OkGo @ Scala
In a city of C-grade Coldplay/Smiths knockoffs you tend forget what !!RAwK!! sounds like… and the opening band tonight isn’t going to remind you. They’re young and their songs show promise, but they’re certainly no one who’s name you remember a week later. OkGo is a different story all together. It’s not just that the band is a mean ten years older, or that they have the kind of nom de rock and live poise that come with four years playing the struggling-on-a-major game. The kind of ballsy Chi-town rock these four stomp through during their hour plus set on a Thursday night at Scala is just more fun.
This high fun-factor is the combined result of music that screams “Oh girl!/Let’s crash the party!”, and the deeper appeal that comes with a quirky sense of band-hood (D. Kulash and co. have also written for a Japanese rock monthly, played house band for public radio’s This American Life, and published a guide on overthrowing American presidents). Sure they leap and strut the stage like the rockstars they have the unpretentious freedom to be (thanks to only middling success), but they also have a snappy dance number. Always a crowd pleaser even if it’s a mess; this one isn’t. With moves like that, the kids have no choice but to love it.
And love it they do. You would think the lads and lasses gathered in Scala tonight had never heard a Gibson SG slammed through a distortion pedal before… Come to think of it, maybe they haven’t. So OkGo give them a taste of what they’ve been missing, banging out jams like “Get Over It”, “A Million Ways”, and “Crash The Party” to great effect while the venue’s superlative lights and sound kick and spin like the diehards in the mosh pit. Clearly enjoying the warm reception they’ve received in chilly old England (after a highly uncool run-in with the police in Orlando, Florida), the band is relaxed and engaging between songs and enthusiastic about the current tour, their new record, and a general exuberance at being out of the van.
So will the shows and a new major label release win them the kind of success in London that fuels press orgies? It seems possible tonight, but the band won’t be staying to find out. They have momentum, and after a grasp at success with “Get Over It,” the single from their last record, there’s no reason to let go. (ok?)
This high fun-factor is the combined result of music that screams “Oh girl!/Let’s crash the party!”, and the deeper appeal that comes with a quirky sense of band-hood (D. Kulash and co. have also written for a Japanese rock monthly, played house band for public radio’s This American Life, and published a guide on overthrowing American presidents). Sure they leap and strut the stage like the rockstars they have the unpretentious freedom to be (thanks to only middling success), but they also have a snappy dance number. Always a crowd pleaser even if it’s a mess; this one isn’t. With moves like that, the kids have no choice but to love it.
And love it they do. You would think the lads and lasses gathered in Scala tonight had never heard a Gibson SG slammed through a distortion pedal before… Come to think of it, maybe they haven’t. So OkGo give them a taste of what they’ve been missing, banging out jams like “Get Over It”, “A Million Ways”, and “Crash The Party” to great effect while the venue’s superlative lights and sound kick and spin like the diehards in the mosh pit. Clearly enjoying the warm reception they’ve received in chilly old England (after a highly uncool run-in with the police in Orlando, Florida), the band is relaxed and engaging between songs and enthusiastic about the current tour, their new record, and a general exuberance at being out of the van.
So will the shows and a new major label release win them the kind of success in London that fuels press orgies? It seems possible tonight, but the band won’t be staying to find out. They have momentum, and after a grasp at success with “Get Over It,” the single from their last record, there’s no reason to let go. (ok?)
| Permalink | 