Tom Odell with Barns Courtney

House of Blues

Thursday, October 27

As an avid concert-goer, I do hold every new concert to a high caliber. I like to see a noticeable difference and gain new experiences.

Luckily, I got exactly that at my most recent show.

Tom Odell is a young, singer-songwriter from England who has released two very solid albums. This year, his tour focused on his summer release "Wrong Crowd." Still, it wouldn't really be a Tom Odell concert without him performing songs from his hit debut, "Long Way Down."

The San Diego stop was the last stop on the singer's U.S. tour so it only made sense to make it as great as possible.

Of course, before the main event, there is usually an opener to try and get the crowd ready.

Unlike most openers, this one actually managed to successfully hype up the audience. Barns Courtney was his name. I hadn't heard of him before, but I definitely looked him up after.

Courtney had only a guitar with him, but it was the perfect way to show off his strong vocals. Not only could the boy sing, but he had a great energy about him.

One of the most memorable moments was when he took off his pants. Yes, you read that right, he was in his underwear for the last few songs.

He mentioned a time last year where he did that at a concert and so naturally the entire crowd demanded a pantless Barns.

There definitely was no better way to kick off the night.

Not too long after, we were graced with the presence of our precious Tom Odell. For those of you who know his music, his best friend is the piano. You'd think he would put on a very chill and reserved show.

You'd be wrong. With his powerful band and incredible vocals, he was able to fill the room with his sounds. There is no question about it, seeing Odell live was jaw-dropping.

With an array of colors, he began with "Still Getting Used To Being On My Own" from his recent release. He continued the big performances with "I Know" from his first album and the title track from the new one.

It's no question that his newer music is great but a lot of the standout performances were from "Long Way Down" like "Can't Pretend" and the lead single "Another Love."

After about 11 songs, Odell bid us farewell, but we weren't falling for it. We knew he had a few more songs up his sleeve.

Fortunately, he did. Three more songs, to be exact. He finally ended with fan favorite, "Magnetised" and everyone could rest easy.

There were so many great aspects of this particular concert. Not only was Odell fantastic live, but he really connected with his fans in a way that not many artists do.

For more Tom Odell, you can check out "Long Way Down" and "Wrong Crowd" on iTunes, Spotify, and basically anywhere.

Don't forget to check out Barns Courtney as well!