OK Go Delivers Confetti-Filled Spectacle to Sold-Out Portland Crowd
The innovative alt-rock band turns Crystal Ballroom into a blur of color, chaos, and joy.
OK Go — Photo Taken By Kat Tabor.
OK Go, the Grammy-winning rock band known for their wildly inventive music videos and genre-bending performances, brought their signature spectacle to a sold-out crowd June 19th at McMenamins Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon. The show marked a stop on their North American headline tour in support of their critically acclaimed fifth studio album, And the Adjacent Possible.
OK Go broke into the mainstream in 2006 with the viral hit “Here It Goes Again,” a low-budget yet wildly creative video that featured the band dancing in sync on treadmills. The clip became a sensation before the rise of YouTube, helping define their signature blend of music, choreography, and DIY video artistry. Today, the video has racked up more than 67 million views on YouTube.
Originally formed in Chicago and now based in Los Angeles, OK Go has continued to defy the conventional boundaries of rock music. From choreographed routines and zero-gravity stunts to Rube Goldberg machines, Muppet collaborations and even encoding music onto strands of DNA, the band’s creative range knows few limits — and Thursday night was no exception.
Before hitting the stage, the band surprised fans with a pop-up set at Portland’s iconic record store Music Millennium — just hours ahead of their sold-out headlining show. Doors to the venue opened at 7 p.m., but the excitement had been brewing well before then.
The night kicked off with a high-energy set from L.A. Exes, an all-female power-pop band whose bold presence and matching suits and ties lit up the room. Their infectious energy extended beyond the stage as they chatted with fans at the merch table, setting a personal and intimate tone for the evening.
L.A. Exes — Photo Taken By Kat Tabor.
When OK Go finally hit the stage, they didn’t ease in — they exploded. A burst of confetti rained down on the crowd, filling the air with a vibrant haze that masked everything but pulsing lights and dancing silhouettes. They opened with “This Too Shall Pass,” a track from their 2010 album Of the Blue Colour of the Sky. While most bands save the confetti for the finale, OK Go flipped the script — a fitting move for the ever-inventive alt-rock trailblazers.
OK Go — Photo Taken By Kat Tabor.
The floor of the historic ballroom shook as fans danced to songs spanning the band’s two-decade career. A highlight came with the performance of “Love,” a leading single off And the Adjacent Possible, released earlier this year in April alongside another of the band’s signature single-take videos.
Even after 20 years, OK Go continues to challenge the boundaries of what live music can be. Their shows aren’t just performances — they’re immersive, multimedia events that blur the line between rock concert and artistic experiment.
The band is currently on tour in support of And the Adjacent Possible. For upcoming tour dates and more, visit okgo.net.
OK Go — Photo Taken By Kat Tabor.
