- Apr 25

OWL CITY (A Parent's Perspective) Show Review Pittsburgh PA

Recently, one-man-band Owl City wrapped up their second leg of their To The Moon DELUXE Tour featuring Augustana and was support for Owl City's 2023 album Coco Moon.

This leg of the tour kicked off at the beginning of March in North Carolina and has hit major cities across the North East including Birmingham AL, Norfolk VA, Pittsburgh, PA, Cleveland OH and more!

I was fortunate enough to see Owl City on the Pittsburgh gig, and below is my take on the show

Saturday, April 13th, 2024. OWL CITY came into the city of McKees Rocks PA on their "TO THE MOON DELUXE TOUR" to the Roxian Theatre alongside opening act Augustana. With the doors opening at 7:00 PM there was already a massive line around the block to the low-ticket warning show, and by the time the doors opened, the show was sold out.

At a prompt 8:00 PM, Augustana took the stage. With only a piano at his helm, he commanded the sold-out Roxian Theatre's attention for a nearly hour's long set. Opening with the track Ash and Ember from 2014's Life Imitating Life record and then mid-set playing his breakthrough single Boston from his 2006 record All The Stars and Boulevards which got an incredible pop from the crowd along with the sold-out venue singing along to every single word. Dan Layus aka Augustana closed the show out with the track Something Beautiful from his newest record of the same name and Always A Way Out, another track from that record. Again, such an amazing performance, just one guy and his piano in a sold-out crowd.

Since Augustana was a solo act, OWL CITY's gear was already on stage. With the number of instruments on the stage, I imagined an upwards of a Slipknot-esque 9-piece band to appear on stage. With two full drum sets, 3-4 synthesizers, a Roland piano, an entire rack of guitars and bass guitars, percussion instruments, no less than half a dozen of microphone stands and backtracking system all scattered across the entire stage of the Roxian Theatre, I was completely amazed when the lights dimmed and only Owl City founder Adam Young emerged to the stage.

He opened, alone mind you, with the track CAVE IN, off of the 2009 Ocean Eyes record. The entire track was on a loop and backtracked. It was simply amazing watching Adam jump from instrument to instrument on stage adding a new layer to the song and turning it into one giant crescendo before dropping it off into the second track of the night KELLY TIME from his new 2023 album Coco Moon whom he was then joined on stage by only a drummer and a cello player.

Moving along, a deep-cut track from 2006's record OF JUNE, track Captains and Cruise Ships, is one of my favorite Owl City tracks. It was sick to hear the song live without the auto-tune sung. One of my favorite tracks from Coco Moon, Adam Check Please was up because I knew live that Adam would be all over the place on stage with this one, and he didn't disappoint.

After Learn How to Surf, the intro to Fireflies played to which the entire crowd broke out in applause and cellphone lights. It was an amazing spectacle to see from any angle of the building, below or balcony with every single chorus being sung word for word by the audience. With the breakthrough hit in the middle of the set, Dinosaur Park from Coco Moon as well as The Tornado from that same record were up next. Closing out the night before the encore was a song that I didn't realize was extremely popular which is Vanilla Twilight, also from the Ocean Eyes album, the same record that Fireflies is from. Exiting the stage briefly and coming back, Owl City closed out the night with the track Vitamin Sea, yet another song and latest single from Owl City and Coco Moon.

Owl City is one of the more nostalgic bands I've seen live. I did not expect such an energetic live show and watching Adam, nearly alone on stage, command an audience in such a way. If you even know only one song of Owl City, because let's face it, we all know Fireflies, I implore you to attend an Owl City show live. It is one of the most impressive live events you will ever see.

Check out the OWL CITY photo gallery and highlights below!

GALLERY