Last night was the best OK Go show I've ever seen! They were headlining, with all the bells and whistles. This was the first time I'd seen the acoustic set - which was lovely. I had also never been showered with confetti, like so many other people have mentioned. They played for a full hour and a half - which was really fantastic. I was thinking that I'd only seen them as an opening act, or at specialty concerts, such as the U of M game and the Jack Daniel's show. This concert was by far the best.
That day, I was actually already up in Lansing for a field trip with my daughter's class to the Capital Building and the Museum of Natural History. I drove and all the other chaperones had to take the bus! Ha ha! After they left for home, I went to the MSU campus, found a tree and read my book. ('The Shadow of the Wind' by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Hokey title, but a good book.) A couple friends from home and another friend from the board drove up to MSU to meet me. We went out for dinner to a pretty good, hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. (I told the waiter, "Wow. This salsa is SO hot. Can I try the mild?" and he replied, "Sorry, that's all we have. You'll get used to it! That's what your margarita's for!") We weren't too concerned about getting to the theater by the 7:00 ticket time, because there would be a crappy local MSU opening band, right?
Wrong!
Those tricksters didn't have an opening band! We actually missed the first song! =O And, when we first got there, all the people were sitting down in the comfy theater seats. Damian joked about this and asked if they come to a lot of lectures in this place, because they don't *have* to sit down. Everyone jumped up after that - until he told them to sit down again for the acoustic set. Damian seemed to be in a happy mood, which is always good. I think they can see the light at the end of the touring tunnel.
He forgot a verse to YSDH, and laughed about it. He also told a story about a guy calling them "Sissies!" during the acoustic part of some show. And another story about playing Get Over It to a bar with 15 people in it. Tim talked to the audience for a short time while Damian was working on getting a good guitar. "Any Tiger fans out there? I can't even pretend to talk sports to you guys." Lots of banter! Yea!
I think there was a new video playing behind them for one of the songs, but I can't remember which one. It made me dizzy, like someone running around in circles. They did the cover by The Damned, which I didn't know. Then he gave the audience the chance to vote between ELO and the Violent Femmes and complemented our choice of ELO. "I'm surprised, because college students would most likely vote for the one with the word 'violent' in the name!" We were in the 6th row - too far for my camera to get anything good, so I just enjoyed the show and I'm so happy I did.
One sad, wonderful surprise: they played "Return" during the encore and it was so beautiful. Damian told the crowd this was written for his friend who died 10 years ago this week. It was touching. Ten years ago, I was uncomfortably pregnant with my daughter (born the 2nd week of May) at my brother's wedding. And it just got me thinking about all the joy and pain happening at the same time in the world. I was wiping tears away by the end of that song. *reaches for Kleenex*
All day, the weather was beautiful, but it was raining by the time we got out of the show. Some fans were waiting by the stage doors already. It was an early night - only 8:30 - but there are precious few people I would stand in the rain to see, so we left and drove straight home. I was so tired from the field trip that I was happy to get home at a reasonable hour.
I'm not kidding - these are the ONLY TWO pictures that came out clear:
Does the angel still get its wings if I TRIED?
Comments
I can't believe you'd never witnessed the acoustic set Congratulations- your OK Go acoustic set cherry has been officially popped!
& never showered with confetti either?! Come with me to Mexico in December, you'll never want to hear the word confetti again! It's crazy!
Thanks for the write up!
(pssst, Mumbo... I did exactly the same in Bremen, haha...)
Do you guys take it out once in a while and stare at it with love?
P.S. A Jack Daniel's Ok Go show? How the hell did I miss that? Two of my favorite things in the world together like that would have been incredible.
I still have KoKo confetti in my room
And bits of broken tambourine coz mine got stepped on.
S'all going in a paisley patterned box
As soon as i find a box.
And some paisley.
Awesome write up!! Glad you had fun
They played Return when I saw them in Dallas as well. That song gets me every time!!
I had an absolute BLAST at the show, and JUST got the hearing back in my left ear since we were right up front right by the amps... all worth it though.
I must say its one of the best shows I've been to, hands down.
I'll post pictures when I seed through them and find the good ones... and I'm still finding bits of confetti in my purse...
I had an absolute BLAST at the show, and JUST got the hearing back in my left ear since we were right up front right by the amps... all worth it though.
I must say its one of the best shows I've been to, hands down.
I'll post pictures when I seed through them and find the good ones... and I'm still finding bits of confetti in my purse...
And bits of broken tambourine coz mine got stepped on.
S'all going in a paisley patterned box
As soon as i find a box.
And some paisley.
Awesome write up!! Glad you had fun
Electra- I've been contemplating on where to put all my OK Go memorabilia and I love your idea! Can I steal it? I was thinking of making a scrap book, but that idea was pretty cheesy (plus how do you paste on an awesome dancing flipbook into a scrapbook? you just can't)
EDIT: I forgot to welcome katieyellow! "Welcome" to the boards. You can call me Mia"
I had an absolute BLAST at the show, and JUST got the hearing back in my left ear since we were right up front right by the amps... all worth it though.
I must say its one of the best shows I've been to, hands down.
I'll post pictures when I seed through them and find the good ones... and I'm still finding bits of confetti in my purse...
Welcome!!
Have fun boarding! Everyone's so nice.
and i should say they are *good* by my standards... i want to be a photographer, so most of these are kind of... not necesserily artistic persay, but they aren't all completely crisp and clear... but i don't use a flash. i think pictures come out better if you don't
i still have more to go through, but yeah. enjoy
Katie! This. Is. Awesome!
Greetings from Argentina!!
Katie, this one is AMAZING!!
You really have a gift