(AUSTIN, TX) October 31, 2009 – The catching of a rising star, buzzing bee and glowing fireflies. One of the most exciting and rewarding things in music is to catch a band that’s blowing up. Such was the case in Austin, Texas on Halloween night. As the streets prepared to overflow with 60,000+ revelers on Sixth Street and people were rocking outside the door at the Emo’s backyard stage as part of the Lubricatour with the Revolting Cocks, there was some magic going on in the sold-out but smaller inside stage of Emo’s. Owl City was in town and this amazingly catchy outfit is expanding its reach with every millisecond and note that gets played on the radio.
The first artist on the bill was an amazing performer that should be familiar to the readers of HM Magazine — Brooke Waggoner. We’ve been wowed by her since The Shackeltons highlighted her music in one of last winter’s “Declarations of Independents” features. Then we were made believers by seeing her perform at South by Southwest. On this night she made her way up onto the postage stamp of a stage and plopped down on the piano and just proceeded to command the attention of everyone in the room — even the chatters — with her amazing piano skills and her wonderful voice. She plays impressively and skillfully, but also with passion, feeling and power. It wouldn’t surprise me to see her fingers emerge from a show all bloodied and bruised. And her vocals really need no amplification. It’s amazing how the pedals and bar chords she plays can resonate with such a beefy low end. This little lady could very well be a time traveller. Playing the title track from her new album, Go Easy Little Doves, she could fit right alongside someone like Carole King from the 70s or today’s organic piano rock scene … or even a bustling saloon from the Old West.
A band from Seattle played next called The Scene Aesthetic. I couldn’t really tell if I liked the vocals or not. The double vocal approach was done with gusto, but I’m not sure it works. My daughter and fellow middle school student fell in love with them, but … ehhh. I wasn’t getting it.
So, the room tightens as the sold-out crowd positions itself for a closer view of this boy wonder. I see other people help set up the stage, which isn’t surprising. But when Mr. Owl City himself (Adam Young) takes the stage with a couple of girls and another guy, I’m shocked to realize that Owl City is touring with a band! There’s four people on stage (as opposed to the two guys playing Apple notebooks and the occasional keyboard I saw at Cornerstone) … and dude is holding a guitar! It kind of freaked me out for a good minute or so. They jumped right in with the familiar bouncing notes of the lead-off track from Ocean Eyes — “Cave In,” which starts off with the greatest break-up line in the last few years: “Please take a long hard look through your textbook, cuz I’m history…”
The band’s sound is big and benefits from the live instrumentation — guitar (sometimes), drums, keys (of course) and … cello! This is some awesome surprise. When the band swings through big chords, the guitar and drums are locked in tight and the keys and cello combination give everything a throbbing low end. A for-real full sound. The background vocals from the keyboard player during “The Saltwater Room” are rich, adding that beautiful girlie touch. Very nice. There’s lots of squealing femme screams between songs, but it’s not so much a teeny-bopper fest as it is a joyous explosion. I’m an old guy and I swear — if I could dance I would’ve been all over this floor, totally bouncing techno. Within three-and-a-half minutes I was having a great time.
It wasn’t long before a phenomenon I don’t see too often happened. The vast majority of people in the room were singing along loudly … to every verse and every chorus. It brought back memories to the first time I saw Dashboard Confessional play this very same club back in 2001. There’s something like instant community (and total fun) going on when that happens. Tunes like “Hello Seattle” and “…a little song about dentistry” had more than a hundred background vocalists helping out. Near the end the cellist danced her butt off to the infectious grooves pulsing from the stage during “Umbrella Beach.” The band left the stage after about an hour of non-stop bouncing, but the crowd roared forth an encore, and the band delivered up their current single, “Fireflies,” which had the audience sing even louder at the song leader’s direction: “…I’d like to make myself believe / that planet earth turns / slow-lee…”
“This is our first time in Austin,” Young announced. “We might move here!” Of course, this caused lots of cheers. I have a feeling, though, that this band won’t be settling down anywhere anytime soon. Their music makes people feel too good not to share, and seeing them live with a room full of friends and fans makes the songs attach more memories and energy and feel even more special. You’re going to fall in love with this band, so go ahead and jump at the chance to catch them live.
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