Based in Los Angeles, OK Go is a band that shot to fame through ingenious videos and receiving considerable support from the online community. Fifteen years on and the band is still going strong with more insane videos and a new album, Holy Ghosts set for release 16th February.
Friday night the band played their one and only UK show at Koko and EF was there and here is how it all went down. We have mixed feelings about Koko as a gig venue, even though the setting is nice and you can get a decent view from most angles, Koko’s sound system isn’t the best and if you miss out on being in the main standing area you pretty much lose out on a good sound. From where we stood we had a good view and the sound wasn’t too bad and from there we enjoyed OK Go’s London show surrounded by some of their most hardcore fans.
Famous for their clever videos we expected OK Go’s live shows to be heavy on props but apart from a big screen with fun clips and a confetti machine, the band solely relied on their music and charms for a good show. The night started with new song Upside Down & Inside Out taken from their forthcoming album and the track set the mood for the evening with its fun vid and solid guitar riffs. OK Go themselves looked delighted on stage and brought their Californian chilled attitude with them and singer Damian Kulash himself decided to perform in his flip-flops, unfortunately the UK weather did not reflect the LAs.
The band continued its set with familiar track You’re So Damn Hot, which put a smile on our face and got the crowd dancing and singing along to it. The show was a great way to get the band’s new material some attention and we were pleasantly surprised to hear a fresher sound from the band. Tracks like Obsession, Writing’s On The Wall were all well received and we particularly liked the sexy side to these. I Won’t Let You Down was fun as often are OK Go songs.
Highlights of the night included an acoustic performance of Last Leaf in the middle of Koko’s crowd and also a Q&A session between songs, which showcased just how hilarious and down to earth this band, is. Following several hug requests and marriage proposals OK Go finished their set with an encore of their most popular tracks White Knuckles and award winning Here It Goes Again for which they invited fans on stage.
We very much enjoyed OK Go’s performance at Koko Friday night and thought that the band was in great shape. The rock world could do with more lighthearted and down to earth bands such as this one. We left Koko with a bag full of confetti and a smile firmly pressed on our faces.
