popwreckoning

Apparently 2011 is the year the Muppets will rise again.

Smurfs? Meh. Alvin and the Chipmunks? Oh please. But the Muppets – whether or not you were born in their heyday, will always be cool.

And this year will be the year they make their comeback. Remember when Tim Curry was a swashbuckling pirate in “Muppet Treasure Island?” Well I do, and what I remember the most is the soundtrack, even if it was sung by a bunch of puppets and Dr. Frank-N-Furter himself.

But with a new film out in November written by the hilarious Jason Segel and songs by Flight of the Conchords’ Bret McKenzie, and a new compilation of classic circa-1970s Muppets songs covered by some darn good artists, Fozzie Bear better dust off his bow tie.

The Muppets: The Green Album features the likes of My Morning Jacket, Andrew Bird, OK Go playing a groovy extended rendition of the Muppet Show theme song, and Weezer, who we all know has a history with the Muppets (see “Keep Fishin’” music video), along with Paramore’s Hayley Williams performing a charming version of “The Rainbow Connection.”

The Green Album, out August 23, doesn’t stray from any of the classic songs performed by the Muppets themselves, and manages to bring them all into 2011.

To listen to each song individually or to stream the whole album right now, head on over to NPR.org before you buy the album (because you really should).

Lollapalooza is celebrating its 20th anniversary and as promised, the recently announced delivers some pretty hefty acts. 

Eminem, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Muse, My Morning Jacket, Deadmau5 and A Perfect Circle will headline the annual event in Grant Park from August 5-7, 2011.

If you missed Death From Above 1979‘s Coachella reunion, Lolla gives fans another chance. There’s also many other classic acts such as The Cars to up and comers The Naked and Famous. You can see the rest of the announced lineup below:

Eminem, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Muse, My Morning Jacket, Deadmau5, A Perfect Circle, Cee Lo Green, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley & Nas, the Cars, Ween, Bright Eyes, Arctic Monkeys, Big Audio Dynamite, Deftones, Beirut, Explosions in the Sky, Death From Above 1979, Ratatat, Crystal Castles, Flogging Molly, Atmosphere, Cold War Kids, Lykke Li, Cage the Elephant, OK GO, Local Natives, The Kills, White Lies, Portugal. The Man, Two Door Cinema Club, Ellie Goulding, Delta Spirit, Beats Antique, Mountain Goats, Sleigh Bells, Manchester Orchestra, Smith Westerns, Best Coast, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, The Drums, Black Lips, Fitz & the Tantrums, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, City and Colour, Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses, Cults, Noah and the Whale, Sam Adams, J. Roddy Walston and the Business, Tinie Tempah, Lissie, Dom, The Vaccines, Foster the People, Titus Andronicus, Mayer Hawthorne and the County, Chico Trujillo, The Naked and Famous, Phantogram, Rival Schools, Friendly Fires, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Reptar, Maps & Atlases, Fences, Tennis, An Horse, Young the Giant, Los Bunkers, Imelda May, Grouplove, Wye Oak, The Joy Formidable, Lord Huron, Disappears, Walk the Moon, Gold Motel, Iration, Ryan Leslie, Tab the Band, Skylar Grey, Christina Perri, Black Cards, The Pretty Reckless, Boy and Bear, Patrick Stump, Kids These Days, Young Man, The Kingston Springs, Lia Ices, The Chain Gang of 1974, Ximena Sarinana, Typhoon, Electric Touch, Kerli, Ruby Jane, Julia Easterlin, and DJ Mel.

On Perry’s Stage:

Girl Talk, Pretty Lights, Kid Cudi, the Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77, AfroJack, Modeselektor, Skrillex, Perryetty vs. Chris Cox, Chuckie, The Glitch MOb, Busy P, Joachim Garraud, Super Mash Bros., Jay Electronica, 12th Planet, Daedulus, Feed Me, JackMaster, Collie Buddz, Savoy, Kyle Lucas and Captain Midnite, Ana Tijouxana, Midnight Conspiracy, L1ght, and Lady D.

Early Bird tickets have already sold out, but you can now buy regular priced tickets for $215 while supplies last. VIP Passes and Travel Packages are also available. A limited number of
Single Day tickets will go on sale June 7. Go here to buy tickets.

Organizers are expecting over 240,000 people.

Bonnaroo Friday had a rocky start for PopWreckoning. Sweltering temperatures and a “knock” on our tent woke us to inform us that we had camped in the wrong spot. Frustrated, we packed up our tent and began rewandering the muddy roads trying to figure out what we couldn’t figure out the other day. Fortunately, the Bonnaroo fates finally took mercy on us and we at last got our new camping spot: in VIP. Huzzah! Free showers and close to Centeroo!

Press goes through orientation on Friday, so after resetting up our tent, we headed to the media area to hear the ins and outs of Bonnaroo with the wonderful Big Hassle Crew. They shared some good insights, photo rules and a few good jokes.

Press got a special treat today: an acoustic performance of Dr. Dog. The band played about three songs rich with banjos, guitars, and light drumming. acoustic. Check back for a video from the band’s acoustic performance a little bit later.

I glimpsed a bit of alt country act Jessie Baylin and a long line waiting to see Conan O’Brien, while I was walking over to the uke wielding Julia Nunes. The quirky singer played a very long set list of her original tunes and fun covers. Never has a been a ukulele been more bad ass than in her hands. When it came time for her to play a cover of Weezer, Nunes hinted that she might be joining the band for their Bonnaroo set on Saturday. Nunes also announced she had been camping with the rest of us plebes instead of enjoying a trailer or hotel like many other artists. All the more reason to love her.

Then, it was off to see Canada’s Tokyo Police Club over at the Other Tent. The young rockers began with the feedback that kicks off their first song on the newly released, Champ. “Favourite Food” is one of my favorites on the new album and it was a great way to start their set. The band looked absolutely jubilant at the audience’s warm reception. They followed it up with the classic “Nature of the Experiment” before delivering another new one. The old hits were there, but so were plenty of new ones. I can’t wait to see these guys take off with Champ.

Begrudgingly, I pulled away from TPC to go to the Troo Lounge to see Young Veins, a new 60s revivalist rock band. I went into the set knowing nothing about them, but the tunes were catchy and it was a well done homage to rock of old. As I bobbed my head along with the tunes I couldn’t help, but think something was…pretty odd. For a band I had never heard of, they sure looked familiar. Turns out I knew them better than I thought. This is the new band of former Panic! at the Disco members, Ryan Ross and Jon Walker.

No Springsteen at Bonnaroo this year, but we did get Jersey’s second best: The Gaslight Anthem. These guys just released the killer, anthem-heavy American Slang and delivered a set chock full of those tunes as well as the stuff that helped get them national attention.

It was a rough decision where to go from there: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes were singing their heartwarming tunes out at the Other Tent and the Gossip would be setting up at This Tent, but as great as it is to see some of the bigger stages/acts, the best part of Bonnaroo is seeing the up and coming talent on smaller stages. So I made my way to Troo to see PopWreck love Kevin Devine. He’s been doing pretty well for himself, playing nearly all major US festivals this year, and it seems word of his passionate rock is beginning to spread. Troo was packed – and not just with general public fans. It seems Kevin was the musician’s choice, too. Members of Manchester Orchestra hung around backstage watching their fellow Favorite Gentlemen perform his tunes that range from the political to the heartbreak. I also spotted Person L/The Starting Line’s Kenny Vasoli watching, too.

Of course, I didn’t spend too much time people watching. It was hard to take my eyes off Kevin as he dipped down with his guitar just to pop back up to yell into the mic on an especially emotionally-charged chorus. Kevin modestly talked to the crowd, but some of the stuff he said in between songs was just as great as the songs: “You might be saying ‘are there two bass rockers on that stage?’ There are! You’re not fucked up on mezclin yet. You wil be. And I’ll be selling it to you.” He must have been feeling the Bonnaroo love because he then played a new song, “She Stayed a Steam,” off an upcoming Fav Gentlemen release. The song starts slow, but the buildup is great to an especially big chorus. I can’t wait to hear more. Kevin ended with “Brother’s Blood,” and I had a gut-feeling that nothing left at the fest would even begin to compare to his performance.

Giving my feet a break from all the walking, it was back to press for a mini-press conference with some big name artists such as The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne and Ok Go’s Damien Kulash. While the band members talked about the differences between playing music at a fest vs. a club and what Bonnaroo means, comedian Jeffrey Ross stole the show with his clever quips about the fest: “I saw a band called The xx. They put me to sleep. They should have been called The zz,” he joked. But it was all in good fun: “I only roast the bands I love. All comedians are wannabe rockstars. That’s where this comes from.” Jeff is in charge of the Bonnaroo Roast and based off this sampling, it’s going to be a good roast.

The next chunk of the fest was like a special movie edition of Bonnaroo, and no, I didn’t go to the Cinema Tent. Three of the next four acts I saw consisted of people well known for their work in films. Zooey Deschanel (Elf, Yes Man) sang vintage rock in She & Him with the amazing guitarist that is M. Ward. Though She and Him basically is Deschanel and Ward, they were backed by a band that included several girls simply there to give back up vocals and harmonies. The music was pleasant and made more rockable by Zooey’s constant jumping up and down. Though many went to go see Zooey, they got hooked in by the music and stayed for the whole set.

The only thing that kept me from staying for their whole set was that The National was set to begin playing soon and I love the way the bass vocals carry over their big brassy and string heavy indie rock tunes. Half-expecting good music with little stage presence, I was blown away by the energy and enthusiasm they delivered. Lead singer Matt Berninger joked with the audience and even crowd surfed. It was big; it was fun.

Then it was time for movie star number two: Jack Black in his band Tenacious D. This was also my first glimpse of Conan O’Brien who had been emceeing the What Stage all day. It was fun to have a comedian introduce the comedic group. The set was like a cross between a play and a rock concert. The guys are skilled musicians, but their stage banter was just as essential to the act’s performance. For example, at one point, Jack Black pretended to accept an emergency phone call: “What? You want to make a ‘Pick of Destiny 2’? But there’s a catch? You want me to do it with the guy from ‘Mall Cop’?” This caused Kyle Gass To storm off and Black to perform “(Dude) I Totally Miss You.”

My third and final movie star act was none other than Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers. It was kind of insane the reaction Martin got. The guy had only walked out to the side stage to huddle with his band before the set and people swarmed the barricade to get a picture of him…again, not on stage. Martin took the almost-too strong reaction kindly, “I’ll tell you one thing. I wish I practiced,” he said. “It has been a long time dream of mine to play bluegrass at Bonnaroo. Today, I feel one step closer to that goal.” Then the band began their bluegrass tunes. The pluck of banjos, the flying bows of fiddles: it was furiously fast and fun. Then time for more jokes before the next jam: “This is a song that…well, that pretty much says it” or “I wrote all the songs you’re hearing myself, which I think distinguishes us from every other bluegrass band at Bonnaroo playing their own stuff.”

I left Martin a little bit early to explore and walked by the psychedelic jams of Les Claypool and the piano songs of the adorable Tori Amos. This was on my way to jam rockers Dawes at the Troo Lounge. Dawes again proved that Troo, despite being one of the smallest stages, had one of the best lineups of the day. Dawes was the type of rock music that you could sit back and relax to, but you could also stand up in dance. Definitely, check them out.

Kings of Leon had the undivided attention of Bonnaroo for the next chunk of the night: no one was up against them. The What Stage was packed as the Southern rockers blazed through tunes “Sex is on Fire,” “The Bucket” and even a Pixies cover. To be honest, I found it a bit boring, but there are thousands of other people who seem to disagree with me. Oh well. I do give the band props on the long set and also the long encore that included the popular “Use Somebody.”

Without a doubt the Flaming Lips were one of the primary draws of Bonnaroo this year. Not only was the band going to perform all of Dark Side of the Moon with Stardeath and the White Dwarfs, but they were also treating fans to a regular Lips show. The infamous hamster ball made its return after the “birth” of the other members onto the stage. Coyne wheeled around over the audience, immersed in a sea of confetti. It just got bigger from there: more confetti, more fog, more dancers and guest singers (Beth Ditto and Margaret Cho). In stark contrast, the Dark Side performance lacked the theatrics of the preceding performance, but that was still pretty cool, too, because it proved the Lips weren’t just a gimmick band. I guess there was one major theatric. They ended with a giant fog projection of the artwork from Dark Side over the audience. Epic.

Though it seemed like at first that everyone and their moms were at the Lips, the Black Keys did somehow manage to wrestle a sizable crowd to their set at That Tent. The set wasn’t as crazy a spectacle as the Lips, but it was still a good show in which they invited up extra musicians and played a decent number of brand-spanking new songs.

I know that it is almost blasphemous that I didn’t return back to the Lips to see all of Dark Side of the Moon. But Bassnectar was beckoning. Bassnectar is a bad ass dj and he turned This Tent into a giant dance party. I would have been content just dancing into the morning twilight with him, but even though it was 2 a.m., there were still tons of acts to go.
Rumor was that Kid Cudi wouldn’t be able to perform since he was arrested in New York the day before. So I skipped it. Turns out he did perform. Alas. But it wasn’t too bad because it just meant I had more time to enjoy LCD Soundsystem. They were surprisingly awkward, but it was fun and worked well for their style of music. It was still a dance party at the This Tent, but a different sort of one from the remixing of Bassnectar. Not surprisingly, people went crazy for “Drunk Girls,” considering that’s what half the crowd was. I love how intimate the band made this performance feel and in their hands, it was pretty easy to find the energy to party with them until 4 a.m. What a great way to end the night.

More photos and recaps from Bonnaroo coming soon. You can view Day 1: Thursday’s recap here.

Taking the three-hour drive to the Columbia River Gorge is a boring trip. You merge a couple times from state route 16, then from I-5 to I-90, over a mountain pass and through the eastern Washington flatlands. But when you reach the Gorge on Memorial Day weekend, it’s like a dome of awesome civilization in the middle of empty Washington wasteland. It was the second year in a row that I traveled to the Sasquatch! Music Festival, but this year I’d be spending all three days at the Gorge, camping about a quarter of the mile from the festival grounds, where one could still hear the music late into the night after tucking one’s self into one’s sleeping bag.

This weekend was nothing less than glorious. The clouds defied the weather forecast, which told us that it would be cloudy and possibly raining all weekend. Only a couple bouts of rain didn’t damper the festival at all. In fact, the rain we did get was refreshing and added to the greatness of the Columbia River Gorge.

I’ll start with Saturday. After waiting in line for over an hour, I finally arrived on the festival grounds, and headed over to the newly renamed Bigfoot Solar Stage. It used to be called the Wookie Stage, but as a preemptive action against any sort of lawsuit from George Lucas, the Sasquatch organizers changed the name. Catching the second half of Mumford and Sons, I could tell that people were already crowding in front of each stage.

Following Mumford and Sons was Portugal. The Man on the same stage. I’m really glad I stayed to watch them, because the crazy psychedelic rock that you find on their record Censored Colors sounds even better live. And with such songs like “Lay Me Back Down,” the relatively large crowd could sing right along with the chorus. It was a good way to start the day. The very long day.

With my first of two steep treks down to the main stage, I was reminded how much I really love this venue. Actually, Damian Kulash of OK Go, the band playing on the main stage next, said it best:

“You know, we play a lot of these festivals, and most of the time the venue sucks and the bands blow, but this place is fucking awesome.” Or something like that. You get the gist.

As much as I love OK Go for their genius music videos, they were surprisingly good live. Fun and energetic, and it was only 3 in the afternoon. It was too bad their crowd was small though, because I’m pretty sure Kulash would have crowd surfed a lot further if he’d had the ability to. Playing through some oldies but goodies, like “Get Over It” from their 2002 debut album, as well as the funky “White Knuckles” off their newest Of The Blue Colour of the Sky, it was a joyful and satisfying set. One thing though – with how breathy and seductive Kulash’s voice is most of the time, you’d never expect him to bust out this gut-draining shriek. But he did. It was cool.

I headed back up to the Yeti Stage, the smallest of the three outdoor stages, to see one of my favorite local bands The Lonely Forest for the third time this year. What can I say? They’re really good. But I could tell that it was still a bit intimidating being at Sasquatch because they were good, but they weren’t as good as at the Seattle clubs. But that is one of the parts of Sasquatch that I really love – we get a lot of locals. Sasquatch doesn’t import nearly as many acts as other festivals do. The Lonely Forest did mention the new record they have coming out this year that they just finished recording with Chris Walla’s new label Trans. Hearing those new songs again was nice.

Back at the main stage, The National was getting ready to take the stage and the floor started to fill up. This was about when the sun started to set, and the smell of marijuana was inescapable, and the threat of sunburn in the part of your hair was no longer a worry. The perfect time of night at the Gorge. The National took the stage a bit late, making everyone in the pit incredibly anxious, but in the end it was worth it. Playing some of their best songs, including the haunting “Afraid of Everyone” off High Violet as well as a plethora of older songs, the crowd was clearly satisfied. Matt Berninger actually ventured out into the pit towards the end of their set holding up his microphone cord as to not get tangled in the jumble of fans. Some would find Berninger’s energy flat, because it is an odd stage presence. At times he seems a bit angry, but I enjoy his intensity. It’s a quiet intensity. I think without the jumbo screens adjacent to the stage, it wouldn’t have been suited for the giant amphitheatre, but this time it worked.

A stark change from The National’s energy, the lovely and adorable and so full of energy Vampire Weekend took the Main Stage at as on-time as they could have been. I was so thankful when they announced the lineup for Sasquatch this year, because when I saw Vampire Weekend back in December it wasn’t for but twenty short minutes. And that’s not nearly enough time to fully enjoy a band. It got a second chance to love Vampire Weekend at Sasquatch. Being shoved in that pit made it even better, because everyone around me was equally as excited. This guy, about 6’3”, standing next to me kept saying, “I’m so happy right now!” And that was the general consensus I gathered from the thousands of people in the amphitheater that night, as well as from the band. Frontman Ezra Koenig made the second declaration of the Gorge’s sheer awesomeness that day, and Koenig has enough energy himself to carry the entire place. It was the perfect way to follow The National, with a giant dance party to songs like “A-Punk,” “Walcott” and ridiculously quick and almost derailing “Cousins.” And it was quite magical to hear thousands of people singing at the top of their lungs “Blake’s got a new face!” during the song “One.”

It was as I hiked up the hill to the campground that I knew that this was going to be a good weekend.

Stay tuned for a recap of Sunday and Monday, which were equally as awesome.

For a full set of photos from Saturday, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbigshmail/sets/72157624061143157/

Sunday’s coverage: http://popwreckoning.com/2010/06/03/sasquatch-festival-sunday-with-local-natives-kid-cudi-dirty-projectors/

Monday’s coverage: http://popwreckoning.com/2010/06/04/sasquatch-festival-monday-with-the-temper-trap-the-mountain-goats-mgmt/

OK Go reign king when it comes to making a music video. Treadmills, dances, marching bands and now a crazy single motion video of spectacular machine that will have the creators of MouseTrap impressed.

Check out the second official video for the album version of “This Too Shall Pass.”

Despite being exhausted from a late night of video making and having just wrapped up a sound check for a special Valentine’s performance in Kansas City, OK Go bassist Tim Nordwind was gracious enough to share with PopWreckoning his views on the holiday, videos, social media and so much much more. Check out the full interview below.

Bethany, PopWreckoning: You’re doing a Valentine’s Day show for free in Kansas City. Since it is a special holiday show, do you guys have anything extra or special planned for it?
Tim Nordwind, OK Go: Isn’t that enough? Nah. We always have special things planned for our shows, regardless of whether or not it is a Hallmark day or not. We always have special things and we have special things planned for our Kansas City audience tonight. Luckily, there’s an awful lot of love in our set, so we’re an obvious pick for a Valentine’s Day show. We love to love.

B: Did you find yourselves planning a special set list then? I’d argue that at least on the most recent album these are some of the most heartbroken songs as opposed to lovey dovey.
TN: Yeah. We’re playing all of them tonight. Only the most heartbroken ones this evening. We have given some thought to the show tonight and come up with a good set list. We’ll take the audience through all the different kinds of love this evening.
B: Excellent.
TN: It’s good to remember both the good and the bad parts of love to fully appreciate it.

B: So at your shows, I’ve seen you before, they’re big shows. You’ve had lots of confetti and extra marching drums. How much time in advance do you start planning these shows and figuring out what goes into your tours?
TN: The great thing about live performance is the connection that you make with the audience. We spend a lot of time figuring how to form different connections with the audience. Quite a bit of thought goes into our production and its fun stuff to think about for sure. We enjoy figuring out new ways to create a party for the people who come to the show. As you said, on this new record, there are a lot more heartbroken and melancholic songs and we were wondering how that was all going to work in the set next to the high energy, less melancholic songs. What’s interesting is that when you set up a mood, as long as everyone in the room is sort of feeling it together, it always feels good. If we’re playing a slightly sad song, as long as everyone can relate to that emotion and you can also go celebrate that emotion together, then everything seems to work fine. Yeah, the production really has to do with trying to line up these different moods throughout the night and that does take a little bit of timing.

B: When I saw you last time, I want to say it was in September in Denver, you guys did “This Too Shall Pass” and you did a kind of marching band thing almost. Later the video came out and you did a marching band thing in that. Do you guys plan out your videos that far in advance that you’re already thinking in terms of things like that or do they just come to you and you think, “Oh, this would be a cool idea.”
TN: Normally speaking, the ideas for our videos come a little bit in advance of the actual production of our videos. Yeah, in regards to the Notre Dame marching band, we saw them a year before and saw them perform “Here It Goes Again” for halftime at a football game. So we saw them do that and we were like, “Oh, we should do something together.” Then, it went from there. We planned a general plan with the Notre Dame marching band for about four months or so and then went to South Bend, Indiana to meet with them and do the video. What was nice was once we got to South Bend, once we met the band and once we could see first hand sort of what we were doing with even the idea we had spent a full months planning out, it changed a little bit now that we could see what it was like to be with them. We sort of realized all these different things that we could do once we got there. Some of what happens in our videos is very spontaneous and things you couldn’t plan out until you are actually experiencing whatever it is that we are doing, but most of the time we go through several stages of planning. A lot of what we are doing is setting up a sort of structured set so that when we are doing it we can be sort of spontaneous. How do you set up a strong enough structure so that you can play within it once you’re actually doing it?

B: Right now you guys are working on, or at least wrapping up, a second video for “This Too Shall Pass.” Why two videos for that song?
TN: The second video is for the studio version of “This Too Shall Pass,” which is on the record versus the Notre Dame marching version, which is a live version that we recorded with the Notre Dame band, so it is a different arrangement. We had this idea of “This Too Shall Pass” and we had two good ideas that we felt fit the song. Also, we saw it as an opportunity to make a different arrangement of the song, which seemed fun. The video we are shooting, we just got done shooting it last night [Friday], is for the album version of “This Too Shall Pass.”

B: When can people expect to see this video?
TN: I think by the beginning of March, hopefully.  We literally wrapped up at about 4 in the morning and then when straight to the airport for Kansas City. We haven’t watched any of the takes, really. We just shot and shot and shot and shot. Hopefully, we’ll be getting it put together and have it out be the end of February/early March.

B: Great. You guys seem to be a very fan first band. Like this girl in France made a YouTube video and was like, “Why no contest for France,” and within a day you guys responded and were like, “Here’s your contest.” Why do you believe it is so important to interact with your fans that quickly and that closely? And obviously, you guys use YouTube, but are you big advocates of other social media tools?
TN: We’re not a group of marketers. We’re a rock band and we enjoy making things and seeing things that people make. However it is that we see it, whether Twitter, MySpace or Facebook; however it is that they make it, social networking is fine, but what I care about is what I’m actually watching. We get excited when we see awesome things that people make and the video that girl made is just great. It’s really clever and fun and really well done. It seemed like she had spent a bit of time making it and it was a labor of love type project. Yeah, we appreciated the spirit in which she made that video. What’s nice is that we do have these social media networks where we can put things up and share them with fans and fans can put things up and share them with us. We have this nice sort of back and forth dialogue with them through all these different social networking platforms. At the end of the day, mostly what we care about is what’s being produced and that sort of creative output. When we see something that we like, we respond because it is fun. It’s fun to talk to people whose work you admire. We ended up meeting her in Paris. She came to the show.

B: Great. Ok, just two more for fun questions. It was announced in the past week that you’re playing Bonnaroo as well some other fests. What would you put in a festival survival kit?
TN: Most festivals are in the Summer or months when it gets hot, so definitely some sunscreen. Definitely lots of water. I think a map of the ground that you’re on because festivals are always super confusing and I always get lost. I would also invent a machine that would allow me to be in two places at once because at almost every festival, there are at least two to three bands playing at the same time and I want to see them all.  I may work on a machine that would allow me to be in two places at once and if I invent it, I’ll put it in the festival kit.

B: Excellent. For a final question, since the Oscars are coming up and you are so video savvy, who is your pick for best picture?
TN: “Inglourious Basterds.” Quentin Tarantino. I thought that was a really great film and very compelling. It sort of played out…I like Tarantino’s film because they always have a theatrical sense where there can be a seventeen minute scene where it’s really nothing, but dialogue and he is sort of a master of dialogue and building tension and release… at the moment of highest tension, there’s always a sort of amazing release. I thought that was a great film.

B: Alright. Well I’ll let you get dinner and rest up before the show tonight. I look forward to seeing you guys perform.
TN: Cool. Thank you.

OK Go knows how to define originality and while that is pretty much a given when it comes to their videos, I can officially attest that this quality also applies to their live show.

The dance rockers recently gave Kansas City a special Valentine’s treat – a free concert for the annual Afentra’s VD Party sponsored by 96.5 the Buzz.

This show wasn’t a typical Valentine’s Day affair. There were no heart-shaped balloons nor rose petal and candle decorations. Instead of the sappy romance, the Buzz decked the Midland out as if it were a dating service run out of a Cirilla’s or Dr. John’s shop. Singles were given ID cards, they set up ridiculous games such as condom racing and giant penis inflatables for a cock ring toss, and they made drink specials such as the “Blow Me Brian.”

Though it was a free show for 18 and over, the event quickly “sold out,” meaning the venue reached its roughly 2,500 capacity just after the first opener, the rock/hip hop group Paper Tongues finished playing. The trio in the Crash Kings had the privilege of playing to a full house early in the night, a rarity at events such as this where most usually wait to show up just in time for the headliner. This is a group that seems like it would have been yet another one of the genius side projects cooked up by Jack White and they played as if they had the years of stage experience that White carries. Crash Kings weren’t intimidated by the crowd and quickly captured the attention for all with their vocally-driven rock tunes. The instrumentation was light in arrangement, but executed with great skill. Though only three in number, the group found fullness with the typical instruments (guitar, drums) and with the aid of a few tricks such as a whammy bar (yes, a whammy bar) on the keyboard. Ending out with current radio single “Mountain Men,” Crash Kings played a strong and memorable set that ensured Kansas City knew why they are the “kings.”

Buzz show favorites Company of Thieves took to the stage next. The indie rockers that sing of pop culture and authors have played many shows for 96.5 the Buzz in Kansas City, so their set was a familiar one. The audience knew when to clap and sing and even dance – at times even mimicking the frontwoman’s trademark windmill arm dance move. CoT did play a few new songs, but despite the change ups, the performance was lackluster compared to what they’ve done for KC in the past. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t mind blowing either: the main fault being that their songs have a tendency to blend and that the vocals were getting muffled in the mix hitting the house.

When Ok Go walked on stage to begin their set, the simple entrance was a modest understatement to the bigness that was to come. The guys apologized if they seemed tired after flying to KC following a 4 a.m. work session for their second video to “This Too Shall Pass” (they still had paint splatters on their shoes from the shoot), but apologies were unnecessary. As stated earlier, this band is the definition of original and they quickly showed that despite this modest start, their live show would be just as unique as their videos. As a giant homage to their videos, the main set piece was a video screen that sometimes showed wallpaper patterns, but for the most part showed the video angle from a camera attached to singer Damian Kulash‘s microphone. The ridiculous camera angles made a fun backdrop as Kulash danced with microphone singing “White Knuckles” and “Get Over It” to get the show started.

Unsurprisingly, the audience roared with excitement when the band hit their stride and performed “Here It Goes Again,” which holds its own live without antics. It’s a well-crafted song: great guitar riffs, nice beat, great vocal harmonies, so the audience praise is deserved.

The first half of OK Go’s performance was about proving that they were a quality band without the gimmicks. With “Here It Goes Again,” they had confirmed with their near flawless performance that they are musicians first. After that the band seemed more content throwing in their personal flairs.

“I live in the future and tomorrow is Sunday. So, we thought we’d play the instrument that God, himself, invented: the hand bells,” said singer Damian Kulash as a the rest of the guys carried a large table draped in red cloth and covered in a full set of hand bells to the front center of the stage. “You need OK Go to save you.”

Now while it’s questionable if OK Go music can actually save souls, seeing four grown men put on gloves and hold a packed venue’s attention as they played “What to Do” with hand bells is a sort of a miracle and probably made a few souls smile.

After that impressive display, the band played a few more tunes before taking a break before the encore. Now this is what an encore is all about. Picture this: the venue lights are dark, but then, lights come on spelling “OK GO” across the center of the stage. As the opening chords to “WTF?” sound out across the speaker system, the light up letters break apart and it is revealed to be the backside of the jackets of the individual band members as the guys swivel to face the audience. The fun light display doesn’t stop there though, as the guitars and bass are decked out in fuzz, lasers and a neon light outline. As the guys danced playing their instruments, they made the lights dance on the walls and in turn, made the audience dance all the more.

The final song of the night said it all. These guys are “Invincible” when it comes to fresh ideas and a great live show.

Set List:
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
///
WTF?
Invincible

2010 is going to be a GREAT year for music. Starting off the year is Ok Go’s album Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky on January 12. Many avid OK Go fans have been waiting for the next installment of the quirky quartets creative genius and since the release of their first single in November, entitled “WTF?”, the band has old and new fans alike, more than excited.

With their third studio album, they certainly pulled no punches when it came to all of the elements of this album. As a whole, it is cohesive, well planned and incredibly executed. The lyrics are soulful and anthematic and incredibly honest. From dance undertones to a slight funk sound, they remind me slightly of Hot Hot Heat mixed with some Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, as well as with a tiny bit of We Are Scientists and This Providence thrown in for good measure.

Their single “WTF” is spectacular. We can all go ahead and agree on that. But with an album such as this, there are many more songs that are just as good, or even (possibly) better. Favorites of mine include “Needing/Getting,” “I Want You So Bad, I Can’t Breathe” and “Last Leaf.” “Needing/Getting” is definitely going to be one of my new favorite dance jams, and “I Want You So Bad, I Can’t Breathe” has some great beats a la The Killers and Franz Ferdinand that are addictive to say the least. “Last Leaf” really resonates with a balladic tone to it that makes the lyrics stand out even more. “l’ll still be here, waiting on your rain to warm your heart for me” makes this sappy love song really saccharine sweet, but in one of those sing-your-heart-out-post-breakup kind of ways.

Although the album does seem a tad bit mellower this time around, I don’t think that it will disappoint anyone at all. It has tracks for old and new fans, and has a few candidates for oddball cinematic/silly videos (we all remember the treadmill video for “Here It Goes Again” and this has already started with the release of the video for “WTF?” last November. I’m excited to see what their next video will be, and where they go with it creatively.

Overall, I am incredibly glad that they released another album such as this. It’s a great album, and I know that I, amongst other OK Go fans, cannot wait for the announcement of their next North American tour. Great job guys, and thanks for starting off the new decade the right way- with great new music!

Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky is available Tuesday, January 12.

Track Listing:
1. WTF?
2. This Too Shall Pass
3. All Is Not Lost
4. Needing/Getting
5. Skyscrapers
6. White Knuckles
7. I Want You So Bad I Can’t Breathe
8. End Love
9. Before The Earth Was Round
10. Last Leaf
11. Back From Kathmandu
12. While You Were Asleep
13. In The Glass

Written by Annastasia Gallaher

Princeton will play a special Chanukkah themed show in LA on Dec. 12 with guests Parson Red Heads. The show will feature surprise collaborations and eight hand-picked Chanukkah gifts to be given out to audience members over the course of the evening.

The show will also serve as a homecoming show for the band, who have just recently wrapped up a three-month tour supporting Ra Ra Riot, Art Brut and OK GO.

In addition to the show announcement, the band just released a new video for “Calypso Gold,” which you can view here:

Princeton: website | myspace | @ sxsw | @ black cat

From the band that brought you videos filled with funky wallpaper, dance moves and treadmills, OK Go is back with yet another innovative video for “WTF?”

OK Go: website | myspace | @ monolith 2009