Flyte: Live at The Old Church

Flyte played their first headlining tour in America with Anna Mieke supporting. The Old Church in Portland was Flyte's second to last American stop on this tour. 

The Old Church, built in 1882, is a beautiful Gothic architecture church. In the late 1960's it was set to be demolished but was saved by activists who sought to preserve the cultural importance of the church in West Portland. The venue's small size and pew seating create an extraordinarily intimate show. Regardless of where you are seated, you are not too far from the stage. 

Anna Mieke's opening set showcased her chilling vocals and lyrical talent. She held the stage with a gentle presence that felt calming from the pews. Mieke's voice seems to be thoughtfully crafted for intimate settings. Mieke chatted a little between songs telling the audience about them. She played a cover at the end of her set before wrapping with one more original. 

Flyte took the stage with their touring band to play songs off their new self-titled album along side songs from their previous EPs and albums. 

About halfway through their set, half the musicians left the stage. Leaving only the core members of Flyte: Will Taylor and Nick Hill. The pair played a few songs the way they have played most tours: the two of them, their guitars, and incredible harmonies. They asked the crowd who had seen them play in Portland Jade Bird in 2019; a few people enthusiastically cheered and raised their hands. Taylor and Hill seemed delighted anyone in the crowd had been listening to them for that long; after the three people who had cheered quieted, Taylor told everyone they had written their next song, Mistress America, in Portland during that tour. They finished the song by encouraging the crowd to sing along the end harmonies; a few people loudly joined while most quietly sang to themselves. 

Throughout the set musicians on stage maintained clear communication with their sound tech. A welcomed method in an age where sound techs seem to equate loud with good. The communication was kind and intentional; even though Taylor stopped and restarted a song to ensure his in-ear monitors were not too loud, it never felt like an interruption. 

Towards the end, Taylor announced they would play one last song before leaving the stage. Then he told the crowd they should cheer and pretend like they did not know they would be back for a couple more songs. After the band left the stage, as directed the crowd cheered, even giving a standing ovation. Taylor came back on stage solo. He thanked everyone for cheering. Then, with a childlike excitement told the crowd about the successful bottle flip that had occurred the moment they were backstage. 

After the audience settled Taylor spoke for a bit, asking everyone if they were familiar with iPhone's "bedtime reminder". Once he was sure everyone was on the same track, he told a story of how he and his girlfriend, Billie Marten, had thought that "bedtime reminder" would be a great hook for a song. Taylor taught the audience line by line the chorus to the song he and Marten wrote together before he played it. Once reaching each chorus everyone sang together. After Bed Time reminder, the rest of the band joined Taylor on stage.

Flyte finished their set with high energy and a second standing ovation.