By CASEY OSBURN
Sex. Alcohol. Rock-n-roll. Some things rarely change when it comes to a good concert.
It was hard to tell if concertgoers were there to try to find their perfect valentine, or simply because they loved the bands.
Opening the show was the seven-piece band Paper Tongues from Charlotte, North Carolina. Lead vocalist Aswan North resembled the Mars Volta's Cedric Bixler-Zavala, with his raspy, high-pitched vocals and abnormally large hair. This band hyped up the crowd with their catchy, rhythmic tunes that fused radio-friendly alt-rock with hip-hop beats.
L.A. natives Crash Kings brought a completely different dynamic to the stage. Made up of brothers Tony Beliveau (keyboard/vocals) and Mike Beliveau (bass) along with drummer Jason Morris, this trio possessed a complete intense rock sound without a guitar. Tony had multiple keyboards plus a clavinet (a keyboard with guitar strings) to supplement the band's whorling torrent of sound. The clavinet was customized with a giant whammy bar to mimic guitar sounds.
Genevieve Schatz, the elusive frontwoman for Company of Thieves, had a mesmerizing stage presence. Opening with "In Passing" from their debut album, Ordinary Riches, the band gracefully moved the attention away from the games and onto the stage. The Chicago group is currently working on their second album and treated Kansas City to a special first-time performance of three new songs.
"This is kind of scary, we haven't played it for anyone," Schatz told the crowd.
The first new song they played was upbeat with two bass-heavy breaks. Schatz then encouraged the audience to sing along to "Oscar Wilde," their hit single from Ordinary Riches.
Schatz's voice was raw and passionate, letting the crowd feel her every emotion. Schatz won over the crowd and left the stage with, "I think I can speak fairly when I say, this town really loves music."
No, treadmills are not part of OK Go's live show. However, there is a wealth of visuals to make up for their lack of exercise equipment on stage. Their setup included a large video backdrop displaying crazy designs and OK Go-style videos, along with a live feed from their mic stands.
"If you've seen our videos, you know that OK Go lives in the future. You motherfuckers are living in Saturday, I'm squatting in the middle of Sunday," lead vocalist Damian Kulash told the audience. According to Kulash, you can't go to a rock show on a Sunday without the instruments that God himself created: the handbells.
The band immediately dropped their instruments, put on white gloves and proceeded to play "What to Do," with handbells. Kulash interacted with the audience all night, going as far as taking a picture of the audience and telling them to tag themselves on Facebook.
After 11 songs, the band went off stage. They dragged on the anticipation for an encore, leaving the crowd wondering for a good ten minutes whether or not they were actually coming back. Suddenly, as the lights went out, the quartet got onstage sporting black shirts with lights on the back spelling out "OK GO." In true electro-pop fashion, their guitars lit up as well. The guitars were also fully equipped with lasers. (Awesome.)
Their newest high-pitched funky single, "WTF?," started off the encore. They ended with "Invincible," sustaining their quirky whimsy throughout their set until the clock struck midnight.
OK Go:
White Knuckles
Get Over It
Shortly Before the End
I Want You So Bad I Can't Breathe
Oh Lately It's So Quiet
Don't Ask Me
Here it Goes Again
What To Do (Hand bells)
Last Leaf
This Too Shall Pass
Do What You Want
Encore
WTF?
Invincible
Company of Thieves:
In Passing
Karen
Old Letters
Pressure
[New Song]
[New Song]
Oscar Wilde
[New Song]
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