Oh Wonder with Kevin Garrett
The Observatory
Tuesday, September 27
Two years ago, the name Oh Wonder was basically non-existent. In September of 2014, they released their first song "Body Gold." Their strategy was to release one new song on SoundCloud every month for a year leading up to the release of their album in September of 2015.
If you ask me, it definitely worked.
Approaching The Observatory hours before the concert, there were already lines of people. Luckily, I had been able to procure a Meet and Greet pass, thus allowing me to wait in the shorter line.
It was incredible to watch the lines grow and grow. I wasn't even aware of the impact that Oh Wonder had made.
In just those two short years, a soft-spoken pair from London was heard all around the world.
Upon meeting Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West, the masterminds behind Oh Wonder, I could see their excitement to perform and the love they had for the fans. Those fortunate enough to snag an M&G ticket also received a signed poster and a photo with the band.
The Meet & Greet seemed to take a little longer than expected, ultimately pushing the start time of the concert back a bit. Nobody seemed to mind, because Oh Wonder was worth the wait.
After a tiny delay, the opener, Kevin Garrett had emerged.
Garrett is a contemporary R&B artist with a beautiful voice. He played for a good half an hour and honestly, it was very enjoyable.
I didn't know a single word to any of the songs but that didn't stop me from having a good time.
Looking out into the crowd, I saw a few people singing along. It was nice to see that there were fans for every artist taking the stage that night. I even saw a few concert goers crying, which was heart-warming to see that Garrett was able to establish such a great connection with his fans.
He is definitely an artist worth checking out. Some of the standouts include a song called "Never Knock" and his newest single "Precious." The rest of his set was filled with ballads that I thought helped showcase his fantastic vocal range.
Once he was done, that only left the main event. The crowd was growing with anticipation for Oh Wonder.
The second the pair walked out, the audience went insane with screams and applause.
As soon as the music started, I knew this would be a fantastic night. The opening number was "Dazzle," a personal favorite of mine and also a great song to start the party.
The duo greeted us all soon after and mentioned how much they loved being in California. Before the show, they even had a day at the beach. I enjoyed hearing their accents live in front of me.
After a few more words, Oh Wonder continued with a fantastic set list. Having only one album out, it was assumed that we would hear most of it.
They kept the momentum going with their more upbeat tracks like "Lose It" and one of their biggest hits, "Without You."
The really incredible moments had to be when they performed their slower numbers. My all-time favorite, "All We Do," had half the crowd in tears.
Before the song, Kucht had a little message for us all, "Dream big. Whoever you want to be, whatever you want to do, believe anything and everything is possible."
Another pivotal part of the night was when the band played a new song for us. I believe it was called "My Friends" and it was a touching ballad about the people left behind while the band is on tour. It was about their family and friends back home and how much they missed them.
After everyone had wiped their tears, the duo continued with a few more of the songs off of their self-titled album.
The "closing" song of the night was "Drive," another popular tune. After that great performance the lights had went down and the duo had left the stage. As a huge concert enthusiast, I knew it wasn't over. Every concert I attended had an encore.
After a minute, Oh Wonder had come back to grace us with two more songs.
First was the fun "Midnight Moon" that served as a great way to hype up the crowd once more. The actual closer was "Technicolour Beat," a song I knew they'd play, but didn't think would be saved for last.
Regardless, the concert was a spectacular experience. Hearing the calm, serene beats I normally hear through my iPhone translated to a large open space really showed what incredible artists these two have become.
If you have a chance, give Oh Wonder a listen and definitely see them live.
You won't regret it.
