In Tulsa , Oklahoma there is a place called Cain rsquo;s Ballroom; a small venue with an old fashioned art deco style neon sign in bright colors that you can see from the highway. It greets each fan, welcoming you and letting you know that you have arrived.
The Cain rsquo;s is famous for lots of reasons.
When you walk through the front doors and onto the old hard wood floors you can feel it. Among the rough rafters in the center of the large hall is a red neon star with a small disco ball hanging in the center. Large sepia tone photographs are spaced along the walls, close to the ceilings, tilted down so that you can see them.
Men in cowboy hats, holding fiddles, and grinning perfect white smiles watch each show that comes through. Among these faces is Roy Rogers, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Hank Thompson, Earnest Tubb, Tex Williams, and Bob Wills; one of the leaders of the Light Crust Doughboys, a band that came to Tulsa from Texas and played their first regular radio broadcast from the Cain rsquo;s Ballroom on February 9, 1934.
I had come to the Cain rsquo;s for the more recent legends.
The Sex Pistols played here as well as the Police, Garbage, Huey Lewis and the News, Talking Heads, INXS, Van Halen, Cake, Marilyn Manson, and Crystal Method. There are countless other bands and singers that come to Oklahoma to play the ballroom but tonight my friend and I had come to see the Silversun Pickups, Ok Go, and Snow Patrol.
The show started at eight with L.
A. rsquo;s Silversun Pickups. Brian Aubert (guitar/vocals), Nikki Monninger (bass), Christopher Guanlao (drums), and Joe Lester (keyboards) came out onto the small stage waved, picked up their instruments, greeted the sold out Cain rsquo;s crowd and played.
I had never heard of the Silversun Pickups before this show and I wasn rsquo;t sure what kind of music would blast my ears but what happened when they played was brilliant. This band is worth seeing. I can tell you right now that they are going to be huge.
Sadly though they only played five songs before their set was over and the stage was being set up for Ok Go.
A white sheet was stretched across the back of the stage and distinctive pictures of colorful wallpaper from the Oh No CD were projected onto it. As well as the videos for lsquo;Invincible rsquo; and lsquo;Do What You Want rsquo; during the show.
Ok Go is Damian Kulash (vocals/guitar), Andy Ross (guitar) Tim Norwind (bass) and Dan Konopka (drums). They started out in Chicago in 1998 and in their early career served as a sort of house band for a touring version of the NPR show This American Life. Their first full length CD was released in 2002 and the single Get Over It became a radio hit.
I have loved that song since the first moment I heard it and I was desperately hoping that tonight they would play it.
Ok Go is more recently known for the treadmill video of Here It Goes Again or maybe for the back yard dancing that spawned over a million tribute videos on YouTube A Million Ways but if you haven rsquo;t looked into these guys anymore than that you should. Ok Go is full of energy and their music is easy to get hooked on.
Smart, emotional, playful, catchy, and butt moving, this is indie rock at it rsquo;s best.
The live show is fantastic. Damian Kulash interacts with the crowd a lot and was more than comfortable even though Ok Go had never played Tulsa before.
I rsquo;ve seen a lot of bands play. A fare number just get up on the stage, play, and leave without ever saying a word. I like my bands to talk to me.
I rsquo;ve driven 2 hours and I rsquo;ve been standing here for almost as long, you can at least say lsquo;hi rsquo; to me.
Before they played Oh Lately It rsquo;s so Quiet Damian said he had noticed all of the people with cell phones and digital cameras taking pictures. He asked that everyone hold up their contraption during the second verse of the next song, Don rsquo;t worry, in case your not musically inclined I rsquo;ll let you know when that is.
So they started to play the song that is very different from the rest of Oh No. Much softer, and while catchy, is smoother to listen to than the other songs on the CD. Right before they started on the second verse they stopped playing, and with a huge smile on Damian's face, began to play again.
The whole crowd shoved cell phones, cameras, and lighters into the air. Arms swaying slightly the crowd began to sing along.
March 8 also happens to be Andy Ross rsquo; birthday and Damian gave him a new guitar on stage.
If I knew anything about guitars I would be able to tell you a little more about it but I don rsquo;t. I was also standing behind one of the tallest 17 year-old teenagers I have ever stood behind in a concert and didn rsquo;t get a very good look. I think it was white.
But then, all too soon, it was time for the Scottish and Irish Snow Patrol to take the stage. This was who the crowd had come to see, people began stomping on the wooden floor boards and they shook beneath my feet. A few impatient shouts of lsquo;Snow Patrol rsquo; were heard but then the lights dimmed.
Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar) Jonny Quinn (drums), Paul Wilson (bass), Nathan Connolly (guitar,) Tom Simpson (keyboard) took the stage. Gary Lightbody immediately began talking to the crowd about how great it was to be back at the Cain rsquo;s Ballroom. He even had his Cain rsquo;s t-shirt on and bragged about the fact that on their last tour he had worn it to most of his lsquo;gigs rsquo;.
He had even worn it in Japan and Tulsa could expect a plane load of Japanese tourist to descend on the Cain rsquo;s at any moment.
Snow Patrol was fantastic live. Their music is mellow and I wasn rsquo;t sure how they would sound live- I wasn rsquo;t sure what kind of energy they would have but they tore down the roof.
It was amazing. The crowd sang along and on several songs, Gary let the crowd finish the final verse or line. He would smile and step away from the microphone just a little as he watched the sea of faces before him.
Set Fire to the Third Bar is a duet that Gary does with the wonderful singer Martha Wainwright. He apologized to the crowd that she had not come on tour with the band but that in every show so far he had picked a girl from the crowd to come up on stage and sing Martha Wainwright rsquo;s part.
So he brought a girl from the crowd up on stage, got her fitted with a microphone and a pair of headphones, and I think a sheet with the lyrics on it just in case she forgot.
He sang to her, not just the crowd, and at one point got down on his knees in front of her; she of course did the same. It was great and she did a great job singing. If that had been me I don rsquo;t think I could have gotten anything to come out let alone lyrics that sounded decent.
They played and talked to the crowd for over an hour and right when you thought they were done they came out and did a two song encore. I was thrilled. The room had beat with the thumping of feet, the sound of lsquo;Snow Patrol rsquo; being chanted filled my ears, and suddenly Gary Lightbody was on stage again.
So where ever you are right now, whatever you are doing, check your local concert listening and see if the Silversun Pickups, Ok Go or Snow Patrol is playing anywhere near you. If you have to drive a little, go ahead. Trust me, it rsquo;s worth it.
You are going to have a great time. (And just in case you were wondering the Snow Patrol guys are really nice guys, according to Damian Kulash)
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