SM PIER — The Twilight Concert Series has signed a big-name band as a late addition to its list of performers.
The Los Angeles-based alternative-rock band OK Go will headline the free Santa Monica Pier concert series on Sept. 4. The Allah-Las, another L.A.-based band, will open the show.
OK Go is known for its intricately choreographed music videos and is now arguably the biggest name in the concert lineup.
The video for "Here It Goes Again," a single-shot dance routine on treadmills, won the band a Grammy and has been viewed more than 21.6 million times on Youtube. The song cracked the top 40 on Billboard's charts and the band's most recent album, released in 2010, was a top 40 seller.
"OK Go was a big win for our final slot," Pier Administrator Jay Farrand told the Daily Press in an e-mail. "The combo with the Allah-Las (another amazing band) will be fantastic."
The Twilight Concert Series takes place over 10 weeks, every Thursday at 7 p.m. on the pier, starting this week with the indie-rock band Cults.
When the Santa Monica Pier Corporation announced the lineup in May, one of the 10 headliner slots was empty, as were two of the 10 opener slots. Pier officials were still working out details.
"We really stayed committed down to the last moment to make it a really solid line-up all the way through, and feel like we ended strong," Farrand said. "We had just seen OK Go's newest Rube Goldberg style-video (you have to watch it if you haven't seen) which was amazing and realized their style was just perfect for the Pier, and the timing couldn't be better."
OK Go's new album, "Hungry Ghosts," is scheduled for release in October.
The Allah-Las, slated to open the show, were another late addition. They are described as a garage rock foursome that formed in 2008.
De Lux, an L.A.-based duo with a sound described as disco combined with post-punk, has been added as the opener for Syrian electro group Omar Souleyman on July 31.
Wunder Wunder, an Australian band slated to open for fellow Aussies, Jagwar Ma, has been scratched from the lineup. In their place will be Fascinator.
Earlier this year, City Council asked the concert organizers to tone the events down. They also agreed to pay more to beef up security.
City officials claim that the popularity of the concerts are ballooning and creating public safety hazards. They estimate that 20,000 to 30,000 people showed up for last summer's Jimmy Cliff concert.
Farrand told the Daily Press earlier this year that the 2014 lineup reflects a balanced approach: The very big acts were axed but so were the very small acts.
dave@www.smdp.com
