Band brings bright lights, colorful confetti and powerful music to Rams Head Live
OK Go put on an exciting show for all ages in Baltimore on Sunday night.
Over 100 eager music lovers stood in the dimly lit club at Baltimore’s Rams Head Live on April 12. Promptly at 9 p.m., a white, mesh fabric fell from a bar on the ceiling that surrounded the stage. Though some were puzzled by the fabric, many grinned and pointed at the stage. They knew it was time.
A few people pulled out their phones, ready to snap a picture of OK Go as they walked into sight, while others chorused a loud hurrah as clips from famous movies were projected on the mesh screen. This montage of movie bits showed multiple characters saying “okay go.”
The collage of clips ended with Kermit the Frog introducing the band as they took the stage and started playing “Upside Down & Inside Out” behind an abstract video of their faces on the screen. Lead singer Damian Kulash and bassist Tim Nordwind displayed a fearless energy in the way they moved with their instruments to the song. Small cameras situated next to their mics displayed distorted, close up images of their faces on the two screens behind drummer Dan Konopka.
Most of the audience sang along to the new anthem, putting their hands up and dancing under the colorful lights, while respectfully avoiding collision with their neighbors. The audience was a mix of teenagers and older, middle-aged fans.
During “The Writing’s on the Wall,” OK Go’s first single from their new album Hungry Ghosts, the crowd erupted with laughter as confetti canons released colorful slivers of paper around the club. The vibes only got better when, in the course of performing “This Too Shall Pass,” Kulash jumped off of the stage and onto the barricade. He reached out and touched hands before carefully maneuvering himself onto their hands to crowd surf.
After returning to the stage for “There’s a Fire,” Kulash made his way back into the crowd for an intimate, acoustic performance of “Last Leaf” where he performed especially for the older audience viewing from the balcony level of the club. Eyes were glistening with tears by the time Kulash made his way back to the stage.
Nordwind’s lighthearted question and answer session, the third of the night, had everyone cheerful again in no time, though. A steady stream of laughter filled the club when he agreed to go to prom with a girl in May.
A memorable part of the show was the band’s rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog,” in which Kulash put down his guitar so he could move around. With red light projecting directly onto his face, he whipped the mic stand around a couple of times before singing into it with his eyes closed in concentration.
Following the cover was, according to Kulash, the last song of the night, “Turn Up the Radio.” However, the show came to a close when the band performed “Here it Goes Again” from their sophomore album Oh No. This time, along with confetti, neon-blue bubbles danced in the void before poetically popping on fans’ heads, signifying the end of the night.
