As a fairly experienced concertgoer, I can confidently say that the Polyphonic Spree has created one of the most incredible live shows on tour.

Before the band went on, fans stood on their tiptoes to try to get a glimpse over a red piece of paper that stretched across the stage. Suddenly, the tune of a cello whined out through the loud speakers and a pair of scissors punctured the center of the paper.

The crowd fell silent as the scissors inched a design through the barrier: a heart. The design fell to the stage revealing the face of vocalist and founder, Tim DeLaughter, and a cellist playing center stage.

The next moment happened too fast to describe. The paper had been torn down and a full orchestra was revealed, blaring their instruments while DeLaughter danced, laughing, across the stage.

Known for its almost cult-like appearance and consistently upbeat music, the Polyphonic Spree had the entire crowd hypnotized from the very first moment. Even with the vast array of instruments and sounds, each instrument was clear and individual, producing a sound unique to the Spree. DeLaughter was a flawless performer.

From his friendly and conversational manner, to him joining the crowd to sing and dance, DeLaughter was fascinating. His Bowie-esque vocals meshed beautifully with the rainbow of music that surrounded him.

After about 40 minutes, the band left the stage one by one, waving to the crowd as they exited. The crowd began shouting anything they could think to get the band back for an encore. Finally, one fan began to sing the chorus of the song the band had finished with.

“”All in good time, we will raise our voices.””

The entire crowd joined the refrain, nearly swaying together. A push came from behind and the audience turned around to see the entire Spree in white flowing robes, zigzagging through the crowd joining in the chorus.

The set was finished famously with the band performing an upbeat, orchestral cover of Nirvana’s “”Lithium”” that sent the crowd wild, as well as the super-hit “”Light and Day.””

As a stark contrast to the Spree, Rooney’s performance was painful. The set might as well have been performed by a parody band. Vocalist Robert Carmine was so conceited that it was laughable, while drummer Ned Brower played the exact same, simple bass drum beat for every song.

Joining in the joke was guitarist Taylor Locke, who was so enthused about his mediocre guitar solos that I was surprised he didn’t set his guitar on fire, and bassist Mathew Winter, who wore “”cool-guy”” shades and stared at the ground throughout the set. That said, the band was able to play their simplistic music cleanly and enthusiastically.