OK GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Or, the story of my first concert in Paris. One of my favorite bands, OK Go, was performing there, and I was very excited about going, because I have been trying to see them live back home for quite some time now (I was going to see them in Austin with Eryn in August '05, I'd even bought my ticket, but then after getting my wisdom teeth out there were so many complications that I was too sick to be able to drive down. Such a disappointment!). But now I finally have, woohoo!
So that night, February 5th, I'd gotten McKenzie and Mark to come with me, and we went over to the 11th arrondissement where OK Go's venue (le Nouveau Casino) was (as well as many other music venues! I guess that's where they all are here). We got there around 7:15, doors opened at 8, and there was already a line of people outside, and we discovered that just about everyone had tickets and that the show was COMPLET (sold out). I hadn't bought tickets before because I didn't know who was going with me until very last minute and I figured there'd still be some left at the door, it's France, right? Actually, OK Go is popular here too, so yes, they'd sold out.
Full of despair, we went inside a place nearby to wait until 8 and see what happened then. 8 rolled around and we went outside and to the front of the line and watched people get let in--quickly losing hope, as it appeared no one had any extra tickets left. Then we noticed a group of people near us, and a woman approached us and asked if we needed a ticket. She only had one, but McKenzie encouraged me to buy it, go in, and they would try to get tickets and join me later (of course, they never did cause they couldn't get tickets! wah!). I pretty much didn't have a choice, so I bought it (normal price, 15 euros, which was fortunate) and went in alone. I headed for the bathroom, but there were two lines in front of it, and one was for coat check, and I couldn't figure out which was which. I heard 2 girls near me speaking English, so I asked them which line was which, and they told me, and we got to chatting, and they ended up asking me if I wanted to hang out with them since my friends weren't there, which I of course accepted. Kira from Australia and Deborah from Canada, both working as au pairs (foreign nannies) in Paris, but they've globe-trotted a lot before and during this as well of course. Kira has even spent considerable time in Japan!
So we checked our coats and went up to the merchandise table on the mezzanine level above, where I bought a cute lavender OK Go shirt and we talked to the band's manager, because he was just hanging out up there and started talking to us as fellow English-speakers. !!! so cool. He told us how the band isn't even staying in Paris tonight, they're flying directly to Germany. Busy schedule, woww! They've played Paris before, on like a boat on the Seine hahah, but they were supporting Motion City Soundtrack. That night they were completely solo, not even an opening band!!
The venue was really cute and small too, I liked it. We went back downstairs and went to go stand with the rest of the masses in front of the stage. Within minutes the keyboardist came out and started playing the opening chords to "The House Wins." After that was "Television, Television," and then I can't remember. I'd like a set list, I hope one turns up online somewhere. Between songs Damian bantered, which was hilarious because... it's Damian. He told us how the last time he was here his girlfriend went crazy for this "pamplemousse" stuff in some store, oh man it was hilarious.
At one point they set up a mini stage platform in the middle of the crowd, very close to where we were standing, and they came over and played on it, right in the middle of us! It was so cool! Then towards the end Damian came to the bar and walked on top of it and then made his way through the crowd back to the stage. Everyone was totally into it, all those French people LOVE OK Go apparently, and it was awesome. Then after two encore songs, he was all "Well, we just finished filming the video for our next worldwide hit single [Do What You Want], but it's some uber monster secret, so we can't show it to you, but we brought you something else... here's my backyard." And the image of his backyard from the Million Ways video shows up on the screen behind them, and they get into position and DO THE DANCE YAY YAY IT WAS SO GREAT.
Makeshift setlist (based on memory and mostly not in order)
1. The House Wins
2. Television, Television
Don't Ask Me
You're So Damn Hot
1000 Miles
A Million Ways (acoustic)
Invincible
Don't Bring Me Down (Electric Light Orchestra cover)
Here It Goes Again
A Good Idea At The Time
Oh Lately It's So Quiet
No Sign of Life
?
Violent Femmes cover
ENCORE
Return
Do What You Want
A Million Ways (lip-synching to the DANCE!!)
Here's a video of the ELO cover taken by someone else that I found on Youtube.
So after that was all over I went up with Kira and Deb to the merchandise area, where they bought shirts, and then we sat at the tables nearby talking about how cool it was while the majority of people left below. Then we looked out and were like "Oh hey, the band is down there" and sure enough, there they were signing stuff and taking pictures. So we went down and Kira got a shirt she had gotten as a present for her brother signed by the band, and I got a picture with Damian and he signed my ticket stub. yay!
Then we finally left, and it turns out Deb lives only one stop away from me so we took the 9 train back together. We also traded numbers and they've already invited me to this going-away dinner for their friend at a Japanese restaurant this Friday. I just might go!
Another English-language review of the show can be found here.
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