I love it when a show lives up to my expectations, especially when those expectations are high. It's even better when those expectations are not only met, but taken to that unexpected level where live entertainment, visual bedazzlement, audio quality, and ample dancing opportunities all collide to make a perfect storm of a show. [All photos by Phil Bardi.]
is responsible for not only putting out one of my favorite albums this year, Of the Color Of the Sky, but for delivering said storm this past Friday night at Crowbar in Ybor City. And I say this as a person who enjoys live music with a healthy dose of spontaneity and improvisation, and knowing that I saw the exact performance the foursome staged for their Atlanta audiences the night before. But … I also enjoy a damn good production, and OK Go’s was up there with ones I’ve witnessed by of Montreal and Flaming Lips.
I didn’t catch Robert Francis' opening set and couldn’t get a definite consensus from the peanut gallery, but apparently, it was either mournful and brilliant, or just average singer-songwriter fare. (Leave your comments below if you have an opinion on the matter.)
I pressed through the thick all-ages crowd (and there were some definite first-timers in this bunch) in time to experience the slow-burning, hard-and-heavy psyche and blues-inspired rock n’ roll of Brooklyn's Earl Greyhound, a 1970s power trio transported to the present complete with casual chic retrowear and true-to-era long and afro-ed hair. All three members also embodied cool confidence and the ability to bring down the tempo while managing to turn up the heat with their dark and deliberate grooves, the music like a seething, grimy, primal beast on the prowl.
Singer/bassist Kamara Thomas [pictured right] played a fierce lead bass and displayed ample lowend prowess, singer/guitarist Matt Whyte doled out howling guitar solos and heavy distorted riffs, her throaty snarl tangled with his androgynous higher-register tenor, and badass drummer Ricc Sheridan hammered out the thunderous rhythmic foundation. Despite seeing them play a hotshit set a few years ago at Langerado, I never really followed Earl Greyhound too closely and so I wasn't too familiar with most of the songs they played, but I did recognize the heavy stomp and shred of “Oye Vaya” off their latest album, Suspicious Package, and “S.O.S.” from their 2006 debut, Soft Targets.
OK Go was an entirely different beast all together. The members of the LA-based alternative poptronic rock band — Damian Kulash (lead vocals, guitar, pictured far left), Tim Nordwind (bass guitar, vox, pictured right), Dan Konopka (drums, percs) and Andy Ross (guitars, keys, vox) — were dressed in their sexy best mod stylish threads (yes, I’m talking about clothes again, sue me). They performed against a screen of colorful animations and video projections ranging from retro paisley patterns to footage taken as the band performed on the Crowbar stage, and all throughout the night, they delivered witty repartee and anecdotal humor, played their songs with tight and danceable ease, and threw in random bits of fun and explosive bursts of confetti along the way.
This article appears in May 13-19, 2010.