OK Go at the Ballpark, June 2026

Last May, I had to give up my tickets to an OK Go concert at the Regency Ballroom in SF because I came down with a nasty case of the flu. I was super bummed, because at that point it had been entirely too long since I'd seen one of my favorite bands in concert, what with Covid and the general social aversion that lingered after that. Later that same year, as the band continued their 2025 tour, I seriously contemplated flying to North Carolina to see their Raleigh show with one of my best buddies from high school (one of four friends bonded for life after learning and filming the Million Ways video). But alas, that didn't shake out either.

But THEN, this spring, while planning a totally different trip (in which Alex and I set out to visit six ballparks in five cities), I got an email announcement from OK Go informing me they were playing a one-off show outside Wrigley Field, THE EXACT SAME WEEKEND we were planning on being in Chicago for a Cubs game. If that's not a sign, I don't know what is!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZdeaHom1S3/

Fast forward to the last leg of our ballparks trip. In the midst of all the planning and traveling and baseball games, I'd all but forgotten we were going to this concert until we were on our way to Chicago (if I'd remembered, I most certainly would've packed one of my OK Go shirts!). So last Saturday night, after a delayed overnight train from Pittsburgh, a lengthy and kinda hostile hotel check-in, and an unexpected detour on the Red Line, Alex and I arrived at the gates of Gallagher Way feeling somewhat frazzled. Thankfully, the venue and crowd was exactly what I'd hoped it would be: a comfortable mix of standing room and lawn, where mellow Millennials and a few Gen X'ers were sprawled out with beers and peanuts, watching the opening set by Stone Foxes (from San Francisco!).

If my numbers are right, I think this is the 9th or 10th time I've seen OK Go. I've seen them in a tiny club in LA, at the beach in Encinitas, among the eucalyptus trees in Stern Grove, at rock venues in San Diego, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco, but seeing them outside Wrigley Field in their hometown felt extra special. There was even some baseball banter! (Andy: "It's been pretty cool playing the second best ballpark in America."...friendly boos from the crowd...Damian: "See, this is why we don't like Andy, he's from Boston.")

Side note: We went to both a Red Sox game and a Cubs game on our trip, and I didn't think it was possible, but Wrigley charmed me even more than Fenway! I think it's something about the old-timey grandstand (complete with view-obstructing pillars) and ivy-covered walls, or maybe the cute cub mascot plastered all over the park, or maybe the fact that they call it "the friendly confines"...I dunno, but out of the two remaining jewel box ballparks, Wrigley just barely beats Fenway in my book.

As OK Go took the stage outside Wrigley Field, I vaguely wondered if they'd deploy their usual confetti cannons, this being an outdoor show in the Windy City, right next to a busy street...but the question was answered within the first verse of "This Too Shall Pass".

It made me happy to see so much of the audience there with their kids, a new generation of OK Go fans dancing and chasing confetti as Damian intentionally garbled the lyrics with swear words. It was a near-perfect set, with some of my favorites from the early, pre-viral-video era all the way up to their latest album, with a little easter egg thrown in ("It's Tough to Have a Crush"). Are kid-friendly pop rock retrospectives my new favorite genre of concert now??

After the show, Alex and I split a late night Chipotle bowl and rode the Red Line back to our hotel just as the Knicks were winning the NBA Final (only one person on the L was visibily thrilled about this, quietly pumping his fist and wiping tears of joy from his face). I returned to our room with confetti in my pocket and the chorus to "The One Moment" playing nonstop in my head - a perfect way to end a long, exhausting day.

Two days later, we went to see the Cubs take on the Rockies at Wrigley Field, and couldn't have asked for a more exciting game to end our 2026 baseball trip. Pete Crow-Armstrong hit for the cycle in reverse order, a feat which has only happened 11 times in the history of baseball, and after trailing the entire game, the Cubs turned it around and walked it off in the 9th inning!! I love baseball. I love OK Go. I love when baseball meets OK Go.

I'll close this out with a revised list of Nikki's Top 10 OK Go Songs, first posted in 2010 and updated for 2026 (in no particular order):

• Get Over It - One of my favorite things about this OK Go song is that it's become one of Alex's favorite OK Go songs too! A great one to shout-sing along to.
• I'm Not Through - This one really jumped the ranks during my rollerskating era...I dunno what makes it such a good skating song but it is!!
• A Good, Good Day at Last - I'm a sucker for catchy hooks and prominent Tim vocals (see also: C-C-C-Cinnamon Lips).
• This Too Shall Pass - I'm also a sucker for uplifting anthems that get arranged for marching band.
• I Won't Let You Down - Such a bop. I still remember when the video came out and thinking they'd really taken the single-take choreography to a new level.
• Bye Bye Baby - The song that accompanied me as I left for college.
• Oh Lately It's So Quiet - A classic Damian falsetto. Very much a night drive song.
• A Stone Only Rolls Downhill - I'm into this midlife advice-giving era we've entered with the new album. This is my fave of the bunch.
• A Million Ways - After all these years, always.
• What To Do - If only one OK Go song could be included on the soundtrack to my personal life, this would be it.

Bonus: OK Go does the Zombies