Ok Go and The Fray @ The Lawn

Let me start by apologizing for missing Mae. I am sure they where awesome, but sometimes you have to park at the Zoo to get to the show.

OK GO

I must say this:OK Go is good band. Their guitars sound good, the bass sounds good… actually ALL of their instruments sound good. They are also a smart band… they dress smart and they have clever videos, which I am sure everyone has seen.

I enjoyed watching the band, and will admit that the most interesting character in the quintet is bassist Tim Nordwind. He is having a good time on stage and shows it, as does the rest of the band, but he just looks cool in a “Guy Ritchie” sort of way, while singer Damian Kulash looks cool in a more “Mick Jagger” kind of way.

The band tore through a good set, full of rock and full of smooth, hitting all of the singles on the way. The only stops where for Kulash’s remarks about playing in the daylight, which were actually quite clever. At one point he asked the crowd to put their hands in the air to create a giant “flesh carpet” and also induced the wave at one point… to quote “You can’t do that in an indie rock club.” This is the sort of dry, yet ridiculous wit thatOk Go is known for, and it was nice to see that extended in their set.

Highlights of the show: “Here it Goes Again,” “Invincible,” The girl whose memory card was full when they played the hit single, and a roaring cover of Electric Light Orchestra’s “Don’t Bring Me Down.”

THE FRAY

I have to admit something. I have never heard this band. They are huge and I can’t hum one of their songs. As I watched them perform my first impression was that they are a younger, less epic version ofColdplay, but I couldn’t help but think that they should be opening for Ok Go, not the other way around. I was slammed with Ok Go last year when their treadmill video hit.

In retrospect, I realize I HAVE heard The Fray. I have their record. Their single “How to Save a Life” is the one everyone knows. I still don’t KNOW it though. Looking through iTunes now, I realize the reason… I rated all of the songs pretty low. Listening to the record now post-concert, I can see why people are so in love with this band.

They are really good at writing really melodramatic pop songs.

After shooting photos, I bought a beer and sat in the grass and listened for a while. In front of me was a high school couple with their arms around each other and swaying. I looked around and realized that the majority of the crowd was high school girls, with guys dotted here and there. That’s when itoccurred to me: every song is a prom hit. Every song makes you remember that someone, remember that time you stayed up late with your BFF, or your first kiss, or people you haven’t seen since school. The songs are good, but I needed more rock. Gone are the days of the ballads in the midst of rock. Today is the day of genre for genre’s sake.

Listening to this for a while made me want to go walk across the White River bridge and soak in the sunset.

I’m not sure if that was the intent, but that’s what I did.