Trail II and Ok Go

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead was an 'eh' show.  Since the last time I saw AYWKUBTTOD at Irving Center in NYC, they had added 4 members to the 4 originals...and also added them to their stage show.  Given their style, this made them LOUD.  My friend Jenny told me that loud bands often sound ragged and indistinct at the 9:30 Club, and Trail of Dead was no exception.  To not be able to hear clearly what an indie-prog-rock group is doing can be the kiss of death.  Often during the show, I thanked god for knowing what all the songs were supposed to sound like ahead of time.  They weren't bad, but the sound and acoustics let them down. 



On Sunday night, I saw OK Go with Jenny and Josh.  They were fucking fantastic.  Totally awesome.  I would see them again tomorrow.  And the next day.  I didn't know most of the songs - in fact, I only knew the YouTube videos like the treadmill-driven "Here It Goes Again" and the backyard-dance "A Million Ways."  I liked both songs, so I had high hopes for the show.  They did not disappoint.  They even closed the show by performing their dance routine to "A Million Ways."



The concert was recorded by NPR; you can listen to it here for free.  I'd have to place this show among the best live performances I've ever seen.  It was right up there with Radiohead, OutKast, Pearl Jam, Cypress Hill and Tool.  They were energetic, the songs were catchy, the crowd was hot (in more ways than one), and they played a few songs on a center-of-venue platform, surrounded by the crowd.  It was simply sublime. 



It's always nice to add another good band to my repertoire.  Despite (or perhaps because of) Pitchfork's predictably-obvious hatred of the group, OK Go has won me over.

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