Touring behind a new EP, the synthpop outfit led by Minnesota singer-songwriter Adam Young attracted a large, young and exuberant crowd in its Meijer Gardens debut. (Review, photo gallery)
In Stride: Adam Young and Owl City regaled a young crowd at Meijer Gardens on Sunday night. (Photos/Anthony Norkus Photography)
Owl City, aka multi-instrumentalist Adam Young, first got his start on Myspace (hey, remember that site?) mixing beats in his parents’ basement in Minnesota. Nowadays, he’s touring the country attracting fleets of screaming young fans to his shows.
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LocalSpins.com Review
And Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park was packed Sunday night with a sold-out crowd of those said fans, many of them accompanied by their parental escorts. Though the weather was cloudy and kept with the recent trend of chilly summer nights, concertgoers weren’t deterred.
With an exhilarated anticipation hinging on sixties-era Beatlemania, young fans clutched handmade posters as they raced into the amphitheater, stampeding down the stairs to get as close to the stage as possible.
Opening for Owl City was Los Angeles-based pop group, Echosmith, appealing to the crowd with their family-friendly lyrics, three-part harmonies and energetic drum circles. The family band — siblings ranging from age 14 to 20 — were led by fiery-haired frontwoman Sydney Sierota, who strutted across the stage a la Paramore’s Hayley Williams, interacting with her brothers. The set covered material off the siblings’ debut album, “Talking Dreams,” including “Cool Kids” and “Won’t You Come.” The group won over the crowd by the end of its half-hour set, setting the stage for Owl City.
Enthused Youth: Owl City drew perhaps the youngest crowd ever at Meijer Gardens.
A REAL SCREAM OF A SHOW
Welcomed to the stage by high-pitched squeals and screams from fans packed into the concrete pit in front of the stage, Young was backed by a four-piece band which offered up plenty of synth riffs, keyboard trills and guitar solos coupled with flashing lights and atmospheric smoke.
“My name is Adam Young, and this thing is called Owl City,” Young declared after introducing the band.
Draped behind the band was a trippy tapestry depicting a seaside village, which gradually changed over the course of the show from night to dawn.
The hour-and-a-half set featured Young’s prominently catchy, electro-pop singles such as “Deer in the Headlights” and “Gold,” closing with “Good Time.” “Fireflies” received the most enthusiastic crowd response, with Young conducting the crowd in a singalong to its chorus.
Owl City certainly captured the hearts of Grand Rapids’ youth Sunday night, and may even have won over some parents in the process.
OWL CITY: THE LOCAL SPINS PHOTO GALLERY BY ANTHONY NORKUS (Aug. 11, 2013)
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music
