With a mere four stops on OK Go’s mini-tour, St. Louis was one of the fortunate cities to once again host this dynamic band.
And … drumroll … frontman Damian Kulash assured fans at the capacity St. Louis concert at The Pageant that a new album was nearly finished. He also acknowledged that they aren’t the greatest at releasing albums on the regular. If the wide span in age range at Saturday night’s show is any indication, it hasn’t had any effect on people continuing to find and adore their high-energy indie rock/pop sound.
OK Go mesmerized the packed crowd from the moment the four strode on stage to when the lights came up 90 minutes later.
Amid confetti that rarely stopped floating and commanding lighting, the band performed favorites such as “End Love,” “Upside Down & Inside Out,” and the highly danceable “White Knuckles.” Shortly after performing “Love” from their forthcoming album, Kulash took to the crowd, standing on a railing in the middle of the room. Amid a single spotlight, he performed “This Is How It Ends” and “All Together Now” (written early on during the pandemic, Kulash shared “when we all thought everyone would get along”) acoustically.
Kulash paused a couple of times during the night to answer questions that ranged from, “Do you have any tattoos” to “What’s your favorite video?” Which Kulash immediately stated was by The Chemical Brothers and began describing in detail until another bandmate told him the name of the song is “Star Guitar.” He also shared that he cried upon meeting the muppets after someone asked him about working with them.
They closed out the night with a three-song encore including their new power-pop single, “This.”
OK Go puts on the type of concert that energizes everyone in the room and keeps fans floating on air hours after it’s over. We’re also pretty certain that with the crazy amount of confetti, fans were finding it in interesting places hours later.
A duo named Mirthquake opened the night with 30 minutes of quirky rock that had the growing crowd bobbing their heads and tapping their toes. The internet does not give forth much information on them except what they have in their Instagram bio that states they are “post mortem music. Future rock & roll hall of fame caterers. Banned from libraries for life.” A little more online searching and the members may be Kyle Helf and Chad Damiani. The lead vocalist/guitarist, who sported a tasseled, sequined cap, snapped a crowd-shot selfie saying it was for his wife who couldn’t come on this 4-day tour due to being 7-months pregnant and it would keep him in her good graces.
Vancouver-based Winona Forever took the middle slot with a fresh take on rock ’n’ roll. Their 45-minute set included the jaunty “Partner in Crime” and “Keep Kool,” which garnered them an international following in 2017. The band is composed of Rowan Webster-Shaw (guitar/vocals), Ben Robertson (guitar/vocals), Alex Bingham (drums), and Sam Gray (bass). In various write-ups, it’s noted the four are roommates which led to a tight, yet easy-going stage presence. They briefly mentioned the A/C in their car finally started working again on Saturday. Whew. (On their Instagram page they shared that the A/C died when they hit the States). Their first time in St. Louis, it’s sure to say they have at least a thousand or two new fans.
Hopefully, OK Go will grace St. Louis with their brilliant and distinct indie-pop fervor sooner than later. Until then, July 13 was, in our book, a “Good Good Day” and we’ll simply say “Bye Bye Baby” for now.
Find many, many more photos from the night here: https://bit.ly/OKGo24cz
Setlists for each band are here (we commend the person who tried adding songs for Winona Forever and Mirthquake — adding in the lyrics they recalled was great).
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/ok-go/2024/the-pageant-st-louis-mo-13570d01.html
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/winona-forever/2024/the-pageant-st-louis-mo-3570dfb.html
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/mirthquake/2024/the-pageant-st-louis-mo-6354daef.html
Mirthquake
Mirthquake
Winona Forever
Winona Forever
Winona Forever
OK Go
OK Go
OK Go
OK Go
OK Go
OK Go
OK Go
OK Go
In my work life, I help nonprofits and small businesses with media and public relations. In my what I love to do life, you can typically find me photographing either wild horses or concerts.
