Owl City headlined two shows Saturday in New York– a matinee at 1p.m. and an evening performance at 7p.m., to sold-out crowds, evidence of the high demand of Adam Young’s infectious electropop sounds which have been under heavy rotation across the country’s mainstream airwaves.
His catchy pop tunes and ethereal atmospherics translated well for the all-ages matinee crowd, and played along well with Terminal 5’s impressive sound system and accompanying light show.
Lights, the pseudonym for Canadian electronic pop singer Valerie Anne Poxleitner, who has been touring with Owl City since January, opened the Owl City/Lights/Paper Route Spring Tour 2010. (Paper Route did not play at Saturday’s show).
Lights self-proclaimed “intergalactic” music was a hit with the young audience, full of engaging refrains and appealing electric guitar riffs.
For the anthemic “Saviour,” which is also available in a remixed version by Adam Young, Lights proclaimed “I just want to run to you/ And break off the chains, and throw them away/ I just want to be so much/ And shake off the dust that turned me to rust/ Sooner than later, I need a saviour, I need a saviour,“ and was easily a crowd favorite.
“Lions!” also epitomized Lights’s upbeat set, with the confident chorus, “Lions make you brave/ Giants give you faith/ Death is a charade/ You don’t have to feel safe to feel unafraid.”
Owl City highlighted songs from both his debut album, “Maybe I’m Dreaming” and his major label release on Universal Republic, “Ocean Eyes.”
The fifteen-song setlist included “On The Wing”, “Dear Vienna,” “Fuzzy Blue Lights,” “Cave In,” “Meteor Shower,” and the expected hits, “Vanilla Twilight” and last November’s number one single, “Fireflies” which had the packed crowd chanting along.
The young artist, who hails from Owatonna, Minnesota, combined effervescent melodies with lighthearted lyrics to produce a carefree and fun show. It was easy to dance to “Umbrella Beach” and sing along to the sweet duet, “The Saltwater Room”, featuring vocalist, Breanne Düren.
The formidable songs were apparent. They emphasized less of the slower harmonies and more of the energetic, innocuous chords.
The lighting effects were a brilliant complement to the stage band’s irresistible verve and the serene oceanic sound effects kept the song transitions effortless and simple.
Needless to say, there were plenty of kids, parents and teens at the matinee concert.
Indeed, Young called out midway, “I feel like I’m at a daycare” but no matter, it was a merry party till the very end.
