After I saw that X Ambassadors are listed as a similar artist to Halsey on Spotify, I thought of writing about their concerts and comparing them to one another since I've recently seen both.
On Februrary, 7th 2016, X Ambassadors played a show in Musik und Frieden, a rather small Club in Berlin Kreuzberg. The show was completely sold out and since they've just before made it into the Spotify Charts there were many fans who came very early so that they could stand in the first few lines.
Preact was Youtube Star Kelvin Jones (known for his song
'Call You Home'). His set was with about 20 minutes rather short but during the break he joined the crowd and was very open and friendly towards his fans.
After an equally short break, X Ambassadors came on stage and played a very energetic show. They've played 11 songs mostly from their new album 'VHS' and they were visibly enjoying being on stage.
Lead singer Sam Harris headed up the show by playing several soli on different instruments, e.g. on his saxophone or his guitar, and by entering the crowd. Still his voice was very strong and secure and sounded even better than on the records.
Yet, the crowd didn't only focus on Sam, since the other band members where energetically moving along, too and many people were impressed by Casey Harris, the blind piano playermof the band.
The very special and entertaining show made up for its shortness (just under 60 minutes) and it was worth much more than what I've paid (less than 15€).
I would highly recommend seeing their show to every one who enjoys their music. It was truely a magical evening and one I won't forget.
In contrast, Halsey, whose breakthrough also happened shortly before the show, played in Huxley's neue Welt, a bigger venue in Berlin Neukölln that fits 1600 people, on March, 3rd 2016. Due to her success, there were also many fans who came very early so that the line was already huge when I arrived at the venue. I heard that the first ones in line had been waiting since 7:30 am.
The preact, BØRNS, played a very great show but the crowd was quite sluggish and impatiently wainting for Halsey hence BØRNS could only delight a small part of the crowd. But the event manager definitely picked a good artist as a preact that actually fit to the main act.
After a surprisingly short break, Halsey came on stage at around 9:15 pm.
Her show started with her song Gasoline from her debut album 'Badlands' which made for a great intro. Halsey's voice was very secure from the very first second she started singing and she hit every tone right. Mostly the dark music along with great light effects and her voice created a special, mysterious atmosphere which let the show seem surrreal and magical. She also used the huge space of the room, disappearing from stage and reappearing at the left side of the room.
Throughout the whole show, she was very sweet and funny, talking to the crowd in a humble and very thankful way. She interacted with the crowd a lot, telling stories, letting the crowd sing and also entering the crowd.
Her show consisted of 16 songs, and the crowd's focus was completely on her, at least until Halsey asked the crowd to applause for her band members who were positioned at the back of the stage infront of a screen that was showing differen pictures.
The only thing I found a bit unnecessary were Halsey's attampts to be sexy, touching her body sensually a few times but I'm guessing those moves were just supposed to accompany the lyrics of her songs.
The age of Halsey's audience was very young compared to X Ambassadors'. While the average age at her concert was about 17, most people at the X Ambassadors' show were 25 or older. I also think that Halsey's music is mostly enjoyed by teenagers while the music of X Ambassadors is liked by a variety of age groups.
The style of their music is also very different. While X Ambassadors instrumental music is based on classical instruments (guitar, drums and piano) which harmoniously accompany the vocals, the instrumental music accompanying Halsey's voice is based on a synthesiser, while the drums and especially the guitar are less important for the special sound of her music. Added to that, Halsey's voice is dominating the music and the music is rather like a background sound to emphasize her very special voice.
Hence I don't understand Spotify's connection of Halsey as a similar artist to X Ambassadors because in my eyes they are completely different and thus almost incomparable.
Nevertheless, both artists are great and perform live very good, so you should definitely go and see either of them if you get the chance to.
