Concert review: OK Go and The Postelles

OK Go performed at Brandeis this past Saturday, drawing many students from the Boston area. For those who aren't familiar with OK Go, it is a rock band that achieved stardom after a music video that showed them performing complicated choreography on treadmills exploded in popularity on the Internet. The group went on to win a 2007 Grammy for the best short-term video "Here It Goes Again," a 2006 YouTube video award for the most creative video "Here It Goes Again," and has been nominated for a 2006 MTV Europe Music Award for the best video "A Million Ways." Their music is now well-known among those who enjoy indie music, and their videos still hold the quirkiness that we fell in love with several years ago. The Postelles, OK Go's opening act, are a New York City based rock band that has varied influences—from Buddy Holly to The Ramones. Their rock-and-roll vibe is similar to that of the old bands in the 1950s, but with a modern twist.

The Postelles' music is perfect for head-bopping, which the students at Brandeis University enthusiastically partook in. Their energy was perfect for the restless crowd, bringing a mellow yet anticipatory atmosphere that was tangible to the audience members, who responded to it through dance.

OK Go took the stage 45 minutes after The Postelles—long enough for the audience to wonder, "Is this really worth it?" But once the lights went off and the speakers blasted a beat, the atmosphere changed dramatically. The individual audience members became the audience, a single organism that only existed for one thing: OK Go. The band took the stage, each member wearing a full monochromatic bodysuit, and the audience surged forward to get closer to these colorful beings that would bless them with music.

The opening song, "Invincible," set the tone for the evening. Cannons at the back of the stage blasted colored confetti into the mass of students as they cheered and moved to the melodies. Front man Damian Kulich, clad in blue, interacted effortlessly with his audience through jokes and conversation with individual audience members, then moved right into their new song "White Knuckles."

The audience responded to every turn and dip in the music with ease. At one point in the show, during a mellow love song, everyone waved their cell phones—in a charming throwback to the advent of rock, there were even two or three lighters out there. Only a fraction of this energy can be stored in an audio file on an iPod; there's no doubt that the audience agreed the concert was worth the (comparatively low) cost and the wait.