Owl City: Live From Los Angeles [Blu-ray]

I’ve only been an Owl City fan for about a year, and I can’t get enough. I’ve purchased everything I can find by Adam Young. He brings a breath of fresh air to the Synth Pop genre, not to mention that he’s a genuine, talented individual who knows much more than simply the fundamentals of orchestration and music theory.I’ve heard comments regarding “auto-tune” use, which I believe are absurd. I believe there are those that condemn the use of vocoders as a form of style, which most synth and pop styles use in that manner. They’re pretty obvious to detect, and the only time I’ve heard anything like this was for style, and not for correction of the tuning in his voice. He’s proven himself as a gifted vocalist, over and over, be it through impromptu radio performances, and other such endeavors.But on to the “Live From L.A.” Blu-ray video concert. Video is very good, but I wouldn't call it reference quality. You’ll see some amount of video blocking as cameras sometimes turn directly into the stage lights and darkness of the audience, a mistake I see often in concert video recording. But it's nothing that interfered with my overall enjoyment of the concert.The audio is superb, and the mix, credited to Adam Young, is perfect. Now I realize that some may not hear as much of the live cello and violin as they would have liked, but I think this may depend on your audio playback settings. The concert video includes a non-compressed, PCM track that I listen to using Dolby Pro Logic IIx (7.1 speaker setup) and I am blown away by the ability to distinguish the clarity of all of the individual performers. I find Young to not only be an outstanding composer, orchestrator, and performer, but very proficient in audio mixing. (I spent many years as at a sound board and understand how much is involved in producing optimal sound levels for a large number of microphones and digital inputs.) I was amazed with how well I could hear the cello and violin among all the other instruments that were playing.If there is one critique I’d mention, it would be the modulated vocal effect used on Breanne Düren’s vocal was sometimes too intense, and her voice became a little too synthetic; but I only noticed this with some of her solos; harmonies were beautifully mixed and sounded spot on and smooth.Overall, I felt this was a five-star performance! The music flowed perfectly from one song to the next, and though there was limited re-arrangements to some of the songs (which were all breathtaking – as far as I’m concerned), Adam didn’t stray far or often from the original compositions. For me, this is one of those rare performances that makes you smile and applaud throughout the whole concert, as you watch from the comfort of your home. I only wish there was more on the way!I have to add one final comment: I’m nearly 59-years-old, and I’m not very impressed by most of the stuff I hear these days that passes itself off as music. Owl City, Ke$ha, Katy Perry, and a few others have given me new hope that there are still talented composers and performers out there.

If you like Owl City's recorded material, then you should enjoy this DVD. The songs, while mostly faithful to the album versions, do include some very creative intros/outros/transitions and instrumental sections that definitely put the "rock" into Owl City, as well as showcase the stellar musicianship of the whole band (not just Adam Young).I went to one of the other shows on this tour ("All Things Bright and Beautiful"), and this DVD is an accurate representation of the great show that I saw, i.e. it's not a carefully-spliced-and-edited DVD of best-takes from multiple shows. That tour (and this DVD) should erase any concerns people have about Owl City being a "studio band."The performance is spectacular, no doubt. But as a musician and a sound geek, I have some issues with the production...Mix: Some parts of the mix are missing. You'll always hear Adam, the guitars, main drum kit, loops, synth strings -- but you won't always the REAL strings (violin, cello), backup singers, and sometimes the second drum kit (where they tear it up on a couple of songs!). I heard all of these elements during the concert I was at, so I know they were mic-ed! So either those tracks didn't get recorded, or they weren't mixed high enough to hear on the DVD. This is a shame, because the band sounded even fuller in person than what the audio on the DVD implies.Auto-tune: Despite a heavy-handed use of digital pitch correction on his albums, Adam Young actually has an excellent live singing voice, which I appreciated from 15 feet away. UNFORTUNATELY, they've taken that lovely live voice and auto-tuned in post-production, so you'll never hear it on this DVD! His voice sounds dead-center "corrected" throughout the performance, just as it does on his albums -- perfectly familiar to album listeners, but unfortunate for those who remember (or want to hear) what his voice sound likes without the auto-tune.Guitars: To the reviewer who mentioned that "The distorted guitars seem too perfect, too close miced and intimate." Notice the lack of guitar amps/cabinets on stage. They use digital amp modeling; probably with the processors rack-mounted offstage, plugged directly into the soundboard. This technology has really come a long way [search 'POD HD Pro' or 'Fractal Axe-Fx'], but yes, they still don't sound EXACTLY like a real guitar amp + mic.

Iam a big Owl City fan, I got to tell you this is worth it.I enjoyed the show so much it was not boring at all,I got this on Blu ray. I was trying to decide wheather or to get it on Blu ray or dvd because I thought to myself man Iam an Owl City fan I ll get the Blu ray. Man it was a good choice the picture is amazing Iam like at first it was going to be ok but then when I watched it I was Blown away How good it looked like 5 out of 5 stars good. If I had to pick it would be Blu ray because you get so into it, you feel like your there. Ill be watching over and over again thats how good it is. Everything is so clear on blu ray I cant stress it enough BUY THIS ON BLU RAY YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPOINTED.Everything is perfect on it in every way on the main menu you can pick to watch the concert with an interview or with out.You can pick what song you want to watch to, thought that was great like if your looking for a song you want to listen to you can just go to the scene selection.Thats pretty much about it for the Blu ray its worth the money.

Adam Young and his band deliver a sublime concert showcasing some of Owl City's best work. Exceptional talent on show and a great live experience. Such a treat and one that you can revist again and again. If you enjoy Owl City then it's a must own product!

I had the pleasure of seeing Owl City play at The Cockpit in Leeds on this tour and for me this release has been a fantastic way to re-live the show. 'Fireflies' is particularly epic with a beautiful piano/guitar/drums introduction, and likewise the transition from 'Swimming In Miami' into 'Umbrella Beach' is inspired, it was worth buying this Blu-Ray just to be able to watch these songs again. The interview clips are also a nice addition, if a little short (only about 15 mins worth).What I do find a little disappointing though is the 'live' audio mix, where the majority of the synth, strings and percussion parts have been replaced with tracks taken from the studio album mixes. This is presumably to reinforce the sound or perhaps the original live audio wasn't up to scratch, either way it becomes quite apparent with the drums in some places where what you're hearing doesn't match up to what the drummer is playing! The audio in general is also a little bit thin with a lack of low frequency from the bass guitar and kick drum.Still, the video quality is excellent as is the overall editing and production. Here's to another live DVD from this year's tour!

This is a freakin' amazing live concert. Wow. Especially since it was just after he released his All Things Bright and Beautiful album which I thought has been his best album so far. I especially recommend getting this Blu-Ray version 'cause the sound is amazing and the video's pretty darn good as well. This guy may very well be the most talented musician I know. Even in this concert, (though he has a band with him) he sings, uses two different mics, plays drums, piano and synthesizers-type stuff too. And if you thought his music was too soft, he definitely amps it up in this concert. He even has a rock-like intro to his most popular song, Fireflies. And if you're into his more Christian-like songs like I am, he also has a couple of them in here. This is seriously, one of the best things I've ever watched/heard and highly, highly recommend it. You definitely won't regret it.

I decided to buy this DVD as Owl City are one of my favourite kinds of music to listen to, when watching the DVD it had many songs on from two albums which were Ocean Eyes and All Things Bright And Beautiful, and it also included a 10 minute interview with Adam Young which explained how he became famous and how he got his passion for music and so on, but all together I would say well worth the money.

Qu'est-ce qu'il faut dire? Très peu de chance de voir Owl City en vrai, du coup, mon fils qui est fan a décidé de commander ce DVD que nous avons trouvé excellent, tous les deux. La qualité d'image, la musique, les chansons . . . trop bien! Je recommande sans hésitation. Aucun souci pour lire le DVD sur un lecteur de salon standard ici en France.