American alternative rock rising stars X Ambassadors stopped by at home during The Orion tour celebrating their second studio album. The band originally from Ithaca, New York had only one show scheduled in their home state during this tour and after conclusion of this tour they have some separate shows planned before heading to New Zealand and Australia next February.
X Ambassador has seen their fame skyrocket after releasing their first studio album VHS back in 2015, which went Platinum Certified by RIAA. Multiple platinum certified singles Unsteady and Renegades are alternative rock station mainstays to this day. Following massive success of VHS, the band prepared for their second album in 2018 which they later scrapped in favor of releasing Orion on June 14th this year. Considering the scope of VHS success, Orion so far is underperforming on charts.
Nonetheless fans across the country are flocking to see this band perform live. Terminal 5, a mid size venue near Hudson River, just minutes away from New York City’s Central Park, was almost packed. The band came out with absolute energy and gave the home state fans the best show they deserved.
X Ambasador’s keyboardist Casey Harris was escorted to the stage by his brother and vocalist Sam Harris. Casey has been blind since birth but by his performance on stage you would never know. On drums was Adam Levin. All the guys have been together since the band’s formation.
Sam, who is the bands leading songwriter was fully immersed in the show, dancing and jumping all over the stage. He also occasionally played saxophone and guitar. They opened with single Hey Child from the new album, followed by Jungle taken from VHS and then went straight back to the new material with Boom and Quicksand. New songs felt more uplifting and energetic than previous material, cue their latest singles Joyful and Optimistic, but still blended in nicely with bands style and philosophy.
Orion was the most played album this night accounting for seven songs on the set list, with VHS packing only four. Of course Renegades and Unsteady were left for dessert at the end of the show.
The band will tour for another two weeks, and will finish it up in San Francisco on November 19th. After that, get ready Australia, they are coming your way in February.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Andris Jansons
