It was a sloppy and rainy night, but it couldn’t deter half a dozen folks outside The Sinclair in Cambridge who were willing to pay up to twice face value to get tickets for the sold-out show.
It was Odesza’s fourteenth sold-out night in a row on tour, and The Sinclair was full of flannel shirts and Macklemore/Sam Smith haircuts. As Hayden James and Ambassadeurs played funky opening sets the crowd grooved along with eclectic, gyrating, two-step based dance moves. Everyone waited with excitement; a stocky, scruffy guy in the front row said he would “give absolutely anybody and everybody a lightshow” with his glowing gloves once Odesza hit the stage.
As lights went low and dreamy synth chords floated from the speakers, the crowd let loose a ravenous roar to welcome Odesza back to Boston. Harrison and Clayton sprung onstage to this drum pads with drumsticks in hand and banged out a fantastic rearranged intro of their song “Bloom.” From there, the duo continued twisting cutoff nobs and pressing pads on their controllers triggering ethereal vocal samples and booming bass lines. Meanwhile, a barrage of flashing lights sprayed across the crowd, accompanying a few more energetic up-tempo tracks while hands bobbed in the air and feet shuffled to the beat.
After an energetic beginning to their set, the set transitioned into a few smoother, more laid-back songs, slowly building the energy back up. As the night began to crescendo they cut the music right after playing “Koto” and Clayton grabbed the mic to address the crowd. “It’s great to be here Boston, it feels like you’re having a pretty good time out there.” Everyone responded in agreement with ecstatic shouts, screams, and whistles. “Right now we want to play ya’ll a sexy little R’n’B track we made,” crooned Harrison, as they dropped the infectious synth intro to “All We Need.”
The rest of the show was filled with a couple of cuts off their first album and two unreleased songs. All around the venue, it was impossible to find anyone who was able to suppress the urge to get down and groove to Odesza’s wonderfully spacious and syncopated beats.
Safe to say, the understood commandment for everyone in attendance was: thou shalt not be a wallflower tonight.