ODESZA No Longer Up-and-Coming, According to Their Northwest Shows

ODESZA No Longer Up-and-Coming, According to Their Northwest Shows

At this point it might be most appropriate to call the current ODESZA tour a victory lap. Not because they’re by any means close to being finished, rather they’re clearly winning. On that note, a “Living the Dream Tour” might make sense as well. Whatever you call it there’s no denying Seattle’s duo rapid rise into electronic music superstardom. Less than two years ago, they were playing club shows to a couple hundred people, last weekend they sold out two nights at Portland’s largest (indoor) music venue.
And if last Friday’s show at the Roseland is any indicator, they’re deserving of this ascension. I’ve been tracking ODESZA since they first came on the scene a few years ago, and this show was the most polished version I’ve seen. Their quality has increased with every new inch of popularity. Over the summer, they added in a live horn section to increase their depth. The trumpet and trombone stuck around along the addition of a guitar player.

The ODESZA trail started with the release of Summer’s Gone in 2012. They’ve kept these songs in rotation since and unleashed “How Did I Get Here” and the ultra-dreamy “Today” shortly into their set. Not only has their sound made improvements, but the visuals stepped up big in a scene where suddenly high production visuals are necessary (thanks Daft Punk). Several LED backdrops with multiple bright lights circling their stage and shooting into the audience. The whole venue was lit up with neon until the low blue lights took over and calmed everyone down momentarily.
Energy quickly picked back up once they dropped some of their well known remixes. ODESZA’s versions of “Soala” the beloved song by Seattle’s Beat Connection as well as the sly ZHU remix of “Faded.” After all this, they still left enough room to please everyone with their smash hit “Say My Name” and an encore of “IplayYouListen.”

I’m sure you can gather something of the magnitude of these two sold out shows. Inside the venue, it felt even bigger. The beer lines were as long as I’ve seen before and the temperature reached heights I didn’t think were possible. I don’t know how long ODESZA’s going to continue to stay this hot. The electronic music scene moves fast, but for now, we can all watch the joyride this regional group is inviting us on.

Check out more photos from the show HERE