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OK Go At The Wiltern: Show Review

Allegra Rosenberg |
May 3, 2015 | 9:44 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Singer Damian Kulash (Allegra Rosenberg / Neon Tommy)
Singer Damian Kulash (Allegra Rosenberg / Neon Tommy)

OK Go have never been a band to make compromises, whether it’s in their exuberant rock music or their elaborate, awe-inducing music videos.

Having gone from independent band to major-label group and all the way back to indie again within the 17 years of their existence, OK Go are solid in their stature as one of the alternative scene’s most consistently impressive acts.

This fact was proven over and over again during their well-attended hometown show at the Wiltern in Hollywood, which made use of OK Go’s technological know-how, design smarts and creative enthusiasm to give the audience an experience that was so much more than just a concert.

Utilizing a combination of projection mapping, GoPro trickery, and massive air-powered confetti cannons, OK Go transformed the Wiltern into a wonderland of color and light.

SEE ALSO: 'Glitterbug' By The Wombats: Album Review

Bassist Tim Nordwind (Allegra Rosenberg / Neon Tommy)
Bassist Tim Nordwind (Allegra Rosenberg / Neon Tommy)

Playing a mix of tracks from their latest album, 2014’s Hungry Ghosts, and their past releases, they gave each song its own unique environment to live in through incredibly detailed motion graphics and lighting design.

Lighthearted Q&A sessions were scattered throughout the set, with the house lights coming up so lead singer Damian Kulash (and on one occassion, bassist Tim Nordwind) could take questions from the audience.

Along with the utterly charming banter, OK Go offered up a few more creative disruptions, such as Kulash and drummer Dan Konopka creating the backbeat for “There’s A Fire” entirely out of audience noise samples, Kulash stepping out to perform “Last Leaf” solo in the middle of the crowd, and a rollicking, red-lit cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog.”

SEE ALSO: Milky Chance At The Mayan Theater: Show Review

OK Go showing off their classic dance moves. (Allegra Rosenberg / Neon Tommy)
OK Go showing off their classic dance moves. (Allegra Rosenberg / Neon Tommy)

Though the question of whether they’d do their famous “A Million Ways” dance had been shot down during the Q&A, it was all a clever bluff, and of course the band emerged for the encore and performed the classic choreography in its entirety. And then, to cap off the night, OK Go invited fans up onto the stage from the pit to join them for the finale of “Here It Goes Again.”

For any other band, all of the gadgetry and gimmickry might detract from the art, but OK Go’s music is inseparable from their uniquely daring visual sensibility. Seamlessly combining melody and motion, tune and technology, OK Go’s live show is a triumphant, transcendent, and most importantly fun exhibition of everything that makes them who they are.

Reach Staff Reporter Allegra Rosenberg here.



 

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