Messiah Revvs up the City

Popular band Owl City and special guest Alpha Rev perform at Messiah College

By: Lindsay Prior

Posted: 2/25/10

If you've been listening to the radio at all lately, you've probably heard the song "Fireflies" more times than you can count. Chances are, even if you haven't heard their songs, you've heard of Owl City, especially because of all the hype generated not too long ago by their performance here at Messiah College.

On February 13, 2010, Owl City and opening band Alpha Rev came to Messiah College and performed in a packed Brubaker Auditorium. The tickets had gone on sale months in advance, and both students and non-students were buying tickets left and right. The tickets sold out quickly, and many Messiah students were left without them. However, in the beginning of January, the ticket office once again offered tickets to Owl City's concert. Students stood in line for an hour or more the morning the tickets went on sale, each hoping fervently that all the waiting would not be in vain. Some of these students were able to snatch the last bunch of tickets; as for the rest, they were out of luck. The tickets were sold out within the first hour of availability.

Needless to say, Messiah College and its surrounding population have quite a large Owl City following. This was made even more obvious by the size of the line for entry into the concert; it began at Brubaker auditorium, stretched past the mailboxes, snaked its way past the swimming pool, the athletic offices, and ended at the door beyond the crowded hallway.

Inside the auditorium, people in the back were sitting in seats, conversing excitedly while people in the front were standing and milling about anxiously, waiting for the show to begin.

Suddenly, Alpha Rev walked onto the stage and began their set. The lead singer/acoustic guitarist, the enthusiastic electric guitarist, and the violinist (whose violin was a fantastic light shade of blue, by the way) stood at the front of the stage, and the rest of the band was in the back, bringing their own authentic sense of rock music to the audience of Owl City fans. After each of their songs, the audience applauded and shouted excitedly. Overall, it seemed as though the opening band got a great reception from those in the audience.

When Alpha Rev finished their set, an intermission was given in order to set up for Owl City. The audience members waited with anticipation, a few of them sitting down in order to relieve aching backs and feet. Every movement onstage was accompanied by at least a couple of girls' screams, but most of these were false alarms -- the crew was setting up the stage, and the audience was getting antsy.

Finally, the lights went down once more and the audience cheered enthusiastically as the members of Owl City walked one-by-one onto the stage and settled down beside their instruments. The conspicuously missing lead singer, Adam Young, appeared onstage moments later to many loud screams of excitement. Thus, Owl City's set began.

Owl City seemed to get a great reception from the audience members at their concert, particularly during the song "Fireflies," which they played in the middle of their set. Young had explained to the audience earlier that he was feeling kind of sick, so he asked the audience to help him sing the chorus. The audience happily complied as Young held his microphone out to the audience during the first chorus. As the song went on, the audience continued to sing along with him.

After "Fireflies," Owl City played a few more songs, which the audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy. When their set was over, the members of the audience shouted simultaneously and repeatedly, "ONE MORE SONG!" Owl City obliged and walked back onstage to play a song entitled "Hello Seattle."

At the end of the night, fans walked out of Brubaker auditorium chatting animatedly about the concert, comparing opinions. So, just what were the opinions of the Messiah College students who attended?

Junior Evan Scott, when looking at the concert through a technical perspective, was not particularly impressed.

"You could tell a lot of it was pre-recorded," he says. "I was listening for some of the minute details that I'd heard on the track, and they were all there -- so it was obviously taken right from the CD. They probably just muted a few tracks, like the vocals and the keyboard. But you could tell that the drummer, for example, wasn't actually drumming as much as you were hearing."

However, Scott says that the concert as a whole wasn't actually that bad.

"It was fun for the audience," he says, "and I think I'd go to another concert of theirs, even if only for the fun atmosphere."

On the other hand, Sophomore Suzanne Taylor admits that she was a bit disappointed with Owl City's performance at the concert.

"Before the concert," says Taylor, "I thought they were unique and cute -- the kind of stuff you can listen to anytime. After the concert, I liked them a lot less. I felt like the music at the concert was too loud to enjoy in the way I used to, and he should have put a lot more consideration into his stage presence."

Taylor says she actually liked the opening band, Alpha Rev, better.

"[Alpha Rev] seemed more experienced -- like they've done this stuff before, despite the fact that Owl City's more popular. They were more aware of their audience, and they were more comfortable up there, I think."

Students' opinions of Owl City's concert seem to be somewhat mixed - however, most seemed to enjoy it, at least to some extent, considering the number of screaming girls (and guys) one could hear at the concert when Owl City came out for their encore.

Now that Messiah College has hosted a concert by a band as popular as Owl City, what's next?

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.