Hello, Portland!

Last night I went to see Owl City live at the Roseland Theater here in Portland, OR.  I somewhat knew what to expect since I went to the show they played last year, at the same venue, but regardless of my knowledge on their performance ability I was still blown away by how excellent their show was.

There were two opening acts that performed prior to Owl City hitting the stage.  The first band, Unwed Sailor, was an instrumental group that set the mood for the night.  Their music was calming and ambient at times and towards the end of their set they started to play more upbeat tracks.  The next act to grace the stage was Mat Kearney, originally from Eugene, OR, rocked the set for his home state.  You could tell through all of his songs that he really connected with the audience and was genuinely happy to be performing in front of us, and some of his family that was in attendance.  He did an excellent job performing, and in such, turned me into an instant fan (I hadn't heard any of his music prior to the concert).

The finale of the night was Owl City's moment on the stage.  The band was pieced together with numerous musicians, all who did an excellent job.  The way that each song was cleverly crafted to be performed live kept it very exciting.  From songs being pulled down to their raw basics, to others that got molded into something new with added electric guitar and other instruments. The mood of their performance was most often upbeat, but at one point turned very touching and heartfelt with Adam Young, the lead of Owl City, performing solo with just the piano and a microphone.

Adam was also very pleased to be back in Portland, saying how much he loves it here, joking about moving to this wonderful city, and even name-dropping Voodoo Doughnuts made him connect that much more with the audience.  Overall the concert was excellent.  Each act added something special to the show, and the spectacular work by every musician that contributed to the Owl City performance made for an awesome event!