OK Go @ Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre

OK Go playing a show in the outdoor venue the Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre, pictured just after the sun has fully set in Salt Lake City, UT.

Image: Logan Sorenson

Concert

Finally! A cooler evening with an outdoor show at a beautiful garden venue. OK Go visited the Salt Lake Valley again with a stop at the Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre. Supporting musician Bartees Strange joined OK Go and started off the show while attendees settled in, grabbing a T-shirt, a slice of pizza or a drink from their own coolers as they took seats and awaited the music.

Bartees Strange, a musician originally from Baltimore, greeted the audience and recounted how uncanny Salt Lake City is compared to his hometown as he began his set. Singing passionately and with his guitar in hand, Bartees Strange sang about personal experience, relationships and connection. Standing alone on the stage as the sun went down, Strange also debuted some new music for the audience, noting that he is still working out the final lyrics.

OK Go took the stage just as darkness hit, with members Damian Kulash, Tim Nordwind, Dan Konopka and Andy Ross heading out and taking their spots. Sporting coordinating gray suits and pieces of personal style, they started up the music with the hits, ending the intro to the set with a third song play of “Get Over It” before taking a pause for Kulash to speak with the audience.

Inviting questions from the crowd, someone asked, “How do you like it here?” Kulash responded, “How do we like it? We like it here very much!” He introduced their new album And the Adjacent Possible, sporting a physical copy to share the cool 3D pop-out feature of the album sleeve itself, as the band pivoted to playing music from the new release. Pausing another time for a further inquiry from a young audience member, asking “Where did you get your name from?” Kulash told the story of meeting fellow Nordwind at a young age — through a tale of body odor and unusual circumstances, the name “OK Go” stuck.

The night continued with a great show of music, lights, engagement and, most important of all, fun. Another successful visit to the Salt Lake Valley is in the books for this musical group. Here’s to looking forward to the next one!