Ocean Eyes Tour Explained

Concert Tour Name:Ocean Eyes Tour
Artist:Owl City
Album:Ocean Eyes
Number Of Legs:7
Number Of Shows:104
This Tour:Ocean Eyes Tour
(2010)
Next Tour:All Things Bright and Beautiful Tour
(2011)

The Ocean Eyes Tour is the first headlining concert tour by American electronica project Owl City, in support of his second studio album, Ocean Eyes (2009).

Background

Owl City released his second studio album, Ocean Eyes on July 14, 2009. In October 2009, Owl City announced the Ocean Eyes Tour.[1] The first leg of the tour took place in the United States starting on January 20 to February 14, with Lights and Deas Vail serving as the opening acts.[2] Owl City then toured across Europe for the second leg of the tour from February to March 2010, with Lights joining him again.[3] Once the second leg of the tour finished, he joined Cobra Starship as the opening act on their Australian and New Zealand tour.[4]

Owl City returned to North America for the third leg of the tour from March to May 2010.[5] He later toured across Europe in May 2010 for four shows on the fourth leg of the tour.[6] [7] Owl City returned to North America for a third time on the fifth leg of the tour from August to October 2010.[7] On the sixth leg, he travelled to Asia for three shows in November 2010.[7] He concluded the tour in Oceania that same month.[8]

Reception

Critical response

The Ocean Eyes Tour was met with mixed to positive feedback by critics. Scott Fryberger of Jesus Freak Hideout gave a positive response with the show at the McCain Auditorium. He wrote, "I was very impressed at Owl City's professionalism and enthusiasm. Though I didn't expect the group to not give their all, as they come off as really friendly and loving, it was refreshing to see that they gave it 100%."[9] The show at the Beaumont Club was met with mixed responses. Timothy Finn of Spin praised his live band writing, "thanks in large part to his band, which gave some of his songs a harder edge, and to one of his keyboard players, a woman who laid down some lovely harmonies."[2] Elke Mermis of The Pitch wrote, "Owl City played an unarguably tight, well-executed set." However, Mermis criticized Young's stage presence stating, "Young looked like, well, a kid in his southern Minnesota basement, pretending to be a rock star."[10] The Columbus Dispatch noted that, "Owl City and his band put on a very entertaining show," writing on the concert at Newport Music Hall.[11]

Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times gave a mixed feedback of the concert at the Club Nokia. He praised the first half of the show noting, "The music was giddy and easy to follow but impressively detailed as well, with shifting layers of acoustic and electronic instruments. The technique worked in the background, though; like Owl City's music, this portion of the concert presented a slightly heightened rendition of reality." However, he was critical on the last half of the concert feeling that, "Young has already tired of the puppy-love juvenilia on Ocean Eyes."[12] Similarly, Teresa Jue of the Daily Bruin gave a mixed response for the concert stating, "Owl City's keyboard medleys were catchy... The ultimate problem though, was that many of Owl City's songs are rather repetitive, making for similar rhythms and instrumental qualities that were at times indistinguishable from each other."[13] Writing on the concert at the Ogden Theatre, The Denver Post gave a positive response noting, "Every song during the first half of the set was a fun, poppy, sometimes toe-tapping three-minute adventure with eclectic storytelling lyrics that ranged from a trip to the dentist to a walk through corn fields."[14] Another positive review came from Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian writing on the concert at Shepherd's Bush Empire. She wrote, "There isn't much variety to his song structures, which incline toward straightforward pop-rock, but there are little surprises tacked on: the xylophone tinkles that herald 'Air Traffic', an oddly erotic introduction to 'Cave In', in which the string duo down instruments and cavort around a drum, like violin-playing sprites."[15]

Commercial performance

The first few shows of the tour sold well as the McCain Auditorium concert reportedly sold out.[9] The show at the Beaumont Club also sold out to a crowd of 1,200 people.[2] The Club Nokia show were just shy of 4,000 people in attendance.[16] The concert at the Aragon Ballroom also had a sold out crowd.[17] In the UK, the show at Shepherd's Bush Empire also had a sold out crowd.[15]

Setlist

This set list is representative of the performance on January 20, 2010, at McCain Auditorium in Manhattan, Kansas. It does not represent the set list at all concerts for the duration of the tour.[9]

  1. "Umbrella Beach"
  2. "The Bird and the Worm"
  3. "Tip of the Iceberg"
  4. "On the Wing"
  5. "Air Traffic"
  6. "Fireflies"
  7. "Meteor Shower"
  8. "The Technicolor Phase"
  9. "The Saltwater Room"
  10. "Dental Care"
  11. "Hot Air Balloon"
  12. "Cave In"
  13. "Vanilla Twilight"
  14. "Hello Seattle"

Tour dates

DateCityCountryVenue
North America
January 19, 2010 United States University of Nebraska
January 20, 2010 McCain Auditorium
January 21, 2010 Beaumont Club
January 22, 2010 Diamond Ballroom
January 24, 2010 Murat Center
January 26, 2010 Majestic Theatre
January 27, 2010 20th Century Theatre
January 28, 2010 Newport Music Hall
January 29, 2010 Recher Theatre
January 30, 2010 The NorVa
February 1, 2010 Music Farm
February 2, 2010 Freebird Live
February 3, 2010 State Theatre
February 4, 2010 Culture Room
February 5, 2010 House of Blues
February 6, 2010 The Melting Point
February 8, 2010 WorkPlay Theatre
February 9, 2010 Varsity Theatre
February 10, 2010 The Revolution
February 11, 2010 Valparaiso University
February 12, 2010 Indiana University of Pennsylvania
February 13, 2010 Messiah University
February 14, 2010 University of Maryland
Europe
February 17, 2010 United Kingdom Komedia
February 18, 2010 Electric Ballroom
February 19, 2010
February 20, 2010
February 21, 2010
February 22, 2010 Manchester Academy
February 24, 2010 Netherlands Melkweg
February 25, 2010 Belgium Le Botanique
February 26, 2010 France Le Nouveau Casino
February 27, 2010 Germany Gloria Theater
February 28, 2010 59:1
March 1, 2010 Magnet Club
March 2, 2010 Denmark Amager Bio
North America
March 30, 2010 United States Knitting Factory
March 31, 2010
April 1, 2010 Paramount Theater
April 2, 2010 Canada The Centre
April 3, 2010 United States Roseland Theater
April 5, 2010 The Fillmore
April 6, 2010
April 7, 2010 Fox Theater
April 8, 2010 Soma
April 9, 2010 Club Nokia
April 10, 2010 Marquee Theatre
April 12, 2010 The Great Saltair
April 13, 2010 Ogden Theatre
April 14, 2010 Reynolds Center
April 15, 2010 Stubb's BBQ
April 16, 2010 Verizon Theatre
April 17, 2010 Nokia Theatre
April 19, 2010
April 20, 2010 The Tabernacle
April 22, 2010 DAR Constitution Hall
April 23, 2010 House of Blues
April 24, 2010 Terminal 5
April 25, 2010 Electric Factory
April 27, 2010 TorontoCanada Sound Academy
April 28, 2010 United States House of Blues
April 29, 2010 Royal Oak Music Theatre
April 30, 2010 Aragon Ballroom
May 1, 2010
May 2, 2010 Eagles Ballroom
May 4, 2010 Val Air Ballroom
May 5, 2010 The Pageant
Europe
May 8, 2010 United Kingdom Barrowlands
May 9, 2010 London O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire
May 11, 2010 Paris France Élysée Montmartre
May 12, 2010 Cologne Germany E-Werk
North America
August 4, 2010 TorontoCanada Molson Amphitheater
August 5, 2010 United States DTE Energy Music Theater
August 6, 2010 Verizon Wireless Music Center
August 7, 2010 CMAC
August 9, 2010 Comcast Center
August 11, 2010 Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
August 13, 2010 Jiffy Lube Live
August 14, 2010 Susquehanna Bank Center
August 15, 2010 PNC Bank Arts Center
August 18, 2010 Phoenix Cricket Wireless Pavilion
August 20, 2010 Shoreline Amphitheatre
August 21, 2010 Sleep Train Amphitheatre
August 22, 2010 Los AngelesHollywood Bowl
August 24, 2010 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
August 25, 2010 Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
August 28, 2010 Pipeline Cafe
August 31, 2010 USANA Amphitheatre
September 1, 2010 Red Rocks Amphitheatre
September 4, 2010 SuperPages.com Center
September 5, 2010 Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
September 6, 2010 The Wharf Amphitheater
September 8, 2010 Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood
September 10, 2010 Ford Amphitheatre
September 11, 2010 Cruzan Amphitheater
September 18, 2010 The Eastern States Exposition
October 31, 2010 Owatonna Senior High School
Asia
November 4, 2010 Japan Big Cat
November 5, 2010 Club Quattro
November 6, 2010 Shibuya AX
Oceania
November 9, 2010 Australia Enmore
November 10, 2010 Palais Theatre
November 11, 2010 The Tivoli
November 13, 2010 New Zealand The Powerstation

Notes and References

  1. Owl City Announce Early 2010 Tour. HM. Doug Van Pelt. October 12, 2009. September 1, 2023.
  2. Owl City Launch Tour in Kansas City. Timothy Finn. Spin. January 22, 2010. September 1, 2023.
  3. Web site: Tours: Lights with Owl City. PunksNews.org. September 1, 2023.
  4. Web site: Cobra Starship sell out Australian tour. Kill Your Stereo. March 9, 2010. September 2, 2023.
  5. Web site: Owl City Announces Spring 2010 US Headlining Tour; Winter 2010 US Headlining Tour Sold Out. Jesus Freak Hideout. December 18, 2009. September 1, 2023.
  6. Web site: Owl City Announces Two UK Tour Dates For May. Jon Stickler. Stereoboard. February 17, 2010. September 1, 2023.
  7. Web site: Owl City - Events. owlcitymusic.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20120707070253/https://owlcity.com/events/archived. July 7, 2012. September 1, 2023.
  8. Web site: Owl City Announces Australian Tour Dates. Music Feeds. John Ritchie. June 15, 2010. September 3, 2023.
  9. Web site: Owl City 1/20/10, at McCain Auditorium, Manhattan, KS. Scott Fryberger. Jesus Freak Hideout. January 21, 2010. September 1, 2023.
  10. Web site: Concert Review: Owl City. Elke Mermis. The Pitch. January 22, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20110821044028/https://pitch.com/wayward/archives/2010/01/22/concert-review-owl-city. August 21, 2011. September 1, 2023.
  11. Web site: Music Review - Owl City: Sound translates well to Newport. The Columbus Dispatch. https://web.archive.org/web/20120920133407/http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2012/09/17/sound-translates-well-to-newport.html. September 20, 2012. September 1, 2023.
  12. Web site: Live review: Owl City at Club Nokia. Mikael Wood. Los Angeles Times. April 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100413183010/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/04/live-review-owl-city-at-club-nokia.html. April 13, 2010. September 1, 2023.
  13. Web site: Concert Review: Owl City. Daily Bruin. Teresa Jue. April 11, 2010. November 5, 2023.
  14. Web site: Live review: Owl City @ the Ogden Theatre. The Denver Post. April 15, 2010. November 5, 2023.
  15. Web site: Review: Owl City Shepherd's Bush Empire, London. The Guardian. Caroline Sullivan. May 10, 2010. September 1, 2023.
  16. Web site: Concert review: Owl City gives synth-pop a human vibe in Nokia Live performance. Matt Weitz. Dallas News. April 19, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073858/https://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/music/headlines/20100419-Concert-review-Owl-City-gives-2667.ece. March 4, 2016. September 1, 2023.
  17. Web site: Review: Owl City lives out its wide-eyed romanticism in front of screaming fans. Chicago Tribune. Althea Legaspi. May 2, 2010. September 1, 2023.