Concert Review: OK GO, The Redwalls, The Colour, The Reflection at the Big Fish Pub, Tempe, Sept. 10

Damian Kulash, lead singer of OK GO, on stage headlining at the Big Fish Pub, Tempe, Sept. 10
Photo by Temple A. Stark

In what OK GO lead singer Damian Kulash said - before the show - was by-far the smallest venue on their mini-tour, the winsome foursome looked out from the small, sheet-decked stage at about 170 faces and a close-to-capacity crowd at the Big Fish Pub Saturday night.

The night before they had played and headlined at LA's The Roxy and a room full of label big wigs, friends and pressure. Don't know how they did there, but headlining in Tempe, Ariz., from note one of "Invincible" to the 70s glam and loud groove of "Do What You Want" that ended the live part of the show, the band had the pub patrons pumped.

Even as the crowd murmured bemusedly at their 60s-style togs while OK GO set up following The Redwalls, they might have realized they were in for something different. OK GO was the only band of the night's four with keyboards.

"Not everyone has to be angry, though I imagine most of these songs live get amped up and carved up quite a bit." That's what I said when I reviewed the Chicago group's second album release Oh No on Aug. 30.

Carved up? Played pretty straight up without any Phish-like tangents. Amped up? Yeah. The band packed extra energy into already highly energetic, and even danceable, songs.

OK GO had the crowd at "hello."

The songs have a lot to do with it. They played most of the songs off of the newly released "Oh No" album. And "Here It Goes Again," "A Good Idea At The Time" (with it's playful woohwooh refrain), and the slow "Love Song" of "Oh Lately, It's So Quiet" "Television, Television" "A Million Ways, "Crash The Party" "No Sign of Life" and "Let It Rain" all poured over a thirsty crowd.

This kind of infection is good.

Talking with the crowd - largely ignored though not completely by the other bands - was a welcome shift. Singer Damain Kulash noted the, indeed, oddity of having half of the crowd demarked tee-total and under 21, while the other, larger, section was full of us "drunken slobs."

They probably finally cemented the crowd-band relationship with a "It's so hot in here" call and response, which echoed "You're So Damn Hot" off of their first self-titled 2002 CD. This may have been because it was damn hot in there, as sweat started pouring off all of the bands a couple of songs in. The audience vented about the lack of ventilation.

I'm not entirely sure, but "Get Over It" was the only song I can recall played off the debut.

They had old wallpaper motifs and designs projected over the stage and their faces. About halfway into their set, Damain exited stage left right out the door that was a foot from the stage. Judging by how dead-tired he looked before the show, I thought Mr. Kulash was out there puking. Turns out no, just barreling around the outside of the building to surprise the beejesus out of the crowd as he jumped up on a couple of tables in front of the bar and then leapt off and back on the stage. If the ceiling wasn't so low he probably would have crowd-surfed.

Article Author: Temple Stark

A graphic designing wordsmith, with a decade-plus career in community journalism behind me. Take a mean photo, have a new camera, and have been riding the wave of Twitter for more than a year.

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