Electro IS the New Emo

Thursday, 04 February 2010 19:21

Owl City, Lights, and Deas Vail recently toured through Florida, including dates at Freebird Live in Jacksonville and at the Ritz Theatre in Tampa.

By John Davisson

The three groups were a nice package of the electronic-music scene that is quickly gaining popularity. After years of angst-ridden screamo and emo bands, it’s nice to hear music that emphasizes melodies and decipherable vocals, albeit in a different wrapper.

Deas Vail, which I was unfamiliar with, played first. Its sound was similar to Owl City, in that it had a keyboard emphasis, but there was also more of an focus on the traditional guitar/bass/drums sound. It seems like a nice up-and-coming band moving in the electronic vein.

LIGHTS held down the middle slot, backed by a drummer and second keyboardist, who also had a mini-moog. There were plenty of keyboards to emphasize the electronic textures she is known for, with the drums giving it more of an analog anchor. But, make no mistake, it was the intergalactic electronic sound you would expect, though perhaps a little louder for the live setting. She has been known to pick up a guitar for an unplugged version of a song or two, but these shows had no guitar (although she did have her keytar).

Her music was a close fit to the Owl City sound, and she picked up a lot of new fans that came to the show unfamiliar with her music and left as fans. The same thing happened when she played the Warped Tour last year. Her light, electronic sound and upbeat lyrics are infectious and a lot of people will be getting familiar with her this year, through this tour and her content-heavy website, which has some nice videos.

But it was Owl City that was responsible for the packed venue, as he delivered an energetic set of electro-pop. Adam Young bounced between guitar and keyboards, and his affable energy was the antithesis of the mopey shoegazing indie singer that was popular last year. Backed by another keyboardist, drums, cello, violin, and xylophone, the sound was lush, with analog textures recreating the electronic soundscape that is Owl City. These shows sold out quickly, and his fanbase has been growing exponentially, so the crowd was extremely boisterous. Next time we'll expect Owl City to be playing larger venues.

You can still catch LIGHTS and Owl City tonight (2/4) at The Culture Room in Ft. Lauderdale and tomorrow (2/5) at House of Blues in Lake Buena Vista.