Review: Great Good Fine Ok with Flor

by Anamika Gautam, photos by Emma Fischer

The Beachland Tavern is not a well known venue in Cleveland: it’s a small, intimate attachment branching off of the lobby area of the larger ballroom, usually staying under the radar. However, on Saturday night, New York-based electronic pop group Great Good Fine Ok lit up the typically unnoticed area. With the support from Portland band flor, accompanied by the the incredible stage setup and lighting, the Tavern provided the perfect venue for a phenomenal show.

The second that flor began to play, I was immediately enthralled. Clearly having great dynamics as a band, such as lead singer Zach Grace kept sharing glances and smiles with guitarist McKinley Kitts as the infectious bass lines traveled throughout the room.

Throughout their entire set, I was in awe of their raw, unfiltered talent. I can’t remember the last time I was so impressed with a performance – much less with such an underground opening act. Flor reminded me of Two Door Cinema Club but with a twist that allowed them to be completely contradictory; being mellow yet powerful, jagged yet soothing, and haunting yet upbeat all at once. Grace’s unmistakably gentle voice paired very well with the soft instrumentals on tracks like “Heart”, “hold on”, and my personal favorite, “Warm Blood”. I can’t wait to see what flor has prepared next, and I won’t be surprised if they blow up. Their passion in sharing their music was so obviously displayed. I’m eagerly awaiting to see what’s next from them.

With blinding blue lights, fog machines, and glow sticks tossed out into the crowd, Great Good Fine Ok definitely made a statement when they came on stage. Starting off with “Holding You” from their newest EP, III, the crowd was already bouncing as if it was a dance party in their best friend’s living room.

Lead singer Jon Sandler and keyboardist Luke Moellman worked together extremely well – with the perfectly interwoven notes of Sandler’s impressive falsetto along with the lively electro-synth beats, energy levels were kept high throughout the night. A standout factor of the show was the special effects: gradient lights in every color of the rainbow, green flashing lasers, and glow sticks everywhere helped to maintain the feeling of a never-ending rager (sans the gross frat boys).

Great Good Fine Ok played several fan-favorites that had the entire crowd singing along, including “Already Love”, “Take It or Leave It”, and “You’re the One For Me”. Being able to create such upbeat, synth-heavy, poppy tunes that are simultaneously mushy love songs, and then playing them live while sounding just as good, is yet another way that I was completely captivated by GGFO.

Ending the night with “Not Going Home”, Great Good Fine Ok made it apparent that they know how to have an awesome night, even in the midst of a Cleveland snowstorm.