It’s Not A Concert, It’s A Celebration: Reflections From ODESZA’s ‘A Moment Apart’ Tour

Someone taps on my shoulder, a woman, leaning over the row of chairs, her smile ear-to-ear.

“You look beautiful together,” she says, loud enough to hear over the music, gesturing to me and the man I’m with, whose arms are draped around me. “Beautiful couple.”

I smile unconsciously, filled with the overwhelming sense of joy at the present moment—the sounds floating from the stage and filling the air around us, the laughter and screams of fans, the heat of my flushed face, the electricity rushing through my veins, the way my legs are so tired but so alive as I dance and dance and dance.

“Thank you,” I say to this stranger, whose cheerful expression still hasn’t left her face. I don’t know her. I don’t know her name. I’ve never even seen her before, but here she was, reaching across to me, blessing my night with a simple compliment.

We exchange a few words. She introduces herself, and we dance as a group—the two men she’s with, me, and the guy I’m with—forming an unspoken bond as ODESZA’s music reverberates through the stadium. This is the first night of the tour and the energy is tangible. Lights. Paper confetti. Live instrumentation. Smoke. Bass. Love.

As the sound shifts and blends I find myself singing the words at the top of my lungs, my body unconsciously moving beneath me. Effortless. Alive.

And honestly, there’s no other way to describe it. In that moment, bodies pressed all around me, colorful confetti dancing in the air, laughing and swaying with strangers, the sounds filling my mind, my heart, my soul—I feel alive.

And honestly, that’s what music is about—a celebration of life.

What I love about ODESZA is the raw energy that Harrison and Clayton bring to the stage. It’s palpable. The first night of the tour (San Diego), featured a mix of songs that soothed with calming, trance-like beats, contrasted with more vibrant tones that made me never want to stop dancing.

My favorite thing about their sound, and in particular this album/tour, is the introspection. The way the music makes you feel, makes you take a deeper look into the human experience.

ODESZA’s music is a reminder that it’s not about where we are, who we are, or what’s going on in our lives—when we come together and listen—we celebrate life.

For a moment, it doesn’t matter the deadline we have to meet, the test we failed, the partner who walked away from us, the relationship that faded, the stress and pain and heartache and emptiness of the world. For a moment, we throw our arms into the air, we close our eyes, we sing, we laugh, we hold people close to us, we connect with strangers, we enjoy being.

One of my favorite songs from the set was “Corners Of The Earth.” The lyrics speak of the beauty of being connected to one another, of loving, of being strong when we come together, stand together, celebrate together.

“Tonight we run
We run into the sun
We run into the corners of
The love we choose to make

Tonight we show
We show where we belong
The places I have never been
The places we are strong

Tonight we’re golden
We fall towards each other
We fall to the edges of the earth
We burn tonight as one

Tonight we run
Through love we never knew
Our love to everyone
We love tonight for love

We’re golden”

It’s beautiful—when we put aside the craziness of our lives and exist in harmony with one another. When we throw our hands in the air and stop worrying so much about the things of the world and just enjoy one another.

When we let our bodies and souls fill with music, with happiness, with love.

And that’s what I loved about ODESZA’s show—the fact that I was connected with strangers, sharing compliments and laughter and hugs, that I could enjoy my guy’s arms over my shoulder as we danced and smiled like damn fools, that I could stop thinking, that I could sing at the top of my lungs, that I could laugh. That I could celebrate this beautiful life.