Oh, here it goes again.
It's that time of the year, when three months of tenting pays off, when Cameron Crazies are at their finest, when the two blues battle it out once and for all-at least for the regular season.
But this year, in addition to the usual madness that overtakes K-ville and the entire campus during the week of Go To Hell Carolina! festivities, the Duke University Union decided to add K-ville Rocks! into the mix this Thursday night.
Headlining the show is Grammy Award-winning band OK Go, best known for their flashy, paisley outfits and low-budget music videos that feature a well-known treadmill routine in "Here It Goes Again" and choreographed backyard dance in "A Million Ways." Duke's own Stella By Starlight will open for the band, which got its start in Chicago.
OK Go was a band that the Union had been looking to bring for a while, Major Attractions Director Chamindra Goonewardene said.
"We thought [OK Go] wouldn't really be a good fit in Page because they are more of an outdoor band," Goonewardene said. "So when the K-ville show came up, we thought it would be the perfect fit."
Since Thursday is also a night of personal checks for tenters, there would already be close to a thousand students out there anyway, said Karen Chen, freshman and Major Attractions Committee member.
A personal OK Go enthusiast, Chen first learned about the band from the teen-soap The O.C. She became an "instant fan" after watching the band's comical parody of a ping pong instructional video. She said the free-spirited vibe of the band will get fans pumped for the game Saturday.
"Their liveliness and personality [are] well-suited for a college audience and for the party atmosphere," Chen said. "It's quite danceable."
Instead of having the larger show in Cameron Stadium that usually takes place in the spring, Major Attractions decided to hold more shows in Page Auditorium and Reynolds Theater. Boys Likes Girls, Augustana and Joshua Radin were some of the replacements for the show. K-ville Rocks! also adds to this list, and many people are excited for it.
"It's cool to have an outdoor show because it's more of a dynamic experience," junior Max Masnick said. "People are already standing up and not just sitting down passively."
Although Masnick enjoys the concept of Thursday's show, he does not think it should serve as a substitute for the Cameron Rocks! concert.
"I really, really enjoyed Franz Ferdinand and Death Cab For Cutie when they came a couple years back," Masnick said. "The Union should continue to bring bigger artists to campus."
Similarly, freshman Jesse Sun believes the money spent on OK Go could be put to better use. With a $40,000 price tag for the entire show, other options could have been explored.
However, he feels OK Go was a good choice for the outdoor event.
"They'll get people hyped for the game," Sun said. "They are the type of band that is fun to listen to and likeable, but they are not amazing musicians."
Though the band only recently rose to fame these past few years, boosted by the popularity of their homemade music videos, they have been around for close to 10 years. The four-piece band consists of frontman Daminan Kulash, bassist Tim Nordwin, drummer Dan Konopka and keyboard/guitarist Andy Ross.
Nordwin said that the band is excited to play in a college atmosphere.
"People are more enthusiastic," Nordwin said. "I can remember when I was in school and De La Soul came. There's a little bit of that line of thinking, and it's weird to think that 'Woah, they are playing in my hall' or 'That's where lectures are held.'"
Although Nordwin found it strange to see popular bands playing on campus, it may be even stranger that he's on the other side of the stage. One reason OK Go has become so well-known is because of their successful music videos, one of which is among the top 20 most-viewed YouTube clips of all time. The band is thankful for the publicity that their videos have brought them, even if people are quick to typecast them as "the band with the treadmills."
"Videos would not exist without the music," Nordwin said. "We don't expect that all 25 million people who watch our videos are going out to buy the record. We just like to make stuff and as well as we can."
It's evident that they enjoy what they do. From dressing up for shows because "T-shirts and jeans are boring" to videos that showcase their silly side, audiences will definitely be drawn into OK Go's charisma.
"We make fun, party music, for the most part, to the extent that people will grab onto upbeat jam," Nordwin said. "I think, to date, that it's fun without being stupid."
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