moved to LA). What made it even better was Damian (lead singer of OK Go) putting me on the guest list so there was more money to spend on swag (shirts usually). Due to her schedule, Somara couldn’t make it and I had the pleasure of Kate’s company. Kate contributed to the site’s Best of 2005 plus she’s a fellow music fan, especially of OK Go. After Somara, I think Kate is a great surrogate when it comes to my wife and a love of OK Go. Besides, we’re kindred being born under the sign of Leo (our birthdays are a day apart give or take 14 years). And when it comes to two or more Leos, the control of the conversation will constantly shift between us.

Tim, our hero with the guest-list issue.

Anyway, there was a little confusion at the door with Emo’s. Damian didn’t turn in the guest list right away which resulted in us being treated rudely by their staff. I took it in stride since I empathize with them a tad. When it comes to show business, there’s always a horde of people lying about one thing or another. This results in having one’s BS detector set to 11, thus the curt manner and profanity (from them, not me) in how our situation being handled. Kate proposed paying for tickets but I insisted on waiting a bit because Damian promised in an e-mail to me. First rule of show business I learned from Dr. Havice at Marquette, “don’t offer if you don’t mean it,” which cuts both ways. I was being a little adamant when I told Kate, “it’s not the money, it’s the principle.” Besides, I told her that I have had correspondence with Damian over the years and this show was a way to prove the claim I knew the band. We’re not tight, we’re more casual associates. When they come to Austin, they know who I am, I talk to each member, score an autograph or picture, then wish them well and get out of their face so another fan can have face time. After a quick walk around the block we spotted Tim (bass player, vocalist). I politely told him who I was and our dilemma. He quickly called Damian to find out the status of the guest list. This also resulted in OK Go’s tour manager Mike to come out to greet me with an apology (I quickly told him it wasn’t needed, these things happen—second rule of show business from me, always be polite and show gratitude without being a kissass). Mike said it was all taken care of now so Kate and me took our place back in line with no further confusion with the Emo’s staff. What a relief too! Now we had more swag money and I proved to Kate that I wasn’t full of crap about my interactions with OK Go. 
 
With the adventure of getting admitted for free concluded, enjoying the show was a breeze. Nothing makes one feel “old” like a rock concert too. I was definitely on the right side of the age curve here. Kate not so much but the majority did have the stamps on both hands, under 21. These days I don’t really care because I’m thrilled to be amongst other people who enjoy good music regardless of their age. Sometimes their enthusiasm became unruly with all the constant crowd surfing which I feel is rather contrived these days, more on that later.

Plain White Ts rocking Emo's.

Plain White Ts hit the stage and despite some initial mixing issues with their opening number, I really like this band even more. I bought their current CD last year after being impressed with their entry on the Oingo Boingo tribute [“Better Luck Next Time”]. When it comes to performing live, they delivered. I can only hope their albums sell decently and they join the ranks of well-known bands from Chicago on the national consciousness with Smashing Pumpkins. These guys definitely raised the energy level of the crowd so when OK Go hit the stage, the audience was on the equivalent of a sugar rush.

Preparation for the dance to "A Million Ways."

 OK Go hit the stage after 7 pm and raised the intensity the Plain White Ts started. They mainly performed songs from their current album Oh No but threw in past hits “Get over It” and “Don’t Ask Me.” Since they were the third opener, OK Go only had a 40-minute set so other favorites “You’re So Damn Hot” and “The Fix is in” (the one where they substitute Austin for Boston in the lyrics) were skipped in favor of tracks “Invincible,” “Television, Television,” “No Sign of Life,” “Do What You Want,” “A Good Idea at the Time,” and their next single “Oh Lately It’s So Quiet.” They performed a new cover that I hope will be released as a B-side, ELO’s “Don’t Bring Me Down” which sounds quite well with just guitars; it cuts out the dated, disco feel to the original. With the bulk of the crowd being under 25, guitarist and birthday boy, Andy had to get the audience going on the bridge with the rapid clapping to simulate that sound effect from the song (I have no idea what ELO had there). Back to the crowd surfing. As I said before, it’s contrived behavior, it’s disruptive and it’s annoying but for once, I felt it actually provided a unique moment for the Austin show. Right when Damian hit the false ending for “A Good Idea at the Time,” he was accidently bumped in the mouth by some idiot who got pushed up on to the stage. The microphone fell out of its stand so he had to pick it up, put it back in place, took a breath and then when right back into the song. Normally, the pause is about three seconds so when it was dragged out to 30, it was more effective and humorous. 

 
As always, they brought the house down with their dance routine to “A Million Ways.” Damian introduced with the explanation that this is their way of bringing the music video to the audience since MTV is “a steaming pile of shit.” This is my third time seeing them do this and I never grow tired of it because it’s just so funny. After the show I asked Dan (drummer) how long did it take to learn this. He said four days of practice. Then I followed up with did they hire a choreographer and he said that Damian’s sister is ballroom dancer plus they made a lot of it up.

A quick picture with Dan who doesn't miss his day job.

So I tortured Kate a bit by hanging out, trying to get my face time with the band and I even talked to Mike, the tour manager, because I always have technical questions about the show. It was Andy’s birthday so I missed my brief opportunity to talk to him and wish him happy birthday. Mike was gracious enough to explain to me how the patterns that were projected on to the stage were done. My initial guess was a couple PowerBooks running a random slideshow made by iPhoto. Nope. He whipped out his iPod that he said contained scores of patterns, then explained they are randomly shown through a piece of software from InFocus. 
 
OK Go will be back next week for SXSW [Damian will be on a panel with local deity Willie Nelson] which will give me an opportunity to drop off some Apple T-shirts for them as a thank you gift for the show. I need to score another for Mike because many people don’t know how ungrateful a tour manager’s job can be. This show has finally convinced me to buy a new digital camera, especially with one with optical zoom. My cell phone takes better pictures than this Olympus D-380. I may also want to purchase one that also removes ten pounds and additional chins on yours truly.