Review and Photos by Camille Germain
The City and Colour show on September 30 was a reminder that kindness still exists and often times is the root of our movements. This was the last show of their tour and they gracefully delivered. The night started with opener and Seattle local David Bazan whose performance was nothing shy of honest and full of soul. Bazan (of Pedro The Lion) hit the audience with a loud, clear sound showcasing his skills as a solo artist for that hour before Green and company came on. He gave us both humorous and slightly coy musings when he spoke to the audience. His music is thoughtful, sad, and rich. Bazan has been on tour with City and Colour in the past and acts as an influence to some of Green’s music and the two sets made a very cohesive night of music.
With the lights set low and the music soft, the crowd sat with their hats prepped for replication and appreciation of Green’s signature headpiece. Gradual and timed, the blue and purple lights opened up with a spotlight illuminating Green to start the performance off gently and by himself with his guitar, delivering “Sensible Heart” to us. The soft music swiftly shifted when the whole band joined in and before the crowd knew what hit them they were jamming to “Northern Blues” and feeling all its heart and deep sound.
City and Colour is Dallas Green and a collection of truly talented musicians he has been working with for years. As a group they are clear, loud, and intense. It is hard to find artists that sound just as good live as they do fine-tuned in a studio, but this group does just that. The show was full of energy from the rushes of fortes bouncing around the theatre to the vocals streaming out like crisp winter air. Green held poise and immense charisma every second.
Spread out evenly throughout the performance, Green engaged with the audience by speaking into the microphone with minute renderings of conversations. Halfway through, the instrumentation paused as he continued to address the room saying “I’m not sure there are too many better buildings to finish this tour”. He then introduced the next song by stating “this song is about dying. While you're living make sure you enjoy it” and handed us “Waiting…”.
After more than half the show being seated, Green decided to alter the energy of the room with a swift kick of words and motivation when introducing “Wasted Love”. “For this next song I want everyone to stand up… Let's turn this Saturday night into a Friday night. Since yesterday was my birthday I appreciate you all doing this one for me.” And for the majority of the remainder of the show people stood, dancing and swaying.
The love the band has for each other emanated off stage and filled the entire room. Any chance Green had to hug someone, he did. And toward the end Green introduced the band and off-stage individuals with quick anecdotes of how they met and what they mean to him. This is his family.
The last song was like a firework finale and then a calm solo acoustic performance of two songs. Teasing us with a simple ending, they switched back to the whole band for a few more songs going past their end time with glory.
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