Monday night myself and fellow Entertainment editor Evan Derrick decided to take in a show by current electronic pop favorites Owl City. You may know Owl City from the hook-laden, modern pop hit “Fireflies,” which took summer radio by storm a couple of years ago. What you may not know is that Adam Young, who literally created Owl City by himself in a basement, is a devout Christian and certainly one of the “good guys.” I had heard both of his albums to date, and while they are certainly consistent efforts, his live show blows them away.
What struck me first was the depth of the performances. That isn’t generally expected at electronic shows, but Adam’s band is tight and takes advantage of interesting arrangements. I know that I wasn’t expecting to see two strings players on stage performing before walking in, and I was blown away by what they brought to the show. I also wasn’t expecting Adam to get behind the drumkit for an instrumental, but that happened too. While the set was full of the expected pop hooks, there was also an added layer of depth that kept it interesting throughout.
Owl City clearly attracts a younger fanbase (we were the oldest people there who didn’t have to bring their kids) but man, do they dig it! What is neat about that, is that Adam’s story is one of both overcoming all odds and living a positive lifestyle through his beliefs. It is a story that he has learned to translate into terms that teenagers can understand. The themes of redemption and being able to achieve your dreams were clearly a big part of what he wanted to communicate, and those themes connected cleanly with the audience.
All in all, Adam and Owl City showed that they are much more than one radio hit, we here at Beliefnet are anxious to see what they do next!
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